Helio Courier

what is it?

The Helio Courier is a cantilever high-wing light STOL utility aircraft designed in 1949. Around 500 of these aircraft were manufactured in Pittsburg, Kansas, from 1954 until 1974 by the Helio Aircraft Company. The design featured four leading-edge slats that deployed automatically, and large trailing-edge flaps.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 11.9 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 274 km/htop speed
• range 1,759 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 5passengers
• size 1,542 kgmax take-off weight
• built 500made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 77 years ago, in 1949.
• 🏎️Top speed is 2.1× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 11.9 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 1,759 km: 10× Amsterdam to Brussels.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1949-04-08

introduced

1954

status

still flying

number built

500

role

stol utility aircraft

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Helio Aircraft Company

engines

1× Lycoming GO-480-G1D6

crew

1

passengers

5

length

9.4 m

wingspan

11.9 m

height

2.7 m

max take-off weight

1,542 kg

top speed

274 km/h

cruise speed

259 km/h

range

1,759 km

ceiling

6,248 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family