Canadian Helicopters

History

Commercial helicopter flying began in British Columbia in the summer of 1947. Three former Royal Canadian Air Force officers, pilots Carl Agar and Barney Bent, and engineer Alf Stringer, were operating a fixed-wing charter company, Okanagan Air Services, out of Penticton. In July 1947 they raised enough money to purchase a Bell 47-B3 and pay for their flying and maintenance training.

Okanagan Air Services moved to Vancouver in 1949, was renamed Okanagan Helicopters 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 services in Ontario and operated helicopters for the Ontario Ministry of Health.

Sealand Helicopters was founded by Newfoundland and Labrador businessman Craig Dobbin 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, a wholly owned subsidiary of CHC Helicopter. 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 after acquiring that company.

Starting in the first quarter of 2009 Canadian Helicopters Ltd. began providing intergovernmental support in Afghanistan. On October 1, 2010, the company announced a contract with United States Transportation Command for flying operations of two Sikorsky S61 and four Bell 212 helicopters, bringing their total contracted to 11 in Afghanistan. Although painted in white and blue livery, these were civilian specification aircraft. With the increased flying tempo, the company acquired crew body armor for dangerous environments and during hostile conditions.

In December 2017, the company was taken private as Canadian Helicopters Limited.

, Canadian Helicopters Limited has an air operator's certificate, 11988, in Les Cèdres, Quebec.

Bases

, the following are bases in Canada:

Heliports

, Canadian Helicopters Limited operates the following heliports:

• Montréal/Les Cèdres Heliport, Montreal, Quebec
• Sagard Heliport, Sagard, Quebec
• Smithers (Canadian) Heliport, Smithers, British Columbia

Fleet

, Transport Canada listed the following helicopter fleet as being registered to Canadian Helicopters Limited - Hélicoptères Canadiens Limitée of Quebec:

Gallery

| File:SikorskyS-76AC-GIMM.JPG||An early production Sikorsky S-76A used in the air ambulance role for the Ontario Ministry of Health |File:SikorskyS-61L01.JPG|Sikorsky S-61 |File:C-FOKV Canadian Helicopters Bell 212 (B212) 02.JPG|Bell 212 (C-FOKV) at Cambridge Bay Airport, Nunavut, Canada |File:Canadian Helicopters Sikorsky S-92A C-GICB – Halifax CYHZ – (2018-09-01).jpg|A Sikorsky S-92A at Halifax Stanfield International Airport |File:206 jet ranger.jpg|A Bell 206 JetRanger

Footnotes

References

References

1. "ATAC mourns the passing Len Routledge". Air Transport Society of Canada.
2. (June 1, 2013). "Leonard Victor Routledge Obituary". The Toronto Star.
3. (April 29, 2014). "Douglas Weir Dunlop Obituary".
4. (May 23, 1987). "Canadian helicopter operators shake up".
5. accessed January 28, 2026, https://engardebodyarmor.com/canadian-helicopters/
6. HNZ Group Inc.. "HNZ Group Inc. to be acquired by President and CEO Don Wall and PHI, Inc.".
7. {{TCAOC. January 27, 2026. 119-88. Canadian+Helicopters
8. "Our Locations".
9. {{CFS
10. {{TCregister. CANADIAN+HELICOPTERS. Canadian Helicopters. January 27, 2025
11. "Single Engine Aircraft".
12. "Twin Engine Aircraft".