Canadian Helicopters Limited, formerly a part of the Canadian operations of

CHC Helicopter CHC Helicopter is a Texas-based helicopter services company. CHC Helicopter maintains its global headquarters in Irving, Texas and operates more than 250 aircraft in 30 countries around the world. CHC's major international operating units are ...

Corporation, operates 112 aircraft from 26 bases across Canada and provides a broad range of helicopter services to support the following activities: emergency medical evacuation; infrastructure maintenance; utilities; oil and gas; forestry; mining; construction; and air transportation. Canadian Helicopters Limited also operates an advanced flight school; provides third party repair and maintenance services; and provides helicopter services in the United States in support of specialty operations including forest fire suppression activities and geophysical exploration programs.

History

Commercial helicopter flying began in British Columbia in the summer of 1947. Three former

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

officers, pilots Carl Agar and Barney Bent, and engineer Alf Stringer, were operating a fixed-wing charter company, Okanagan Air Services Ltd., out of

Penticton Penticton ( ) is a city in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley of the British Columbia, Canada, situated between Okanagan Lake, Okanagan and Skaha Lake, Skaha lakes. In the 2021 Canadian Census, its population was 36,885, while its Census geographic un ...

. In July 1947 they raised enough money to purchase a

Bell 47 The Bell 47 is a single-rotor single-engine light helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It was based on the third Bell 30 prototype, which was the company's first helicopter designed by Arthur M. Young. The 47 became the first heli ...

-B3 and pay for their flying and maintenance training. Okanagan Air Services moved to Vancouver in 1949, was renamed Okanagan Helicopters Ltd. and, by 1954, had become the largest commercial helicopter operator in the world. Toronto Helicopters was founded by Len Routledge and Douglas Dunlop. It was a pioneer in

air ambulance Air medical services are the use of aircraft, including both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to provide various kinds of urgent medical care, especially prehospital, emergency and critical care to patients during aeromedical evacuation an ...

services in Ontario and operated helicopters for the Ontario Ministry of Health. Sealand Helicopters was founded by Newfoundland businessman

Craig Dobbin Craig Lawrence Dobbin, (12 September 1935 – 7 October 2006) was an industrialist and chairman and chief executive officer of CHC Helicopter Corporation, a public company traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. The ...

in February 1977. In 1987, Dobbin headed a group that purchased Okanagan Helicopters and Toronto Helicopters and merged them with his own company, Sealand Helicopters to form Canadian Helicopters. Until November 2000, Canadian Helicopters was the domestic operating arm of

Canadian Helicopters International Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

, a wholly owned subsidiary of CHC Helicopter Corporation. In 2000, Canadian Helicopters was divested by way of a management buy-out. The company continued operations as Canadian Helicopters until it was renamed HNZ Group Inc. after acquiring that company. In December 2017, the company was taken private as Canadian Helicopters Limited. As of September 2019, Canadian Helicopters Limited has two

air operator's certificate An air operator's certificate (AOC) is the approval granted by a civil aviation authority (CAA) to an aircraft operator to allow it to use aircraft for commercial air transport purposes. This requires the operator to have personnel, assets and s ...

s. The first, 18373, is Canadian Helicopters Limited - Hélicoptères Canadiens Limitée trading as Canadian Helicopters Offshore in

Enfield, Nova Scotia Enfield is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in both Municipality of the District of East Hants, East Hants Municipality and Halifax Regional Municipality. Enfield is situated along ...

with two helicopters in Goffs (

Halifax Stanfield International Airport Halifax Stanfield International Airport is a Canadian airport in Goffs, Nova Scotia, a rural community of the Halifax Regional Municipality. It serves the Halifax region, mainland Nova Scotia, and adjacent areas in the neighbouring Maritime p ...

).Canadian Civil Aircraft Register: Aircraft Details C-GNZH
/ref>Canadian Civil Aircraft Register: Aircraft Details C-GICB
/ref> The second, 11988, is used for the rest of the fleet in Les Cèdres, Quebec.

Bases

The following are bases in Canada: * Alberta - Western Head Office

Edmonton International Airport Edmonton International Airport , officially branded YEG Edmonton International Airport since 2022, is the primary air passenger and air cargo facility in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian pro ...

