: HELIO H-500 TWIN COURIERS by Dr. Joe F. Leeker

Twin Courier N8745R msn 2 to become VT-DVC, taken at Sharjah on 16 March 1966 (with kind permission from the photographer, John Phillips)

First published on 15 August 2003, last updated on 15 March 2021

The strangest aircraft said to have been flown by Air America seems to be a Helio H-500 Twin Courier, which is mentioned by Robbins, Air America.1 But official Air America records preserved at the Air America Archives do not mention such an aircraft. However, some Air America pilots also flew the Twin Courier, when engaged in CIA operations that were not part of Air America operations, and this may explain the idea that Air America was said to also have operated the Helio H-500 Twin Courier.

Helio Publicity of 1959 for the H-500 Twin Courier2

1 Robbins, Air America, p. 106. 2 See https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP61-00763A000200100086-8.pdf . 1

Indeed, from the very beginning, the Helio H-500 Twin Courier was developed according to the ideas of the CIA. On 5 March 1959, Col. William Burke, Acting Chief of the CIA’s Air Branch or DPD (Development Projects Division), said: “If the requirement is valid, the twin engine Helio is a good choice.”3 On 30 June 1959, the CIA’s Air Branch stated that “confirming our conversation of 29 June, I recommend that the proposal by HELIO for a Pantobase gear for the twin Helio be accepted.”4 On 23 September 59, the DPD’s Director of Operations was asked to comment the communications and navigation radios proposed for the Helio 500: “It is desired that the Operations Branch indicate by endorsement to this memorandum whether or not the proposed radio equipment is adequate to fulfill the mission requirements of the Helio 500. It is further requested that the frequencies to be set in the secondary VHF communications system be selected in accordance with the mission requirements.”5 On 15 October 59, Col. Stanley W. Beerli, Chief of DPD’s Operations Branch, indicated to the Chief, Development Branch, DPD the VHF military frequencies to “be installed in the set for use by Eglin Detachment” plus some others for Military Emergency and Ground Control.6 On 10 December 1959, DPD memo no. 8446-59 stated that “it is necessary to have an Air Force flight test evaluation at an early stage of the airframe development program” asking the Directorate of Plans to “make the necessary arrangements for an Air Force Pilot-Engineer team to perform a limited Category I test evaluation. The program will be conducted at the Helio Aircraft Corporation plant in Norwood, Massachusetts. It is anticipated that this evaluation will be started in late February, 1961. The flight test program will be a limited quantitative performance and qualitative stability and control investigation.”7 On 15 March 1960, a CIA Staff Meeting announced that “a delay in rolling out the twin-engine Helio was experienced in order to give priority to the readying of the […]. The twin-engine aircraft is now expected to roll out 28 March and after one week of ground tests begin its air tests.”8 On 13 June 1961, the CIA’s DPD asked for a modification of the “twin engine airplane engine cowling.”9 Reportedly, in 1960/1, the USAF evaluated 2 U-5A Twin Couriers, 59-5955 and 59-5956, at , FL, which was part of the Eglin AFB complex as “Eglin Auxiliary Field No. 9”,10 for use by the air commandos,11 but msn 2 was only built in February 1962,12 and on photos, the prototype of the Helio Twin Courier does have USAF Insignia, but no serial number at all.13 As it seems, the tests were not satisfactory. In a memo sent on 13 October 1961 to the Chief, Development Branch of CIA’s DPD, we read: “At Edwards AFB […], in addition to Project IDEALIST, discussions on the Helio Twin flying qualities and possible alternate aircraft were held at the Main Base. Some write-ups were brought back for analysis and comparison. The failure of Helio thus far to produce a safe two-engine aircraft with performance to meet our requirements warrants careful review to determine the propriety of continuing our support.”14 On 6-9 December 1961, the CIA’s Air Support Branch visited the Helio Aircraft Corporation in Massachusetts

