Finding western Washington state to be a rich potential market without a Robinson dealership, Walling resigns and moves to Seattle, where she opens Classic Helicopter at Boeing Field in 1982 with two R-22s.
Focusing on flight training and sales, the new owner/president later moves into charters, adding one new helicopter per year.
Operations continue apace during the remainder of the decade and, by 1990, Classic is the largest helicopter training firm in its region. During the year, the Plum Creek Timber Company signs a contract to employ Classic helicopters for aerial reconnaissance and tours.
Other corporate clients attracted during the early 1990s include The Boeing Company, Weyerhaeuser, and several motion picture and documentary filmmakers. Revenues from flight operations, maintenance and service, and sales approach $6 million per year.
In 1994, Walling and Chief Pilot Roger McKean oversee the operation of 7 Robinson R-22s, 2 Bell 206B JetRangers, 1 Hughes 500E, and 1 Eurocopter AS-350B. Work is begun on a $2-million headquarters building, scheduled to open in late 1995.
In 1996-1999, President Walling’s fleet is increased by the addition of an eighth R-22 and several Bell 206L-3 LongRangers equipped to battle wildfires.
The 2000 fire season is the worst in the U. S. West since 1994, with over 67,000 fires consuming in excess of 5 million acres in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, New Mexico, and Montana by midsummer.
Spectacular fires first grasp the attention of world viewers in May and June when television networks picture the huge fires raging through New Mexico, including the Los Alamos area where a nuclear facility is located. The Cerro Grande fire consumes over 47,650 acres of federal forest and wildlands in the Bandelier National Monument while the stubborn Viveash fire in Santa Fe National Forest burns over 30,000 acres. Classic is one of 10 civil helicopter operators assigning assets to the fires; its Bells will later move on to fight the summer forest fires in Washington and Montana.
CLAY LACY AVIATION: 7435 Valjean Ave., Van Nuys, California 91406, United States; Phone (818) 989-2900; Fax (818) 9892953; Http://www. claylacy. com; Year Founded 1968. Former United Air Lines pilot and noted national air racing champion Clay Lacy establishes this jet charter FBO and flight business in 1968. Two years later, Lacy, who continues to race, captures the Unlimited Air Race Championship.
In association with Bill Lear, developer of the Learjet, Lacy continues to expand his charter operation during the next three decades. During these years, Lacy branches out into aerial photography, developing the camera system known as “Atrovision,” and assists in the filming of scores of commercials and feature motion pictures with aviation themes. In January 1988, Lacy is pilot of the 36 hr. 54 min. record-making world circumnavigation made by the United Airlines Boeing 747SP Friendship One.
By 1997, Lacy maintains facilities at 3 locations around the country and employs 28 full-time pilots. In the east, a Grumman G-1159 Gulf-stream III is based at Gwinnett County-Briscow Field in Lawrenceville, Georgia, from which location it flies passenger, cargo, air ambulance, patient transport, and aerial photography missions.
The same mission is performed by 1 each Cessna 525 Citation, Beech Super King Air 200, and King Air 90 based at Boeing Field, King County International Airport at Seattle.
The bulk of Lacy’s charter fleet is based at Van Nuys. Flown from California are 4 Grumman Gulfstreams, 3 Learjet 35As, 2 each Learjet 24s and Learjet 25s, and 1 Learjet 55.
Flights continue in 1998. Having reported the progressive loss of all electrical systems while en route from San Diego, a Learjet 55B with two crew and five passengers makes a gear-up landing at Los Angeles (LAX) on December 17. Although the aircraft is badly damaged, no injuries are reported.
Service is maintained in 1999-2000.
CLINTON AERO SERVICE: United States (1972-1984). Clinton Aero is formed as an FBO by Anthony von Elbe and E. James Drollette at Clinton County Airport, Plattsburgh, New York, in 1972. In addition to ground operations, the company forms the usual adjunct air taxi service.
The decision is taken in 1981 to establish a scheduled airline division, equipping it with a Cessna 172 and a Piper PA-23 Aztec. These are employed to begin daily roundtrips to Burlington, Vermont, on April 1.
In 1982, the company applies for and obtains a contract to begin Essential Air Service (EAS) flights with a mixed fleet that over the next year comes to comprise 2 Beech 99, 2 Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftains, 1 Cessna 404, 2 Cessna 172s, and 1 Cessna 340A. Provided with a $1.9-million EAS subsidy from the federal government, Clinton initiates flights from Plattsburg across Lake Champlain to Burlington, Vermont.
