Hughes Helicopters was a major manufacturer of
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
and civil
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
s from the 1950s to the 1980s.
The company began in 1947, as a unit of
Hughes Aircraft
The Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded on February 14, 1934 by Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting p ...
, then was part of the
Hughes Tool Company
Hughes Tool Company was an American manufacturer of drill bits. Founded in 1908, it was merged into Baker Hughes Incorporated in 1987.
History
The company was established in December 1908 as Sharp-Hughes Tool Company when Howard R. Hughes S ...
after 1955.
It became the Hughes Helicopter Division,
Summa Corporation in 1972, and was reformed as Hughes Helicopters, Inc. in 1981. However, throughout its history, the company was informally known as "Hughes Helicopters". It was sold to
McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1997, it produ ...
in 1984 and made a
subsidiary
A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...
under the name ''McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems''. See
MD Helicopters
MD Helicopters, LLC. (formerly McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems) is an American aerospace manufacturer. It produces light utility helicopters for commercial and military use. The company was a subsidiary of Hughes Aircraft until 1984, when Mc ...
for history of the company after this acquisition. In 1997 McDonnell Douglas merged with
Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...
with Boeing as the surviving company.
History
In 1947,
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...
redirected the
Hughes Aircraft Company
The Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded on February 14, 1934 by Howard Hughes in Glendale, California, as a division of Hughes Tool Company. The company was known for producing, among other produ ...
's efforts from airplanes to helicopters. The effort began in earnest in 1948, when
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
manufacturer
Kellett Autogiro Corporation
The Kellett Autogiro Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer from 1929 based in Philadelphia, named after founder W. Wallace Kellett.
History
The Kellett Aircraft was formed by W. Wallace Kellett and C. Townsend Ludington and their b ...
sold their latest design to Hughes for production. The
XH-17 "Sky Crane" first flew in October 1952, but was commercially unsuccessful. In 1955 the company began building light helicopters when Howard Hughes split the helicopter production unit from the Hughes Aircraft Co., and reconstituted it with the Hughes Tool Co. as the
Hughes Tool Co. Aircraft Division, with a focus on the production of light helicopters.
The
Hughes Model 269 was the company's first successful helicopter design. Built in 1956, and entering production in 1957, it served to capture a large portion of the commercial market for Hughes. It would eventually become part of the Army inventory as a primary trainer (
TH-55 Osage
The Hughes TH-55 Osage is a piston-powered light training helicopter produced for the United States Army. It was also produced as the Model 269 family of light utility helicopters, some of which were marketed as the Model 300. The Model 300C wa ...
). In May
1965
Events January–February
* January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years.
* January 20
** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...
, the company won the contract for a new observation helicopter for the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
, and produced the
OH-6 Cayuse
The Hughes OH-6 Cayuse is a single-engine light helicopter that was designed and produced by the American aerospace company Hughes Helicopters. Its formal name is derived from the Cayuse people while its "Loach" nickname comes from the acronym f ...
(Hughes Model 369). The OH-6 was later developed into the civilian
Model 500, variants of which remain in production to this day.
In
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
, Hughes sold the tool division of
Hughes Tool Company
Hughes Tool Company was an American manufacturer of drill bits. Founded in 1908, it was merged into Baker Hughes Incorporated in 1987.
History
The company was established in December 1908 as Sharp-Hughes Tool Company when Howard R. Hughes S ...
, and reconsolidated his remaining holdings as the
Summa Corporation, which included Hughes' property and other businesses. The Aircraft Division became the Hughes Helicopter Division, Summa Corp. That same year, the US Army issued a request for proposals (RFP) for an
Advanced Attack Helicopter
The Advanced Attack Helicopter (AAH) was a United States Army program to develop an advanced ground attack helicopter beginning in 1972. The Advanced Attack Helicopter program followed cancellation of the Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne. After evaluat ...
(AAH). From an initial list of 5 manufacturers Hughes Aircraft's Toolco Aircraft Division (later Hughes Helicopters) and Bell were selected as finalists. In
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
, Hughes' Model 77/
YAH-64 was selected over
Bell
A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inter ...
's
YAH-63. First flight of a development prototype occurred in
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
. Also in 1975, Hughes engineers at began concept development work of
NOTAR
NOTAR ("no tail rotor") is a helicopter system which avoids the use of a tail rotor. It was developed by McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems (through their acquisition of Hughes Helicopters). The system uses a fan inside the tail boom to build ...
.
[Frawley, Gerard: ''The International Directory of Civil Aircraft, 2003–2004'', page 155. Aerospace Publications Pty Ltd, 2003. ]
In
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
, Summa's Hughes Helicopter Division was reconstituted as Hughes Helicopters, Inc.. By December, six AH-64A prototypes had been built and the Army had awarded a purchase contract to the company. Production would reach more than 1,100 by 2005. In
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
, the first production model AH-64 rolled off the production line at the company's new
Mesa, Arizona
Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the most populous city in the East Valley (Phoenix metropolitan area), East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by ...
facility. That same year, the company was honored by the
National Aeronautic Association
The National Aeronautic Association of the United States (NAA) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and a founding member of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).
Founded in 1905, it is the oldest national aviation club in the Uni ...
with the prestigious
Collier Trophy
The Robert J. Collier Trophy is an annual aviation award administered by the U.S. National Aeronautic Association (NAA), presented to those who have made "the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to im ...
. The company also licensed
Schweizer Aircraft to produce the
Model 300C.
In January
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
, Hughes Helicopters, Inc. was sold to
McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1997, it produ ...
by
Summa Corporation, under the parent's efforts to streamline its
focus and interest in real estate development. McDonnell Douglas paid $470 million for the company and made it a
subsidiary
A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...
. Hughes Helicopters was renamed
McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems
MD Helicopters, LLC. (formerly McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems) is an American aerospace manufacturer. It produces light utility helicopters for commercial and military use. The company was a subsidiary of Hughes Aircraft until 1984, when M ...
later in August 1984.
[Richardson, Doug and Lindsay Peacock. ''Combat Aircraft AH-64'', pp. 14–15. London: Salamander Books, 1992. .] Although the direct link with Hughes was broken, the helicopter designs created by Hughes Helicopters would continue to be produced by
Boeing Rotorcraft Systems
Boeing Rotorcraft Systems (formerly Boeing Helicopters and before that Boeing Vertol) is the former name of an American aircraft manufacturer, now known as Vertical Lift division of Boeing Defense, Space & Security.
The headquarters and main ...
,
MD Helicopters
MD Helicopters, LLC. (formerly McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems) is an American aerospace manufacturer. It produces light utility helicopters for commercial and military use. The company was a subsidiary of Hughes Aircraft until 1984, when Mc ...
, and
Schweizer RSG.
Aircraft
Notes
References
{{Hughes aircraft
*Helicopters
*
Defunct helicopter manufacturers of the United States
Technology companies based in Greater Los Angeles
Companies based in Culver City, California
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1947
Technology companies established in 1947
Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1984
Technology companies disestablished in 1984
1947 establishments in California
1984 disestablishments in California
Defunct manufacturing companies based in Greater Los Angeles
McDonnell Douglas mergers and acquisitions