3 See https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP61-00763A000100060201-5.pdf . 4 See https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP61-00763A000200020202-7.pdf . 5 See https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP61-00763A000200080107-7.pdf . 6 See https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP61-00763A000200100096-7.pdf . 7 See https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP61-00763A000200150160-0.pdf . 8 See https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP63-00313A000600050016-4.pdf . 9 See https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP81B00961R000100050092-0.pdf 10 See https://installations.militaryonesource.mil/in-depth-overview/hurlburt-field . 11 Andrade, US military aircraft designations, p.172. 12 The msn plate reads “built 2/7/62” (e-mail dated 8 December 2017, kindly sent to the author by John Phillips). 13 See the USAF photos at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helio_Twin_Courier#/media/File:Helio_U- 5A_Twin_Courier.jpg and at https://doc8643.com/aircraft/TCOU . 14 See https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP67B00511R000100110084-7 , second document, no.5. 2 and learned that the FAA had checked the cockpit visibility of the Twin Courier as “OK” and that “HAC’s new target for delivery of the No.1 Twin is 20 December 1961.”15 So the 2 USAF serials known for Helio U-5As (59-5955 and 59-5956) plus the 3 USAF serials known for Helio U-5Bs (63-8072, 53-8073, and 63-8074)16 were probably only allocations that were never taken up, as it is known that all 7 Twin Couriers built immediately received a civil registration number and immediately went to the CIA. The old website of the Helio Aircraft Company (formerly at http://www.helioaircraft.com/aboutus_history.htm ) stated about the Twin Courier: “Only seven of these aircraft were built and all were delivered to the CIA.” As to their field of operations, it has been said that these aircraft were to be used in Indochina,17 however, no use of these aircraft in Vietnam, Laos or Cambodia is known, where the Agency used the aircraft of Air America. Five areas of operations are known for the Twin Courier: Nepal, Bolivia, Peru, training in the US, and finally India.

a) Nepal:

Air Ventures H-500 taken at Beirut in August 1966 by Guido E. Bühlmann (used here with kind permission from G. Bühlmann)

In August 64, Air Ventures Inc. of Washington, DC, the CIA’s proprietary based in Nepal, received Helio H-500 N10034 (msn 4). A photo of Twin Courier N10034 was taken at Beirut, Lebanon, in August 1966 by Guido E. Bühlmann. Since some Air America helicopter pilots like Elmer Munsell flew with Air Ventures at that time, this may have created the idea that Twin Helio N10034 also belonged to Air America. Air Ventures “was established to provide air support for agency-financed and -directed tribesmen who were operating in Chinese-controlled Tibet. […]. As the Tibetan operations were cut back and eventually halted during the 1960s, this airline was reduced in size to a few planes, helicopters, and a supply of spare parts. Still, up to the late 1960s, it flew charters for the Nepalese government and private organizations in the area.”18 “An AID contract was awarded to […] Air Ventures, Inc., between 1963 and 1967, ostensibly to assist a tele-communications project within the country.”19

15 See https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP33-02415A000400380019-5 . 16 See http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1963.html . 17 See https://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/Braas/8941.htm . 18 Victor Marchetti / John D. Marks, The CIA and the Cult of Intelligence, New York (Alfred A. Knopf) 1974, p.146, extract located in UTD/Hickler/B1F7. 19 Robbins, Air America, pp.97/8. 3

