Hiller Aircraft Company was founded in 1942 as Hiller Industries by Stanley Hiller to develop helicopters.

History

Stanley Hiller, then seventeen, established the first helicopter factory on the West Coast of the United States, located in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

, in 1942, under the name "Hiller Industries," to develop his design for the coaxial-rotor XH-44 "Hiller-Copter" for the U.S. Army. The XH-44 became operational in 1944.Hiller Helicopter
timeline
(accessed Nov 9 2011) In collaboration with

Henry J. Kaiser Henry John Kaiser (May 9, 1882 – August 24, 1967) was an American industrialist who became known as the father of modern American shipbuilding. Prior to World War II, Kaiser was involved in the construction industry; his company was one of ...

, it became

United Helicopters United Helicopters was formed in 1945 as a joint venture between American helicopter poineer Stanley Hiller and American industrialist Henry J. Kaiser, Henry Kaiser. The company made a very wide range of helicopters, including the world's first succ ...

in 1945. In the postwar years, United Helicopter produced a number of innovative helicopter designs for military and civilian purposes, including coaxial-rotor and tailless designs, as well as more conventional models. In January, 1949, a Hiller 360 became the first civilian helicopter to cross the United States. Besides helicopters, in the year after World War II, Stanley Hiller researched a two-man rocket-jet aircraft design that took off and landed vertically, called the VJ-100, in which he tried unsuccessfully to interest the U.S. military. The company was renamed Hiller Helicopters in 1948. It was involved in the development of a number of prototype helicopters. From the early 1960s to 1969, its

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plant served as a

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

cover for the production of the CORONA reconnaissance satellites. Hiller was purchased by

Fairchild Aircraft Fairchild was an American aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company based at various times in Farmingdale, New York; Hagerstown, Maryland; and San Antonio, Texas. History Early aircraft The company was founded by Sherman Fairchild in 1 ...

in 1964. Jeff Hiller, the son of Stanley Hiller, repurchased the company in 1994 with the help of a dozen Thai investors led by Patrick C. Lim, part owner of Siam Steel and many other Asian ventures. For ownership of Hiller aircraft, these investors helped cover the company's liabilities about $1 million and commit about $10 million to build at least 30 new helicopters at the new East Bay production site and also setting up the first aerospace company in Thailand. Stanley Hiller donated money and a number of aircraft to form the

Hiller Aviation Museum The Hiller Aviation Museum is an aircraft history museum located at the San Carlos Airport in San Carlos, California. The museum was founded by Stanley Hiller in June 1998. and is endowed by members of the Hiller family. It specializes in North ...

San Carlos, California San Carlos (Spanish for "St. Charles") is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. The population is 30,722 per the 2020 census. History Native Americans Prior to the Spanish arrival in 1769, the land of San Carlos was occupi ...

, which opened in 1998. In 2009, the Hiller (China) Aircraft Manufacturing Company began construction of a production facility in Zhangjiakou City, northwest of Beijing. The company is a joint venture between Hiller Aircraft Corporation, Zhangjiakou Chahar General Aviation Company. At the time, Zhangjiakou Chahar General Aviation was already carrying out low-rate production of UH-12 parts and sub assemblies. In July 2018 an accident in which a truck driver drove over his co-driver occurred at the Hiller Firebaugh facility. On May 4 a jury found Hiller 70% at fault for the accident and awarded the injured driver over 9 million dollars in damages. The company's website news update from February 15, 2021 indicates the company is struggling financially with the owners hesitating to provide further funding to keep the company operating.

Aircraft

References

External links

Hiller's home page" ''Hiller Aircraft'' Ready To Takeoff"

Hiller Helicopter Owners and Pilots Forum
{{Authority control Aircraft manufacturers of the United States Helicopter manufacturers of the United States