Columbia Helicopters
Encyclopedia
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
manufacturing and operator company based in Aurora, Oregon
Aurora, Oregon
Aurora is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States. It was founded as a religious commune in 1856 by Dr. William Keil who named the settlement after his daughter. The population was 918 at the 2010 census...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. They are known for operating tandem rotor helicopters; in present times, exclusively the Boeing Vertol 107
CH-46 Sea Knight
The Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight is a medium-lift tandem rotor transport helicopter, used by the United States Marine Corps to provide all-weather, day-or-night assault transport of combat troops, supplies and equipment. Assault Support is its primary function, and the movement of supplies and...
and Boeing 234
CH-47 Chinook
The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is an American twin-engine, tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter. Its top speed of 170 knots is faster than contemporary utility and attack helicopters of the 1960s...
. These helicopters are used in Heli-Logging, oil exploration, fire suppression, construction and many other activities. In addition the company operates a large FAA Repair Station supporting customers around the world.
Founding and early days
Columbia Helicopters was founded on April 24, 1957 by Wes Lematta with a single Hiller 12B helicopter. With help from his brothers, Wes supported his young company with many odd jobs ranging from carrying Santa Claus to trapeze acts. He performed most of his flying on the weekends while still working as a truck driver during the week. Lematta gained great notoriety on September 15, 1957 rescuing 15 sailors from a sinking dredgeDredge
Dredging is an excavation activity or operation usually carried out at least partly underwater, in shallow seas or fresh water areas with the purpose of gathering up bottom sediments and disposing of them at a different location...
near Coos Bay, Oregon
Coos Bay, Oregon
Coos Bay is a city located in Coos County, Oregon, United States, where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The city borders the city of North Bend, and together they are often referred to as one entity called either Coos Bay-North Bend or the Bay Area...
. For his heroic actions the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded Wes the Army Air Medal
Air Medal
The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States. The award was created in 1942, and is awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.-Criteria:...
.
Direct Visual Observational Control
After purchasing the more powerful Hiller 12E Wes began to operate more lift jobs. One of these large jobs was working on the John Day DamJohn Day Dam
The John Day Dam is a concrete gravity run-of-the-river dam spanning the Columbia River in the northwestern United States. The dam features a navigation lock plus fish ladders on both sides. The John Day Lock has the highest lift of any U.S. lock...
on his company's name sake Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
. Here Wes began performing precision lift jobs by using a longer than average cable. The concept was the pilot could lean out the side of the aircraft and see directly where they are placing the load. A few years latter Wes' brother Jim was flying a Sikorsky S-61
Sikorsky S-61
The Sikorsky S-61L and S-61N are civil variants of the successful SH-3 Sea King helicopter. They are two of the most widely used airliner and oil rig support helicopters built.-Design and development:...
in the Colorado Rockies. Jim was so cold he was forced to land. In need of an enclosed cockpit Columbia went on to develop the first pilot bubble window.
"First in Heli-Logging"
Jack Erickson, of Erickson Air-CraneErickson Air-Crane
Erickson Air-Crane Incorporated is an aircraft manufacturing and operating company based in Central Point, Oregon, United States. They are known for producing the S-64 Aircrane helicopter, which is used in wildland fire suppression and other heavy-lift operations.Originally the Sikorsky S-64...
fame, and Wes Lematta were able to demonstrate the first financially successful run of helicopter logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
, or "Heli-Logging" in 1971. This was done with Wes' S-61 Sikorsky, registration number N318Y, on a USFS log sale near Tayorsville, California. The following year the 107s were used.
Amusingly, since the project used Wes' helicopter and Jack had purchased the timber, both Columbia Helicopters and Erikson Air-Crane claim to be the first successful "Heli-Loggers".
Type Certificates
As of December 15, 2006 Columbia Helicopters has purchased the Type certificateType certificate
A Type Certificate, is awarded by aviation regulating bodies to aerospace manufacturers after it has been established that the particular design of a civil aircraft, engine, or propeller has fulfilled the regulating bodies' current prevailing airworthiness requirements for the safe conduct of...
of the Model 107 and Model 234 from Boeing. Currently the company is seeking FAA issuance of a Production Certificate (PC) to produce parts, with eventual issuance of a PC to produce both aircraft.
CHI in the Movies
- More American GraffitiMore American GraffitiMore American Graffiti is the 1979 sequel film to George Lucas's hit film American Graffiti. Whereas the first film followed a group of friends during the summer evening before they set off for college, this film shows us where the characters from the first film end up a few years later.Most of the...
- StarmanStarman (film)John Carpenter's Starman is a 1984 science-fiction fantasy film directed by John Carpenter that tells the story of an alien who has come to Earth in response to the invitation found on the gold phonograph record installed on the Voyager 2 space probe.The screenplay was written by Bruce A. Evans,...
- CHI KV-107 N185CH can be seen in company colors hauling away actor Jeff BridgesJeff BridgesJeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart....
' space ship. - King Kong LivesKing Kong LivesKing Kong Lives is a 1986 American monster movie produced by DEG Studios. Directed by John Guillermin and featuring special effects by Carlo Rambaldi, the film starred Linda Hamilton and Brian Kerwin. The film was a belated sequel to King Kong...
