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The first of two prototypes of the two-seat Hughes Model 269 helicopter flew first in October 1956,
only 13 months after commencement of design work. The basic design sparked US Army interest to order 5,
designated YHO-2-HU, for evaluation. As a result Hughes won a US Army contract for a light helicopter
primary trainer and 792 were built as the TH55A Osage. Deliveries of the commercial Model 269A, designated
Hughes 200, started in 1961. The three-seat Model 269B, designated Hughes 300, flew first in 1964. In 1969,
the 300 was followed by the improved Model 269C, designated Hughes 300C. Since 1983 Schweizer has built the
269C/300C, initially under licence for Hughes. Schweizer Aircraft Corp. acquired all rights to the helicopter
in 1986. Already over 3400 helicopters of the 269/300/TH55 are built, of which 2800 by Hughes before production was
transferred to Schweizer. In 2005, Schweizer Aircraft Corp. became a wholly owned Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. subsidiary. |
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The heavy equipped Schweizer 269C N139JS is owned by Air Flite Inc. and operated
for FLI MAP. Schweizer 269C N139JS is fitted with special equipment, including GPS Receivers, part of and used for the FLI-MAP
(Fast Laser Imaging - Mapping and Profiling) surveying and mapping method. It was flown in at Amsterdam-Schiphol, the
Netherlands, as airfreight out of the USA and trucked to the Heli Holland maintenance facilities near Emmen. The
Schweizer was built up and flown to Teuge aerodrome. After three weeks of hard working for measurements along the rivers
in Holland the helicopter returned to Emmen. The Schweizer 269C was crated and returned as airfreight to the US.
On 25 March 1997, just before being towed into the maintenance hangar of Heli-Holland to get crated, the Schweizer was photographed. |
Luchtvaart déjà vu