In 1983, former Air North President John Sullivan joins the carrier as vice president-finance. Sullivan and von Elbe approach Brockway, Inc., which earlier had purchased the “Allegheny Commuter” partner Crown Airways, to ascertain that corporation’s interest in investing funds in Clinton for the purchase of Beech 1900s. In fact, negotiations completed on August 1 result in the commuter’s sale, effective early the following year. Enplanements for the first EAS year total 46,000.
Early in 1984 the carrier’s purchase by the Pennsylvania-based Brockway Corporation is completed and on May 1 it begins flying as Brockway Air. Later in the summer, Brockway acquires Burlington-based Air North as well; the two neighboring companies are amalgamated, with Sullivan as airline division president and Clinton founder von Elbe as vice president/general manager.
On September 1, Brockway Air, comprising two internal divisions, the former Clinton as Brockway Air (N. Y.) and the former Air North as Brockway Air (Vt.), commence integrated operations over the combined route network of the merger partners.
CLINTONDALE AVIATION: West Bridge, Ltd. Business Centre, Leningradsky Pr 37, Building 14, Moscow, 125167, Russia; Phone 7 (095) 967-8660; Fax 7 (095) 155-6536; Http://www. clintondale. com; Code CD6; Year Founded 1995. This Russo-American joint venture company is set up by Colin J. Hamilton and Yuri Konovalov at Moscow in January 1995 to operate executive and small group passenger charters. CEO Konovalov works out of the operating headquarters in Moscow, while President Hamilton remains at corporate headquarters in Highland, New York. Managing Director Konovalov begins revenue flights with a single Tupolev Tu-134.
A 50% equity stake in the concern is taken on June 5, 1996 by Louisiana-based Petroleum Helicopters, specializing in the provision of rotary-wing air transport. Its chairman, Carroll W. Suggs, becomes Clintondale board chairman, while PHI CFO Michael J. McCann joins the board. The two begin to jointly operate a Bell 212 on an oil-industry support contract in Kazakhstan.
Under the direction of Chairman Carroll Suggs and International Vice President Gary Weber, plans are made to further enlarge, via Clinton-dale, the PHI presence in the CIS.
Between 1997-1999, the fleet is enlarged to include 2 each owned Let 410UVPs and Mil Mi-8MTVs, plus 2 Tupolev Tu-134As, 4 Yakovlev Yak-40s, and 4 Mi-8MTVs under charter. Other aviation assets are also available under lease. Clintondale comes to specialize in VIP air tours, aviation project support, and medical evacuation. Indeed, successful medevacs are completed from Kazakhstan and Russia to Helsinki, Budapest, and London. The affiliated subsidiary KazAir West is acquired.
On December 23 of the latter year, Clintondale begins the operation of two each chartered Mi-8MTVs and Mi-26s as part of an international relief effort in East Timor.
The Clintondale participation in East Timor comes to an end in March 2000; the U. S. Department of Defense sends the carrier a certificate of appreciation for its work.
Longtime operations executive Konstantin Safronov becomes chief operating officer on June 12, while, on June 30, the board of the Central
Asian American Enterprise Fund is flown to its annual meeting at Baku aboard one of the carrier’s Yak-40s.
One each VIP-outfitted Cessna Citation X and KazAir West Yak-40 become available for charter throughout Kazakhstan and the CIS on July 27.
CLIPPER AIR INTERNATIONAL: United States (19751976). J. S. Jervis establishes CAI at St. Croix in the U. S. Virgin Islands in the fall of 1975 to provide scheduled passenger services to regional Caribbean destinations. Daily Beech 18, Piper PA-23 Apache, and PA-34 Seneca revenue roundtrips commence linking the company’s base with St. Juan, St. Martin, and Tortola.
The company is not a success and fails before its first birthday in 1976.
CLIPPER INTERNATIONAL, LTD.: Switzerland (1980-1983). Organized at Basel in late 1980, Clipper International initiates intercontinental jet charter and contract service flights to West Africa with a Boeing 707-320C in early 1981. The carrier is unable to achieve financial viability and after being dormant for a part of 1982, shuts its doors in 1983.
World History
