(Stanley Hiller Jr. Biography, n.d.). Stan- ley Hiller’s extraordinary engineering ability, keen business sense and remark- able entrepreneurial spirit enabled him to make tremendous contributions to rotary wing flight. From the start of his aviation career his innovative designs were on the cutting edge of rotary wing aviation, a trait which became a trademark of his companies. His business acumen allowed him to create a company that was able to extend well beyond just developing cut- ting edge prototypes and into successful helicopter production on a scale that few other companies were able to achieve. His production models became some of the most reliable and sought after aircraft of their time for both commercial and mil- itary applications. Unfortunately, we’ll never know what could have been had Fairchild Hiller won the U.S. Army LOH contract. Regardless, it remains that Stan- ley Hiller succeeded in rotary wing flight like few others had before or since and is a true Rotorcraft Pioneer. ❚
LT Brad McNally is a 2001graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy. After serving two tours in Coast Guard Naval Engineering he attended Naval Flight Training in Pensacola, Florida. He was previously station at the Coast Guard Air Station in Atlantic City, NJ where he was an aircraft commander in the MH-65C Dolphin helicopter. He currently resides in West Lafayette, IN with his wife Monica and son Brett where he is assigned as a graduate student at Purdue University pursuing a Masters Degree in Aeronautical Engineering.
References
Hiller XH-44 Hiller-copter. (n.d.). Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Website.
Retrieved February 20, 2010, from http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/artifact.
Spenser, J. P. (1998). Whirlybirds: A History of the U.S. Helicopter Pioneers. Seattle, WA:
University of Washington Press
Spenser, J. P. (2003). Vertical Challenge The Hiller Aircraft Story. Bloomington, IN:
First Books Library
Stanley Hiller Jr. Biography. (n.d.). Hiller Aviation Museum Website. Retrieved February 23,
2010, from www.hiller.org
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