Schweizer Aircraft - Helicopters

Helicopters

Schweizer primarily produces light, piston-engined helicopters for use in utility and flight-training roles. The Schweizer 300CBi, originally designed and manufactured by Hughes aircraft as the Hughes 269 for the United States Army, is one of the most widely-used training helicopters in the world. In 1986, Schweizer acquired all rights to the helicopter from McDonnell Douglas, who had purchased Hughes Helicopters in 1984. After Schweizer acquired the FAA Type Certificate, the helicopter was known for a short time as the Schweizer-Hughes 300C and then simply, the Schweizer 300C.

The basic design remained unchanged over the years. Between Hughes and Schweizer, nearly 3,000 copies of the Model 269/300 have been built and flown over the last 50 years. Schweizer continued to develop the Model 300 by adding a turbine and redesigning the body to create the Schweizer 330, and then further developments led to the development of the Schweizer 333.

An improved version in the series, the Sikorsky S-434, was released in 2008.

Read more about this topic:  Schweizer Aircraft