ROTORWA H Alaska became a state in 1959, and the


company operated as Rick Alaska Helicopters until the early 1960s when it officially became Alaska Helicopters.


Year of Firsts 1967 was a monumental year for Alaska Helicopters. Rex met his future wife, Ruth,


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in 1966; they were married in 1967. He con- vinced her to move to Alaska during a ferry- boat ride up the Inside Passage. In a 1991 Anchorage Times story, Ruth recalled that when Rex asked her, “Do you want to go to Alaska?” she thought he meant just for a visit. She quickly became enamored with the beauty of the state,


however, and the couple moved to Anchorage in 1967. 1967 was also the year Rex purchased Alaska Helicopters from Ricklefs, who had decided to retire. The sale included eight Bell 47G-2 helicopters. Rex believed that Alaska was a prime


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place for businesses. “This was more attractive, a better revenue producer than the Lower 48 operation,” Rex stated in the 1991 Anchorage Times article. “Alaska had more opportunity, and I still feel that way. It’s a great state for young people.” During that same year, the company


tackled a wintertime project on the state’s North Slope, above the Arctic Circle. Because of the cold and the limited facili- ties available, Rex reported that pilots would take batteries to bed with them to keep the batteries warm. “The crews would also drain and warm


the oil before attempting to fly each day,” Rex recalled. “We were working at remote sites in conditions at temperatures 40 degrees below zero. The North Slope weather could be very hard on the pilots and the helicopters.”


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Merger with Columbia In 1978, Rex and Ruth merged Alaska Helicopters with Columbia Helicopters, headquartered in Portland, Oregon. The deal increased the capabilities of the two companies and also eased the strains of increasing costs and competition. “The Alaska Transportation Commission required companies outside [the state] to merge with existing companies in order to operate in Alaska,” recalled Rex. The merger allowed Columbia Helicop-


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ters to expand its operations into Alaska. It also provided Alaska Helicopters with access to the Columbia fleet of heavy-lift aircraft, including the Boeing 234 Chinook and Boeing Vertol 107-II. Rex’s company, which operated independently of Columbia, could now bid on larger projects in Alaska that required heavy-lift capabilities.


60 ROTOR SPRING 2019


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