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After almost 64 years of operations Enstrom Helicopters is forced to cease its activities on 21 January 2021. The sad news was announced in a press release by the company’s Director of Sales and Marketing, Dennis Martin. The step is the result of several financial difficulties. These have made the owners decide to direct the company to declare a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Founded on 22 December 1959 by Rudy Enstrom, Enstrom Helicopter Corporation manufactured a complete line of helicopters. The three-seat, piston-powered F28F and 280FX are popular training, sport, and light commercial aircraft.
The larger turbine-powered 480B is a three-place advanced trainer and patrol aircraft, or it is sold as a three to five place executive transport. For law enforcement applications Enstrom produced a specialized variant of the 480B, known as the Guardian, and the F28F, called the Sentinel. Through the years Enstrom has produced more than 1100 helicopters of the various models.
Military operators of Enstrom helicopters can mainly be found in South America (Model 280) and the Far East (Model 480) They have not become very popular in Europe, with the only exception being the Czech Republic, which operates four 480B at CLV LOM Pardubice.
In the press release the possibility of a future touch-and-go of the company is not ruled out. Some investors may have already expressed their interest in the assets of Enstrom, but time will tell!
Enstrom Helicopters out of business
Enstrom Helicopters out of business After almost 64 years of operations Enstrom Helicopters is forced to cease its activities on 21 January 2021. The sad news was announced in a pr...
The company describes its origins by Rudy Enstrom, a mining engineer living in Crystal Falls, Michigan, who throughout the 1940s and 1950s constructed a number of helicopter prototypes in his garage, hovering them in a local quarry. Jack Christensen was a tool salesman from Menominee, MI, who called on Rudy’s mine.
In the late 50s, Christensen moved to put the Enstrom prototypes into production, raising funds from local businessmen to start a company. The R.J. Enstrom Corporation was founded in December of 1959 with Christensen as CEO.
Engineer named Alb Balaur was then brought in to refine the design, explains the company, along with Paul Shultz and a handful of other talented engineers. Despite the early departure of Rudy Enstrom, the engineering team worked throughout the early 1960s to develop the F28. In the meantime, Christensen continued to funds for the company by selling stock at county fairs, primarily in northern Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
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The F28 was FAA certified in 1965, and won Michigan Product of the Year. It was the same year the Ford Mustang was introduced.
The company explains the 1970s brought additional refinements to the F28, including a turbocharger for hot and high performance, as well as the restyled 280 variant. The 280 went on to win multiple industrial design awards.
Enstrom Helicopter explains the late-1970s were the heyday for GA production, and Enstrom would build more than 100 aircraft per year out of its relatively small Menominee factory. The company went on to develop the 480 series turbine helicopters in the 1990s.
Enstrom celebrates 60 years - Helicopters Magazine
Enstrom Helicopter Corporation is celebrating its 60th anniversary on December 22, 2019. Founded in northern Michigan, Enstrom today has produced more
www.helicoptersmagazine.com
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