10267 was number seven of its type to enter service in the Canadian Military in 1961.
My first flight in a helicopter took place in 267 on 22 Apr 63 while undergoing basic helicopter flying training on Course No. 56
at the Basic Helicopter Training Unit (BHTU), CJATC, Rivers Camp, Manitoba. After a grand total of 10 hours and 50 minutes of dual
instruction, I flew solo for the first time in a helicopter, again in 267 on 29 Apr 63. The flight lasted 40 minutes.
267 remained in Canadian Military service until withdrawn from use 14 Jul 72, being struck off strength 31 Mar 73.
It had been re-numbered as 112267 by that time as a result of a new numbering system for aircraft brought in by
Canadian Forces circa 1970. 267 was then purchased by Evergreen Ventures Inc of McMinnville Oregon and registered
as N28874 from 16 May 73.
In an attempt to determine 267's current day (Oct 08) status, and possibly obtain a photograph of it in Evergreen colours, I
contacted Evergreen Helicopters Inc in McMinnville Oregon, by email. I received a very courteous email reply 28 Oct 08 from
Mike Nelson, Costing and Contracts Administrator at Evergreen Helicopters. In that email he stated: "I went and did some digging
for you. The aircraft is still registered to Evergreen. As you might imagine it is no longer in service, and hasn't been for some
25-30 years. We do have several Hillers that have been restored and placed within our museum among many other jewels of aviation
history alongside the Spruce Goose. However, your particular aircraft is to my knowledge not among those few still remaining.
Your aircraft is most likely in several pieces along with dozens of other Hillers that I found within Evergreen storage facilities".
Sadly, based on Mike's plausible comments, it is very highly improbable that anyone will ever set eyes on an intact 267 ever again.
At least now I know the ultimate fate of the helicopter that featured significantly in my initial helicopter-flying days.
The picture below taken at Rivers, Manitoba circa 1963 shows Hiller CH-112E 10265 which was identical in all respects to 10267.
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