Columbia Helicopters was founded on April 24, 1957 by Wes Lematta with a single Hiller 12B helicopter. With help from his brothers, he supported his young company with many odd jobs ranging from carrying Santa Claus to trapeze acts. He performed most of his flying on the weekends while still working as a truck driver during the week. Lematta gained great notoriety on September 15, 1957 by rescuing 15 sailors from a sinking dredge near Coos Bay, Oregon. For his heroic actions the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded him the Army Air Medal.
Direct Visual Observational Control
After purchasing the more powerful Hiller 12E, Lematta began to operate more lift jobs. One of these large jobs was working on the John Day Dam on his company's namesake, the Columbia River. Here Lematta began performing precision lift jobs by using a longer than average cable. The concept was that the pilot could lean out the side of the aircraft and see directly where the load would be placed. A few years later, Wes' brother Jim was flying a Sikorsky S-61 in the Colorado Rockies. He was so cold he was forced to land. To fill the need for an enclosed cockpit, Columbia developed the first pilot bubble window.
"First in Heli-Logging"
Jack Erickson, of Erickson Air-Crane fame, and Lematta were able to demonstrate the first financially successful run of helicopter logging, or "heli-logging", in 1971. This was done with Lematta's Sikorsky S-61, registration number N318Y, on a U.S. Forest Service log sale near Taylorsville, California in the Plumas National Forest. The following year the 107s were used. Since the project used Lematta's helicopter and Erickson had purchased the timber, both Columbia Helicopters and Erikson Air-Crane claim to be the first successful "heli-loggers". Another unusual feat was pulling a hoverbarge on snow, ice and water in 1982.
Type certificates
As of December 15, 2006 Columbia Helicopters had purchased the type certificate of the Model 107 and Model 234 from Boeing. Currently the company is seeking FAA issuance of a production certificate to produce parts, with eventual issuance of a PC to produce both aircraft.
King Kong Lives - BV-107 N191CH, a former US NavyCH-46, carries away King Kong in his cage.
- BV-234 N241CH flies in a large cage to capture dinosaurs.
More American Graffiti
Runaway Train
Starman - KV-107 N185CH can be seen in company colors hauling away actor Jeff Bridges' spaceship.
Straight Up: Helicopters in Action - CHI BV-234 N239CH demonstrates the lifting capability of the Super Grapple during heli-logging operations.
Under Siege - KV-107 N192CH flies Tommy Lee Jones' band out to the battleship.
X2: X-Men United - KV-107 N192CH performs various flight sequences and serves in the background of several scenes.
Fleet
Columbia currently operates eight Boeing-Vertol Model 234s and 14 Boeing-Vertol 107-IIs tandem rotor helicopters. Many of the latter were obtained from New York Airways. In addition to the flying fleet, in 2005 CHI purchased eight surplus Canadian ForcesCH-113 Labrador helicopters for fleet expansion. For fleet support CHI operates a Beechcraft 200C Super King Air. When the 234s operate internationally, five containers are used for support tasks. Columbia's past fleet includes the Hiller 12B, Bell 47-G2, Hiller 12E, MD 500, Sikorsky S-58, Sikorsky S-61 and Sikorsky CH-54. In October 1991 Columbia Helicopters bought four Boeing Vertol 107II-14s from the Swedish Government, all formerly operated by the Swedish Air Force as the HKP 4A. In December 2012 Columbia bought four Boeing Vertol 107II-14s, two Boeing Vertol 107II-15s and four Kawasaki KV-107IIA-16s from the Swedish Government, all ten formerly operated by the Swedish Navy. In 2014, Columbia bought five US Army Chinooks for utility service, as they are not allowed to carry passengers.
