tuna and other fish. Ten there were the rescues. With seeds planted across the marketplace, helicopter operators
watched for which would bear fruit. Tey flew Santa Claus at Christmas and carried trapeze performers aloft to make a buck. “We also raced with a car,” Columbia Helicopters founder Wes Lematta said in 2007, recounting his early years in the industry. “We were just trying to make a living.” Te helicopter business proved early on its international scope.
Many operators turned to more far-flung pastures in search of fruitful operations. Tey worked America from coast to coast and border to border, and some moved abroad for opportunities. “We weren’t going to make it financially by just doing local business,”
Jim Ricklefs said in 2007. He started Rick Helicopters in Southern California in 1948 but soon was “taking contracts in Alaska and other places where we could make money.”
The Helicopter Council Among the OEM folks who tried to clear operators’ obstacles was Art Fornoff, Bell’s salesman for its western region. A rated helicopter pilot since 1945, Fornoff was one of Bell’s first hires. On Dec. 13, 1948, Fornoff brought together repre-
sentatives of six Southern California operators to discuss how they and their suppliers might collaborate in overcoming challenges. Te 15 founding members
of this trade association for a brand-new industry were: Harry Armstrong, Fred Bowen, Knute Flint, and James Newcomb of Armstrong-Flint Helicopters, which hosted the meeting in its Burbank offices
Fred Blymyer and Bob Boughton of Helicopter Service, Inc.
Bob Facer and Elynor Rudnick of Kern Copters Jim Ricklefs and Arni Sumarlidason of Rick Helicopters Roy Falconer and Joseph Seward of Rotor-Aids Ed Eskridge, Phil Johnson, and James “Tommy” Tomas of Sky Farming.
The agreement brokered by HAI in 2005 between the FAA, offshore operators, and energy producers in the Gulf of Mexico to test ADS-B technology substantially improved the safety of flight operations in that sector. | Mark Bennett Photo
Te 16 agreed to form the Helicopter Council—renamed the California Helicopter Association (CHA) in 1949—and elected Ricklefs president, Seward secretary, and Rudnick treasurer. Ricklefs called Fornoff “the one who really set up” the new association, saying, “Art was the spark plug.” Fornoff was later recognized for his role as an industry evan- gelist, receiving in 1970 an honorary membership from the organization he helped found 22 years before. In January 1951, members again renamed the group, this time as
the Helicopter Association of America (HAA). Tirty years later, the much larger organization became Helicopter Association International (HAI), reflecting its growth and acknowledging the
Speaking Up for Vertical Aviation Providing the vertical aviation perspective to regulators, legislators, standards boards, safety organizations, and business and community leaders was a major reason HAI’s founding members organized as a group. Looking back over the years, many of the issues that confronted our industry are still present today. In 1950, HAI won its first legal battle protecting operators from unfair invalidation of their insurance coverage. Te next year, HAI publicly opposed a proposed ordinance prohibiting helicopters from landing in Atherton, California, an early example of local government attempting to override federal admin- istration of aviation.
SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE ROTOR 15
global nature of the industry. (For simplicity’s sake, we’ll use the HAI name for the association throughout the rest of this article, even if it was operating under a different name during the time period being referenced.) A board of directors elected by member operators governs the
association and provides strategic direction to the HAI staff. Each year, board members elect a set of officers. Initially, the top elected position was titled the president of the association, while the person leading the professional staff was known as the executive director. In 1985, the top elected position was renamed as the chair of the board of directors, and the staff leader’s title was changed to president and, later, president and CEO. A complete list of all board chairs can be found at
rotor.org/past-board-chairs.
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