b) Bolivia: In the summer of 1965, Air America pilot William Andresevic, who had flown the regular Helio extensively in Laos, was ordered to fly a Helio Twin Courier to Bolivia for evaluation by the US Embassy.20 “That was in the summer of 1965, not 1964. After some operational use in Bolivia, I returned it to an airstrip in Virginia.”21 This operational use may have been an aftermath of the coup organized by the CIA against Bolivia’s President Paz Estenssoro in November 64. When, in April 1952, Victor Paz Estenssoro became president of Bolivia by a revolution of the anticapitalist Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario, he nationalized the tin mines and declared the labor unions supporters of the new régime; especially the almighty Central Obrero Boliviano labor union was the right arm of the government. These reforms, however, resulted in an economic decline, as did agrarian reforms introduced at a later date. Cuban influence became stronger than ever, and in 1961, a Communist revolution supported by Fidel Castro was crushed. The situation became even more intolerable, when Bolivia left the Organization of American States in 1962, and when, in May 1964, Paz Estenssoro eliminated the political opposition. All arms and ammunition were controlled not by the official Bolivian Army, but by relatives and reliable friends of the president, who commanded the civilian militia as an elite palace guard and in this way controlled the whole state. So, the only thing to do in order to overthrow Paz Estenssoro was to give arms and ammunition to the Bolivian Army. When, in early November 1964, an official joint exercise involving United States and Bolivian army and air force units took place, Agency aircraft carried arms and ammunition to a remote landing ground in Peru, from where they were flown by CIA-controlled light aircraft22 to several smaller magazines scattered throughout Bolivia. Armed in this way by the CIA, the Bolivian military headed by General René Barrientos Ortuño was able to run a coup d’état against President Paz Estenssoro and to drive him out of the country.23 CIA activities in Bolivia had begun in 1963 and were aimed at supporting a stable civilian, non-communist government.24 In 1965, Andresevic “gave the plane mixed reviews, in part because its extra weight placed too much stress on the rear wheel, and in part because it did not offer any additional cargo space over the regular Helio, despite the extra engine”.25

20 According to Conboy / Morrison, The CIA’s secret war in Tibet, p. 288, note 9, this was in 1964. 21 E-mail dated 24 January 2005, kindly sent to the author by William Andresevic. 22 It is believed that these were either Helio Couriers or – because of the high mountains – Helio Twin Couriers. 23 Prouty, JFK. The CIA, Vietnam, and the plot to assassinate John F. Kennedy, pp.232-37; William Blum, Killing Hope. US military and CIA interventions since World War II, London (Zed Books) 22014, pp.221-25. 24 “In August 1963 the 5412 Special Group approved a covert subsidy to assist the MNR to prepare for the presidential elections scheduled for May 1964. The Special Group agreed in March 1964 that the MNR receive additional financial support. Paz won the election; Lechin (who had been Vice President under Paz) left the government and founded a rival leftist party. On November 4, 1964, the new Vice President, General René Barrientos Ortuño (MNR), led a successful military coup d’etat, forcing Paz into exile. In February 1965 the 303 Committee authorized a financial subsidy to the MNR under Barrientos (who was aware of U.S. financial support to the MNR) to help establish an organizational base for the presidential election scheduled for September. In May 1965 Barrientos […] responded to growing labor unrest by arresting and deporting Lechin and postponing the election. The 303 Committee, which considered a recommendation to support Barrientos as the best available candidate, agreed in July 1965 and March 1966 to authorize additional funds for MNR propaganda and political action in support of the ruling Junta’s plans to pacify the country and hold elections to establish a civilian, constitutional government. When the presidential election was finally held in July 1966, Barrientos won easily, and officials concerned with the covert operation concluded that the objectives of the program – the end of military rule and a civilian, constitutional government whose policies would be compatible with those of the United States – had been accomplished.” (FRUS, 1964–1968, VOL. XXXI, South and Central America, No. 147, Editorial Note; https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v31/d147 ). 25 Andresevic in: Conboy / Morrison, The CIA’s secret war in Tibet, p. 288, note 9. 4