, Fort McMurray International Airport, Grande Prairie Airport * British Columbia - Fort Nelson Airport, Fort St. John Airport, Penticton Regional Airport (flight school),

Smithers Airport Smithers Airport is north of Smithers, British Columbia, Canada. History A Yukon Airways and Exploration landing at Sproule's Ranch in 1928 was the first airplane arrival in the vicinity. This field was used for several years. In 1929, the Boar ...

, Northwest Regional Airport Terrace-Kitimat * Manitoba - Portage la Prairie/Southport Airport (DND Training & Maintenance Support, Allied Wings) * New Brunswick -

Fredericton International Airport Fredericton International Airport is an airport in Lincoln, New Brunswick, Canada, southeast of Fredericton. The airport is classified as an international airport by Transport Canada and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). ...

* Newfoundland and Labrador - Bishop's Falls, Goose Bay Airport,

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

* Northwest Territories -

Inuvik (Mike Zubko) Airport Inuvik (Mike Zubko) Airport is located east of Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada. The airport is classified as an airport of entry by Nav Canada and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). CBSA officers at this airport can ...

, Norman Wells Airport,

Yellowknife Airport Yellowknife Airport is located in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. The airport is part of the National Airports System, and is operated by the Politics of the Northwest Territories, Government of the Northwest Territories. The airport ...

* Nova Scotia -

(Halifax EMS and offshore) * Nunavut -

Cambridge Bay Airport Cambridge Bay Airport is located southwest of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada, and is operated by the government of Nunavut. History In December 2005 the Government of Nunavut announced that they would spend $18 million to pave the runw ...

, Sanirajak Airport,

Iqaluit Airport Iqaluit Airport () serves Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada and is located adjacent to the city. It hosts Airline, scheduled passenger service from Ottawa, Rankin Inlet, and Kuujjuaq on carriers such as Canadian North, and from smaller communities throug ...

* Quebec - Corporate Head Office:

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, ( Les Cèdres),

Chevery Airport Chevery Airport is located on the north-eastern shore of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Quebec, Canada in the municipality of Côte-Nord-du-Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent Côte-Nord-du-Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent () is a municipality in the regional county m ...

La Grande Rivière Airport La Grande Rivière Airport is an airfield location about south southwest of Radisson, Quebec, Canada. It is used mostly to shuttle Hydro-Québec personnel between Radisson and the larger cities in Quebec, but it is also served by regular sch ...

( Radisson, Whapchiwem),

Sept-Îles Airport Sept-Îles Airport is situated east of the town of Sept-Îles, Quebec, Canada. The airport is classified as an airport of entry by Nav Canada and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) on a call-out basis from the Quebec City ...

* Yukon - Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport

Heliports

Canadian Helicopters Limited operates the following heliports: * Chibougamau Heliport,

Chibougamau Chibougamau () is the largest town in Nord-du-Québec, central Quebec, Canada. Located on Lake Gilman, it has a population of 7,233 people (2021 Canadian census). Chibougamau is surrounded by, but not part of, the local municipality of Eeyou ...

, Quebec * Montréal/Les Cèdres Heliport,

, Quebec * Sagard Heliport,

Sagard Sagard is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the n ...

, Quebec * Smithers (Canadian) Heliport,

Smithers Smithers is a surname of English origin. It derives from the Middle English term "smyther", referring to a metalsmith, and is thus related to the common occupational surname Smith. The name Smither is related. People * Alan Smithers (born 1938) ...

, British Columbia

Fleet

As of September 2019, Canadian Helicopters Limited has the following aircraft registered with

Transport Canada Transport Canada () is the Ministry (government department), department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, Policy, policies and Public services, services of road, rail, marine and air Transport in Canada, tra ...

The aircraft are listed by Transport Canada as being registered to Canadian Helicopters Limited - Hélicoptères Canadiens Limitée registered in Quebec. The Transport Canada list also shows an Aerospatiale AS350D, an Aerospatiale AS 355F1, a Bell 212, a Bell 206B, a

Robinson R22 The Robinson R22 is a two-seat, two-bladed, single-engined, light utility helicopter manufactured by Robinson Helicopter Company. It was designed in 1973 by Frank D. Robinson, and has been in production since 1979. Development The majority of ...

BETA, and two Sikorsky S-76ACivil Aircraft Register: Aircraft Details C-GIMR
/ref> all with cancelled certificates.

References

External links

Official site
{{Airlines of Canada Regional airlines of Quebec Helicopter airlines Airlines established in 1987 Companies based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador