The Courier also found an enthusiastic audience among bush pilots in Alaska, Canada and worldwide.
Initial customers included missionary aviation operators like the Jungle Aviation and Radio Service (JAARS) that served isolated populations around the world. During that time, more than 500 Helio Couriers, in a variety of specialized configurations, headed out the factory door. Production began in Pittsburg, Kansas, in 1954 and continued until 1974. Power-off stall speed is a heady 31 miles per hour, and with the grunt provided by the big Lyc and the big prop, the Courier could maneuver comfortably at 28 miles per hour. Operations out of 500-foot jungle and backcountry runways were considered routine. Taken together, these design features allow the Helio Courier to take off “across” the width of a 200-foot-wide runway, as it often did at airshows. Combined with the large vertical stabilizer, these design features allow for landings in less than 500 feet in up to a 25-knot crosswind! Less visible is the crosswind landing gear that allows the wheels to caster up to 20 degrees left or right. Keen observers will note in the photo that the main landing gear is mounted well forward of the cabin to facilitate hard braking by reducing the risk of a nose over. This geared engine was selected to allow for the large-diameter propeller required to lift this contraption into the air. Power for the initial models was provided by a geared 295-horsepower GO-480-G1D6 Lycoming six-cylinder engine. With the wing transferred nearly intact to the production aircraft, the Helio Courier prototype added a large vertical tail and a powerful stabilator to provide the control leverage needed to manage the incredible lift provided by the wing. The spoilers provided immediate roll response and made up for the ineffectiveness of the ailerons at slow speeds. These deploy as each aileron moves in the upward direction. These consisted of two square ailerons located at the outboard trailing edges of the wing that were mechanically connected to “interceptor devices” (spoilers) near the leading edge. The wing of Helio One featured full-span automatic leading-edge slats, 80%-span fowler flaps and a unique aileron/spoiler combination. Test flights took place at the Greater Boston Metropolitan Airport (now Boston Logan) and soon proved the success of the basic design theory. The prototype for what would eventually become the Helio Courier was an extensively modified Piper PA 17 Vagabond, named the Koppen-Bollinger Helioplane, or Helio One. In 1949, the duo formed the Helio Corporation of Massachusetts and began to experiment with high-lift wings. After the war, both Koppen and Bollinger began to think about requirements for a short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft that could safely operate out of unprepared landing strips.
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