c) Peru: “Throughout Latin America in the 1960s, communist inspired by the Cuban Revolution sought to win power through guerrilla warfare. The Revolutionary Left Movement (Peru), or MIR, launched an insurrection that had been crushed by 1965, but Peru’s internal strife would only accelerate until its climax in the 1990s. The military has been prominent in Peruvian history.”26 “Confined in the jungles, the MIR27 unsuccessfully battled against the military forces, assisted by the CIA who, according to former CIA official Victor Marchetti, created a ‘miniature Fort Bragg’ in the jungle.28 The MIR leader Luis Felipe de la Puente Uceda died on October 23, 1965 in an armed confrontation. A few months later, the movement was all but annihilated.”29 This may be the historical context for what is described by Bill Hazeltine and Frank Mirer: “The CIA requested Bollinger and Koppen30 to design and build a twin engine plane with the same slow flight and short takeoff as the Helio Courier. This twin engine plane was spectacular for its size. During an exhibition for the Army staff in Peru, it landed in a small football field in the middle of Lima. When the plane dropped below the buildings, fire engines raced across the city to put out the fire from the expected crash. They arrived in time to see the Chief of Staff of the Peruvian Army waving as he climbed out of the plane. These twins, called the U-5, have been sold only to the CIA. They have been involved in clandestine operations in all parts of the world.”31

d) Paramilitary training in the US: In the summer of 1964, there was a discussion inside CIA about contract people who had received some paramilitary training and upon whom the Agency could fall back, when requested, for example, by the military as auxiliary troops in case of a hot war – some sort of paramilitary reserve corps. This exactly had been created for military conflicts with the Soviet Union: “Project WUDEPOT was initiated in 1956 specifically to prepare for UW support of the military in anticipation of open hostilities against the USSR, and this has been its principal purpose since that time. It is now consensus, however, that it is unrealistic to rely on WUDEPOT assets to serve this purpose. […] Therefore the problem arises as to whether the WUDEPOT mechanism and assets generated by it can profitably be put to any use in current Cold War operations. […] Perhaps 50 of the agents now retained by WUDEPOT might respond to a call for general Cold War service, whereas about 50 others would respond only for UW service in the USSR or the Satellites in Eastern Europe.[…] Under the present WUDEPOT program these agents are considered reservists who are subject to call for employment with U.S. Army Special Forces Teams behind enemy lines during wartime.”32 However, for Cold War operations, these reservists would need the appropriate target area and language knowledge (especially in French and Spanish). So, the memo concludes, “it seems undesirable that there be any further recruitment of reservists. […] Agents not

26 Article “History of Peru”, at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Peru , retrieved on 17 January 2021. 27 MIR = Movimiento de la Izquierda Revolucionaria, that is “Movement of the Revolutionary Left”. 28 See William Blum, Killing Hope. US military and CIA interventions since World War II, pp.172-74. 29 Article “Revolutionary Left Movement (Peru)”, at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionary_Left_Movement_(Peru) , retrieved on 17 January 2021. 30 Dr. Lynn Bollinger and Otto C. Koppen were the founders of the Helio Aircraft Corporation. 31 Bill Hazeltine / Frank Mirer, The CIA and the Professors. From the Tennis Courts of MIT to the Hills of Indochina, Boston, December 1971, online readable at: https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP80- 01193A000400090001-2 , retrieved on 17 January 2021. 32 Memo of 28 October 1964 for CIA’s Chief, Special Operations Division, Ground Branch at: https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/AEDEPOT%20%20%20VOL.%202_0022.pdf . 5 absorbed by the Area Divisions, who will respond for general service, could be integrated into IUJEWEL33 or be retained as a reserve for IUJEWEL.”34 At the end, that is on 5 April 1965, memo no. DO/DOB/65-46 for the CIA’s Chief, Special Operations Division, announced a reorientation of WUNDEPOT and a reduction of DOB personnel and facilities, with nearly 50 CIA and military training personnel to be reassigned and some 14 cars to be declared excess or to be returned to Depot. Among the training facilities whose future was still undetermined were the “DOB [= Domestic Operations Base] Alexandria Headquarters” and “existing facilities at Fort Meade or Camp Pickett”. What is important in our context is a sentence on p.4 of the memo: “Twin engine Helio aircraft35 to be returned to SOD/AB control.”36 Fort Meade was the location where the photos of Twin Courier “90336” (msn 2) were taken by Stephen Miller on 21 March 1965.37 So, “90336” was a CIA-owned aircraft to be used by trainees of Project WUDEPOT. As most of these WUDEPOT refresher training cycles lasted for only 2 weeks,38 the colors of the Helio were probably those used during a special mission abroad, whereafter the USAF insignia were removed for the training program.39 As there were other recruitment and training programs that resembled the program of project WUDEPOT – like project IUJEWEL40 – it is likely that some Twin Couriers were also used in other paramilitary training programs.

