MidTex Aviation has entered into a purchase agreement to acquire the assets of Enstrom Helicopter Corporation, which filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last January. The deal includes all of Enstrom’s parts, owned aircraft, tooling, materials, drawings, intellectual property, factory buildings and airport lease. According to Enstrom, MidTex plans to reopen its factory in Menominee, Michigan, and provide parts and support to existing owners along with offering new helicopters.
“We are extremely excited about acquiring these assets, restarting the former Enstrom facility, and expanding the scope of the business,” said MidTex principal Kevin Griffin. “We already have a number of former Enstrom employees working with us on a contract basis. After closing, we expect to make job offers to a substantial number of former Enstrom employees.”
MidTex plans to operate the business as a new entity to be named Enstrom Aerospace Industries. The company says it is also looking to expand into providing engineering services and component manufacturing for other OEMs. A closing date for the sale, which has been approved by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan as part of the Chapter 7 bankruptcy process, has not yet been announced.
I have an Enstrom, and am glad to see this company continuing! I’ve owned 3 Bell 47s, a Hughes 300, but the Enstrom is my favorite piston-engine helicopter.
Unlike airplane pilots, Helicopter owners and pilots rarely change brands–mainly because of the authoritative capabilities of each brand. The Enstrom is the closest to turbine autorotation there is–the heavy rotor is both a blessing and a curse. It provides autorotation capability like a JetRanger, but if you get low rotor RPM in a hover, it’s hard to regain it with the limited power of a piston engine. It’s fast–compared to a Bell 47 or Hughes 300.
The parts are cheap (by helicopter standards anyway) and there are fewer life-limited parts. The engine is virtually the same as a Piper Arrow, but puts out 205 hp because it turns higher.
Good save.
Agree.
MidTex Aviation, LLC is a Texas Limited Liability Company operating out of Suite 300, 400 N. 8th St., Midlothian, Texas. A company called Three Crazy Mothers, LLC, also operates out of the same address. Other than that, I could only find out that MidTex Aviation, LLC is described as an “aviation management company”. The main thing is that the sale of Enstrom to MidTex has been approved by the US Bankruptcy Court, so there must be some substantial financial resources behind MidTex. At least MidTex isn’t another Chinese company. Let’s hope for the best and that Enstrom helicopters will continue to have manufacturer’s support.