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HISTORY
The company was founded in
1959 by mining
engineer Rudolph
J. "Rudy" Enstrom, initially
as the R.J.
Enstrom Corp. The
company was bought by the Chongqing
Helicopter Investment
Corporation in
2013 and went out of
business in January 2022.
Surack Enterprises purchased
the company from bankruptcy
in May 2022 and production
was restarted, with the
first helicopter completed
in January 2023.
Enstrom began by attempting
to design his own
helicopter. His lack of
training in this area meant
that his first efforts were
not outstanding, but his
efforts were noticed by
local Upper Peninsula
businessmen, who decided to
back him.
They recruited several
experienced aeronautical
engineers, and the group was
incorporated as the R. J.
Enstrom Co. (1959).
The company's first product
was the piston-powered F-28
(1965). However, Enstrom had
been removed from the
company before that product
came onto the market,
although the company
continued to carry his name.
In October 1968, a
controlling interest in
Enstrom was bought by Purex
Industries, who wanted to
develop a turbine powered
version, something that
didn't happen until over 20
years later. The lack of
success with this venture
led the piston-engined
variants to languish, and
the Purex stake was bought
by F. Lee Bailey in January
1971, changing to the
current name.
Bailey was an enthusiastic
entrepreneur, and soon had
the factory producing over a
hundred units per year. He
also orchestrated the
development and
certification of the sleek
280 Shark, which came on the
market in 1974. It was an
immediate hit.
Bailey, encouraged by this
success, embarked on a
four-place stretch version
of the Shark (designated
280L Hawk). But the
combination of technical
problems with this
development and a cooling
economy drained the
company's reserves, and
Bailey sold the company in
1979. Since then it has
changed hands several times.
Owners have included Victor
Kiam and Dean Kamen,
developer of the Segway
people-mover.
Kamen worked to improve the
company's existing products
and to introduce the
turbine-powered 480, which
was originally developed as
a response to a request for
bids on a military training
helicopter.
The company was sold to an
unnamed Swiss investor in
2000; Kamen remained with
the company as an advisor.
In January 2013 the company
was purchased by the
Chongqing Helicopter
Investment Co of the
People's Republic of China.
CEO Jerry M. Mullins was
president and CEO for
Heli-Dyne Systems Inc. in
Hurst, Texas before he
succeeded the former CEO
Peter Parsinen.
Since delivering their first
helicopter shortly after
Federal Aviation
Administration type
certification of the F-28
model in April 1965, Enstrom
Helicopter Corporation has
produced over 1,100
helicopters (as of July
2011).
However, the Great Recession
considerably slowed its
output; it built only six
units in 2010. By early 2013
the company was expanding,
having increased its
Michigan workforce by 50%
and planned to expand its
physical facilities, due to
increased sales, mostly in
Asia.
The company produces three
models, the F-28, the more
aerodynamic 280 and the
turbine-engined 480, each
with their own variants. The
F-28 and 280 are powered by
Lycoming
piston engines similar to
those found in general
aviation
fixed-wing aircraft.
A
hallmark of Enstrom's
helicopter designs from the
outset has been the lack of
exposed pitch change links
for the main rotor, as the
mechanisms are contained
inside the hollow main rotor
shaft, lowering aerodynamic
drag.
Source:
Wikipedia
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