e) India: Some Air America pilots flew Twin Helios as instructors for the ARC or Aviation Research Centre at Charbatia Air Base (“Oak Tree”) in India. The best source of information about the ARC is the excellent book by Conboy / Morrison, The CIA’s secret war in Tibet. As they show in detail,41 the ARC was created on 7 September 196342 by the Indian Intelligence Bureau as a front to coordinate aviation cooperation with the CIA. Its main purpose was to train agents for infiltration into Tibet, to re-supply them at launch sites along the border, to install sensors on high mountain tops close to the border, and later to install wiretaps. Generally speaking, the ARC’S “task was to get photographic and technical

33 “The IUJEWEL project (U.S. nationals) has been designed to provide an active reserve of contract specialists qualified for assignments which cannot be serviced by personnel currently within the present staff system. […] In summary, we have been fortunate to have implemented the IUJEWEL concept during a period of demand in excess of resources. It is anticipated that that IUJEWEL will continue an ascending trend until a more favorable balance of qualified PM staff personnel can be developed” (DDP/PG/CA memo of 3 March 65 about Project WUDEPOT, at https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/AEDEPOT%20%20%20VOL.%203_0045.pdf ). 34 Memo of 28 October 1964 for CIA’s Chief, Special Operations Division, Ground Branch at: https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/AEDEPOT%20%20%20VOL.%202_0022.pdf . 35 According to memo no. DD/P-5-0913 of 24 February 1965, WUDEPOT had “one Helio aircraft” (see https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/AEDEPOT%20%20%20VOL.%203_0044.pdf . 36 Memo no. DO/DOB/65-46 of 5 April 1965, Chief, Domestic Operations Base to Chief, Special Operations Division, at https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/AEDEPOT%20%20%20VOL.%202_0007.pdf . 37 See https://www.airhistory.net/photo/284970/90336 , retrieved on 17 Jan. 2021. (also photo/284453/90336, photo/2845507/90336, and others). 38 See https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/AEDEPOT%20%20%20VOL.%203_0096.pdf . 39 See https://germo43.skyrock.com/photo.html?id_article=3165186296&id_article_media=43834966 . 40 The Memo of 28 October 1964 for the CIA’s Chief, Special Operations Division, Ground Branch, says about WUDEPOT trainees: “On the positive side, all of these agents already have received training which in general is equivalent to that of our IUJEWEL personnel who have had no Agency training other than the Basic PM Course” (see: https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/AEDEPOT%20%20%20VOL.%202_0022.pdf). 41 Conboy / Morrison, The CIA’s secret war in Tibet, pp.190-242. 42 Conboy / Morrison, The CIA’s secret war in Tibet, p.191 ; Nitin A. Gokhale, R.N. Kao, Gentleman Spymaster, New Delhi (Bloomsbury) 2019, p. 101, says on 4 June 1963. 6 intelligence from inside Tibet and Xinjiang”43 – Tibet could be covered by the ARC’s C-46’s, while Xinjiang was overflown by US U-2’s.44 Another purpose was to function as a covert airlift wing to infiltrate Indian commandos into Tibet in case of further hostilities as well as supply missions to isolated outposts along India’s northern border. For example, the Twin Courier would provide a shuttle between New Delhi and a staging base close to Nanda Devi Sanctuary, to other base camps in the Himalayas (as late as May 67) or to Kalsi airstrip close the General Uban’s headquarters at Chakrata, and to fly reconnaissance missions around Nanda Devi. Some of these missions were also flown by Air America pilot Jim Rhyne.45 Finally, the ARC made their aircraft available to the SFF or Special Frontier Force,46 a secret paramilitary unit made up of Tibetans whose purpose was to monitor the Indian frontier in the Himalayas against attacks, especially from the Chinese side. The Tibetan majority of the Special Frontier Force “was being rotated along the Ladakh and NEFA border in company- size elements. Several ARC air bases were established specifically to support these SFF operations. In the northeast, the ARC staged from a primitive airstrip at Doomdoomah in Assam. For northwestern operations and airborne training, it used a larger air base built at Sarsawa, 132 kilometers south of Chakrata.”47 The SFF border camps were fed by food packages airdropped from ARC aircraft.48 For, in 1966, other ARC air bases like Doomdommah or Sarsawa were added for special operations, and three Twin Couriers together with some C-46s were at Kuttack in eastern India in 1966.49 But in the summer of 1967, the CIA reduced its links to the ARC, and the Indians decided to introduce Antonov An-12s to the ARC fleet and to increase the number of Mil Mi-4 helicopters already introduced earlier. In 1969, cooperation between the CIA and the ARC still existed, but it had come down to nothing, when the war between India and Pakistan began in 1971. As to Air America, they not only supported the ARC by supplying the first 2 C-46s (VT-DRH and VT-DRI) and the first 2 Helio Couriers (VT-DRJ and VT- DRK) in September 1963,50 but they also sent some of their best pilots to act as instructors for the ARC crews. Head of the C-46 conversion team was Bill Welk, and the Helio Courier and later the Helio Twin Courier conversion team was headed by Jim Rhyne. Other instructors included M.D. Johnson, Al Judkins, and Maurice Clough, with Connie Seigrist and Tom Sailer providing additional C-46 training at Charbatia in early 1964.51 In April 1990, John Davis listed all known registrations of those Twin Couriers.52 In July 1966, 6 of those 7 Twin Couriers were still on the FAA’s Civil Aircraft Register, all registered to companies that probably had some connection with the CIA, although the first 2 of those Twin Couriers are known to have been delivered to the ARC in late 1965. By the end of 1967, all seven of them had appeared on the Civil Aircraft Register of India. All of them were registered to the Government of India, so that probably all of them were operated by the

