Enstrom at Menominee.
The Enstrom saga is indeed a sad one. In 1972 my boss Roy Spooner (indeed a man with flair and an eye for a deal) took me off to Menominee to meet the eminent trial lawyer F Lee Bailey who owned the plant. We signed up an immediate order for twenty-four 28A models at a fixed dollar price.
I was directed to be the sales whizz kid and in spite of the underpowered machine (more correctly overweight) I managed to find buyers for them all in a two year period. So Roy and I promptly went back to the factory and bought twenty-four more !!
These were also sold and I can still recite the serial numbers of them all and their original CAA registrations. Then came the turbo model and the Greg Focella new Shark shape. He also designed the sharper nose layout of the MD 500. This produced another fifty sales from our Shoreham base. In the ten year period from 1972 to 1982 I personally sold 137 in the UK market. But that was before the ubiquitous Robinson hit the scene.
Any secrets for the success ? Hardly, Spoonair used the type on its school as a basic trainer as did CSE and Bill Bailey thereby introducing the type at the buyers entry level.
I used to fly the type at and to airshows, boat shows, car showrooms (alongside what was then the new Camargue) even a shoe fair at Olympia. I did 300 hours in demo rides in one year. The type was featured in the offball magazines on the cover of Mayfair, Building Equipment News, even in Playboy- and it must have worked as the figures showed. The factory was then producing around 80 machines each year and F Lee Bailey was pleased with his investment. He bought the factory long before Victor Kiam got the idea. FLB was a man who listened and reacted by making changes. The product was a good one albeit with some irritating shortcomings. But so is the Ferrari.
Then several things happened. F Lee Bailey sold the plant to the ex Lycoming guys. They kept it for a year or so and sold on to the Bravo Corporation. Then sold again to Dean Kamen.
Lots of factory sales but precious little helicopter production. The UK parts support tailed off. CSE stopped using the type on its school. (at one time they operated six) and more unforgivingly as airframe times increased, the type started to give in service problems. Then Frank produced his innovative R22 which swept the Enstrom aside. At one time I drew up plans to bring the whole factory assembly and production to the UK, complete with the leading factory personnel. The pound/dollar rate was almost par and UK production in sterling would have produced an unbeatable international dollar sales price.
In vain did I write to Bob Tuttle saying what I thought had gone wrong. I pleaded - as did others - for the factory to produce a specialised trainer. Simon Gibson even drew up plans for a lightweight 28T Super Trainer. I wanted to call it the Enstrom Skyline. (after my company) But all fell on deaf ears and the product just died for want of sales.
The 480 might well have put sales back on the map, but with a daft luggage space, no chance of seating five or even four people and a mostly choppy ride, sales were never going to be high. The loyal Enstrom 28/280 owners bought a few, but sadly the patient was dying. I'm sure from what I heard, Steve Daniels may well have been able to put the type back in the market, but it was not to be.
I still feel the Enstrom has a future somewhere, but they need to take the FX and chop around 200lbs off its weight AND/OR fit a Lycoming 540 engine. I once produced an airframe 'plug conversion' for the 280 which would have brought the seating up to five. Something like the one off 280L Hawk that was demonstrated at San Diego in 1981 and which I flew there.
A good sleek and stylish 4 seater helicopter that would have seen off the R44. But that was another good factory project that never got into production.
So on we go. I'm sure yet another buyer will emerge for Rudy Enstrom's great design, For those who still like the type - we can only hope.
Rotorboy
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