- CHI BV-107 N191CH, a former NavyUnited States NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
CH-46, carries away King KongKing KongKing Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films...
in his cage. - Runaway TrainRunaway Train (film)Runaway Train is a 1985 film about two escaped convicts and a female train worker who are stuck on a runaway train as it barrels through snowy desolate Alaska. It stars Jon Voight as Oscar "Manny" Manheim, Eric Roberts as Buck, John P. Ryan as Associate Warden Ranken and Rebecca De Mornay as Sara...
- Under SiegeUnder SiegeUnder Siege is a 1992 American action film directed by Andrew Davis and starring Steven Seagal as a former Navy SEAL who must stop a group of mercenaries, led by Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey, on a U.S. Navy battleship...
- CHI KV-107 N192CH flies Tommy Lee JonesTommy Lee JonesTommy Lee Jones is an American actor and film director. He has received three Academy Award nominations, winning one as Best Supporting Actor for the 1993 thriller film The Fugitive....
' band out to the Battleship. - Demolition ManDemolition Man (film)Demolition Man is a 1993 American, science fiction action film directed by Marco Brambilla, and starring Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes. Sandra Bullock, Nigel Hawthorne, and Denis Leary co-star....
- CHI BV-234 N241CH serves as a Los Angeles Police DepartmentLos Angeles Police DepartmentThe Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
helicopter. - The Lost World: Jurassic ParkThe Lost World: Jurassic ParkThe Lost World: Jurassic Park is a 1997 science fiction thriller film, directed by Steven Spielberg. The film was produced by Bonnie Curtis, Kathleen Kennedy, Gerald R. Molen and Colin Wilson...
- CHI BV-234 N241CH flies in a large cage to capture dinosaurs. - X2: X-Men UnitedX2 (film)X2 is a 2003 superhero film based on the fictional characters the X-Men. Directed by Bryan Singer, it is the second film in the X-Men film series...
- CHI KV-107 N192CH performs various flight sequences and serves in the background of several scenes. - Straight Up: Helicopters in Action - CHI BV-234 N239CH demonstrates the lifting capability of the Super Grapple during Heli-Logging operations
Fleet
Columbia currently operates 8 Model 234CH-47 Chinook
The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is an American twin-engine, tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter. Its top speed of 170 knots is faster than contemporary utility and attack helicopters of the 1960s...
s and 14 Model 107-II
CH-46 Sea Knight
The Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight is a medium-lift tandem rotor transport helicopter, used by the United States Marine Corps to provide all-weather, day-or-night assault transport of combat troops, supplies and equipment. Assault Support is its primary function, and the movement of supplies and...
s tandem rotor helicopters. In addition to the flying fleet CHI in 2005 purchased 8 ex-Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
CH-113 Labrador
CH-113 Labrador
|-See also:-External links:* * * *...
helicopters for fleet expansion. For fleet support CHI operates 2 Beechcraft 200C Super King Airs
Beechcraft Super King Air
The Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by the Beech Aircraft Corporation . The King Air line comprises a number of model series that fall into two families: the Model 90 series, Model 100 series , Model 200 series and Model 300 series...
.
Columbia's past fleet includes the Hiller 12B, Bell 47-G2
Bell 47
The Bell 47 is a two-bladed, single engine, light helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. Based on the third Model 30 prototype, Bell's first helicopter designed by Arthur M. Young, the Bell 47 became the first helicopter certified for civilian use on 8 March 1946...
, Hiller 12E, Hughes 369 (MD 500 variant), Sikorsky S-58, Sikorsky S-61
Sikorsky S-61
The Sikorsky S-61L and S-61N are civil variants of the successful SH-3 Sea King helicopter. They are two of the most widely used airliner and oil rig support helicopters built.-Design and development:...
and Sikorsky CH-54.
Wes Lematta Field at Aurora State Airport
On May 26, 2009, the Oregon State Legislature passed a resolution identifying Columbia's home airport as Wes Lematta Field at Aurora State AirportAurora State Airport
Aurora State Airport is a public airport located one mile northwest of the central business district of Aurora, a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States. It is owned by the Oregon Department of Aviation.Although most U.S...
. Wes Lematta is the founder of Columbia Helicopters located on the north eastern corner of the field.
See also
- Boeing Vertol 107CH-46 Sea KnightThe Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight is a medium-lift tandem rotor transport helicopter, used by the United States Marine Corps to provide all-weather, day-or-night assault transport of combat troops, supplies and equipment. Assault Support is its primary function, and the movement of supplies and...
- Boeing 234CH-47 ChinookThe Boeing CH-47 Chinook is an American twin-engine, tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter. Its top speed of 170 knots is faster than contemporary utility and attack helicopters of the 1960s...
- Columbia Helicopters HeliportColumbia Helicopters HeliportColumbia Helicopters Heliport is a private heliport located 2 miles northwest of Aurora in Marion County, Oregon, USA. The heliport is located at the northeast corner of Wes Lematta Field at Aurora State Airport and adjacent to the headquarters of Columbia Helicopters, Inc....
- Columbia Aviation HeliportColumbia Aviation HeliportColumbia Aviation Heliport is a private heliport located one mile northwest of Aurora in Marion County, Oregon, USA. Heliport is located adjacent to the Wes Lematta Field at Aurora State Airport on its east side approximately mid-field....