43 Gokhale, R.N. Kao, p.102. 44 Gokhale, R.N. Kao, p.107. 45 Conboy / Kohli, Spies in the Himalayas, pp.54-56, 66/7, 92/3, 152. 46 For the SFF, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VAVCo7koyA . 47 Conboy / Morrison, The CIA’s secret war in Tibet, pp.226/7. 48 Conboy / Morrison, The CIA’s secret war in Tibet, pp.227. 49 Stephen Simms, quoted in: Air-Britain Aviation World, Winter 2005, p.187. 50 Apparently, the Helio Twin Couriers are sometimes confused with the regular Helio Couriers leased from the CIA, that the ARC flew from 1963 to 1966, as in this quotation taken from the Indian Express of 18 September 2015: “Beginning with the loan of a Helio Twin Courier from the United States that year [that is 1962], the organisation played a key role in a secret partnership to monitor China’s nuclear tests at Lop Nor.” (https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/raw-to-fold-its-covert-air-wing/ ) 51 Conboy / Morrison, The CIA’s secret war in Tibet, pp.191/2, 255, 286. 52 John Davis, “Helio”, in: AMCAR, no. 45, p.58. 7

ARC, and all of them had been cancelled from that register prior to April 1978.53 The following list of Helio H-500 Twin Couriers is based on Burnett / Slack / Davis, South-East Asia Civil Aircraft Registers, pp. 186/7, whose civil aircraft register of India is based on official material of the Indian Dept. of Civil Aviation:

VT-DTY msn 5 (msn “AF.5” according to the Indian Civil Aircraft Register)54 regd. Oct. 65; possibly evaluated at Hurlburt Field, FL, USAF, in 1964 (see the photo at http://www.pc-6.com/history/557.htm ), apparently without any serial (would have been 63-8074); ex N10035 of Continental Air of Miami (FAA’s USCAR of 1 July 66, no reports received for the last 13 months); regd. to Marathon Aviation, Miami, on 7 July 1965; cancelled on 8 August 1965 as exported to (FAA inquiry dated 14 January 2021); cancelled from the VT-civil aircraft register prior to April 1978;55 it is unknown, if the aircraft survived using another identity.

