Enstrom Helicopter
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The Enstrom Helicopter Corp of Menominee, Michigan was founded in 1959 by lumberjack and mechanic Rudy Enstrom, initially as the R J Enstrom Corp. He receiving financial backing after spending some years developing his own helicopters. In October 1968 a controlling interest in Enstrom was bought by Purex Corp, who wanted to develop a turbine powered version, something that was not to happen for over 20 years after. The lack of success with this venture led the piston engined variants to languish, and the Purex stake was bought by Francis Lee Bailey in January 1971, changing the name to Enstrom Helicopter Corp as we know it today. Bailey sold the company in 1979 and it has gone through a number of further ownership changes since.
Since delivering their first helicopter shortly after Federal Aviation Administration type certification of the F-28 model in April 1965, Enstrom helicopter has produced (as of 2007) approx 1,200 aircraft.
The company produces three models, the F-28, the more aerodynamic 280 and the turbine-engined 480, each with their own variants. The F-28 and 280 both use Lycoming piston engines virtually identical to those found in general aviation fixed-wing aircraft, e.g., Cessna 172.
