 | |
| Industry | Aerospace |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1945 |
| Founder | Newby O. Brantly |
| Headquarters | Coppell, Texas |
Key people | Cheng Shenzong (President) |
| Products | Helicopters |
Number of employees | 20 |
| Parent | Lear Jet (1966–1969) |
Brantly International Inc. is an American helicopter company with its engineering and administrative offices based Coppell, Texas, United States. Manufacturing of Brantly-designed helicopters is now carried out by Qingdao Haili Helicopters of China. [1] [2]
The company started out 1945 as Brantly Helicopter Corporation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded by Newby O. Brantly. Brantly was so impressed with the Sikorsky VS-300 that he decided to design his own helicopter. [3] In 1946 his first helicopter, the Brantly B-1 with coaxial rotors made its first flight. The B-1 was not put into production.
Using lessons learned from the B-1, he decided to build a two-seater with a simple rotor design. This helicopter, the Brantly B-2, made its first flight 1953. In 1957 the company moved to Frederick, Oklahoma, where the B-2 was certified in 1959. He later designed the Brantly 305, a five-seater which made its first flight 1964. It was certified by the FAA in 1965, the same year it entered production.
Lear Jet acquired the Brantly Helicopter Corporation in 1966; at this time the 180,000 sq ft (17,000 m2) factory in Frederick, Oklahoma had 100 employees. [4] The factory moved to Wichita, Kansas in 1969. Aeronautical Research & Development Corporation (ARDC) bought all the rights to Brantly helicopters from Lear Jet in 1969, but they ended operations in early 1970.
In 1972, the rights were acquired as Brantly Operators Inc. by Michael K. Hynes. He renamed the company in 1975 as Brantly-Hynes Helicopter Inc. Later that year, the Franklin Capital Corp, headed by F. Lee Bailey who also owned Enstrom Helicopter Corporation at that time, purchased the company. [5] Brantly-Hynes originally were just providing product support but later placed the B-2 and 305 back into production. [6]
The new factory in Vernon was built 1989 by Japanese-American businessman James T. Kimura, who renamed the company as Brantly International. In 1994, the ownership was transferred to a Beijing-based company, FESCO. In 1996, they achieved an FAA production certificate. In 2007, Cheng Shenzong, referred to as the "helicopter king" in China, acquired a major interest in the company, and a joint venture between Brantly International Inc, Qingdao Wenquan International Aviation Investment Co., Ltd, and Qingdao Brantly Investment Consultation Co., Ltd. was established. [7] [8]
The factory at the Wilbarger County Airport closed at the end of 2010, and engineering and administrative offices of Brantly moved to Coppell, Texas. [9] Not many helicopters were sold in the last years of manufacturing in Texas. The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) statistic for US Civil Helicopter Shipments between 1981 and 2007 showed 12 delivered B-2Bs.
Qingdao Haili Helicopters Co. Ltd. is now the only manufacturer of the B-2B helicopter. [10] [11] [12]
Kaman Corporation is an American aerospace company, with headquarters in Bloomfield, Connecticut. It was founded in 1945 by Charles Kaman. During the first ten years the company operated exclusively as a designer and manufacturer of several helicopters that set world records and achieved many aviation firsts.
The EurocopterEC120 Colibri ("hummingbird") is a five-seat, single-engine, light utility helicopter. Jointly designed and developed by Eurocopter, China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation (CATIC), Harbin Aviation Industries (Group) Ltd (HAIG) and Singapore Technologies Aerospace Ltd (STAero) at Eurocopter France's Marignane facility, the EC120B was assembled by Eurocopter in France and Australia.
Piasecki Helicopter Corporation designed and manufactured helicopters in Philadelphia and nearby Morton, Pennsylvania, in the late 1940s and the 1950s. Its founder, Frank Piasecki, was ousted in 1956 and started a new company, Piasecki Aircraft. Piasecki Helicopter was renamed Vertol Corporation in early 1956. Vertol was acquired by Boeing in 1960 and renamed Boeing Vertol.
The Eurocopter EC135, now Airbus Helicopters H135, is a twin-engine civil light utility helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters, formerly known as Eurocopter. It is capable of flight under instrument flight rules (IFR) and is outfitted with a digital automatic flight control system (AFCS). First flying in February 1994, it entered service in 1996. 1,400 have been delivered up to September 2020, to 300 operators in 60 countries, accumulating over 5 million flight hours. It is mainly used for air medical transport (medevac), corporate transport, law enforcement, offshore wind support, and military flight training. Half of them are in Europe and a quarter in North America. The H135M, certified under the name Eurocopter EC635, is a military variant, so the overall design is known as the Airbus Helicopters H135 and the military version, as the Airbus Helicopters H135M. The EC135/H135 is a development of the older Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) Bo 105.
Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation (CAIC) is a Chinese helicopter manufacturer and supplier to the Chinese military. It is a member of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). The company is based in the city of Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province. Changhe employs 4300 employees in two production facilities with 1.29 million sq. metres and 0.22 million sq. metres of construction area. It has a joint venture with Agusta Helicopter and relationship with Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation. Its subsidiary, Changhe Machinery Factory, is a major automobile company in China.
The Fairchild Hiller FH-1100 is a single-engine, single two-bladed rotor, light helicopter designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Fairchild Hiller.
The Eurocopter EC155 is a long-range medium-lift passenger transport helicopter developed by Eurocopter from its Dauphin family for civil aviation use. It is a twin-engined aircraft and can carry up to 13 passengers along with 1 or 2 crew, depending on customer configuration. The helicopter is marketed for passenger transport, offshore support, VIP corporate transport and casualty transport duties. In 2015, the EC155 was formally renamed to the H155, in line with Eurocopter's corporate rebranding as Airbus Helicopters. It was succeeded in the product line by the Airbus Helicopters H160.
The Brantly B-2 is an American two-seat light helicopter produced by the Brantly Helicopter Corporation.
The Brantly 305 is an American five-seat light helicopter of the 1960s. It is an enlarged version of the Brantly B-2 which was produced by the Brantly Helicopter Corporation.
The Sud-Ouest SO.1221 Djinn is a French two-seat light helicopter designed and manufactured by aircraft manufacturer Sud-Ouest (SNCASO), which was later merged into Sud Aviation. It was the first production French helicopter, as well as being one of the first practical European helicopters to be produced. The Djinn was also the first rotorcraft to harness tip-jet propulsion to enter production.
The Doblhoff/WNF 342 was an early experimental tip jet helicopter designed and produced by Wiener-Neustädter Flugzeugwerke. It was the first helicopter to take off and land using tip jets to drive the rotor.
The Avicopter AC313 is a civilian helicopter built by Avicopter. It is a development of the earlier Harbin Z-8, itself a locally produced version of the Aerospatiale Super Frelon.
Superior Aviation Beijing is a Chinese aircraft manufacturer.
The Bell 505 Jet Ranger X (JRX) is an American/Canadian light helicopter developed and manufactured by Bell Helicopter. The Bell 505 was unveiled at the 2013 Paris Airshow in June 2013 as the Bell SLS. The Bell 505 designation was officially announced in February 2014. Its first flight occurred on November 11, 2014. The helicopter was certified by Transport Canada in December 2016.
Qingdao Haili Helicopters is a Chinese aircraft manufacturer. The organization was formed in 2007 to acquire the American helicopter company Brantly International, and manufacture the Brantly B-2 series of helicopters. The company later developed an unmanned version of the Brantly design developed with Weifang Tianxiang Aerospace Industry that was first flown in 2011. In 2011, Superior Aviation Beijing was merged with Brantley. In 2012, the company suspended production of the B2-B due to poor export sales.
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