VT-DTZ msn 3 (msn “AF.3” according to the Indian Civil Aircraft Register)56 regd. Oct. 65; possibly evaluated at Hurlburt Field, FL, USAF, in 1964 (see the photo at http://www.pc-6.com/history/557.htm ), apparently without any serial (would have been 63-8072); ex N10033 of Corsair Air Services, Miami (FAA’s USCAR of 1 July 66, no reports received for the last 13 months); regd. on 15 July 1964 to Corsair A.S.; N10033 passed thru Royal Air Force Sharjah, Oman, on 18-19 July 1965 on delivery to India (e-mail dated 8 December 2017, kindly sent to the author by John Phillips); N10033 cancelled on 11 June 1965 as exported to Thailand (FAA inquiry dated 14 January 2021); cancelled from the VT-civil aircraft register prior to April 1978;57 it is unknown, if the aircraft survived using another identity.

53 See Burnett / Slack / Davis, South-East Asia Civil Aircraft Registers, Air-Britain 1979, pp.4 and 186/7. 54 See Burnett / Slack / Davis, South-East Asia Civil Aircraft Registers, p.186. 55 See Burnett / Slack / Davis, South-East Asia Civil Aircraft Registers, Air-Britain 1979, pp.4 and 186/7. 56 See Burnett / Slack / Davis, South-East Asia Civil Aircraft Registers, Air-Britain 1979, p.186. 57 See Burnett / Slack / Davis, South-East Asia Civil Aircraft Registers, Air-Britain 1979, pp.4 and 186/7. 8

Twin Courier N8745R msn 2 to become VT-DVC, taken at Sharjah on 16 March 1966 (with kind permission from the photographer, John Phillips)

VT-DVC msn 2 regd. Feb. 67 ex 59-5956 (ntu), N8745R, “90336”, N8745R ordered by USAF in 1959 as 59-5956,58 but not taken up; msn plate reads “built 2/7/62” (e-mail dated 8 December 2017, kindly sent to the author by John Phillips); probably registered as N8745R (not on the FAA’s USCAR of 1 July 66) in 1962; a photo of N8745R taken in the early sixties can be found at https://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1012693 and at http://www.aerofiles.com/helio-h500.jpg ; was “90336” in 1965, displaying US Army insignia, but no titles; photos taken by Stephen Miller at Fort Meade / Odenton, Tipton Army Air Field, MD, on 21 March 1965 showing the aircraft from different angles can be seen at https://www.airhistory.net/photo/284970/90336 (also photo/284453/90336, photo/2845507/90336, and others); “90336”, which can also be seen at http://vayu-sena.tripod.com/pix/twin-courier-90336-02.jpg , was apparently a fake serial; a later photo shows the same aircraft (see the small white ornaments visible above “90336”) without any serial or reg., but still at the same location (see the building in the background), probably before being repainted as N8745R (see https://germo43.skyrock.com/photo.html?id_article=3165186296&id_article_media= 43834966 ); regd. to Marathon Aviation, Miami on 6 October 1965 as N8745R; N8745R passed thru Royal Air Force Sharjah, Oman, on 16-17 March 1966 on delivery; reg. N8745R cancelled on 13 May 1966 (FAA inquiry dated 14 January 2021); cancelled from the VT-civil aircraft register prior to April 1978;59 it is unknown, if the aircraft survived using another identity.

58 See https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP61-00763A000200100086-8.pdf . 59 See Burnett / Slack / Davis, South-East Asia Civil Aircraft Registers, Air-Britain 1979, pp.4 and 186/7. 9

Marathon Aviation Twin Courier N10037 msn 7 to become VT-DVD, taken at Sharjah on 6 April 1966 (with kind permission from the photographer, John Phillips)

VT-DVD msn 7 regd. Feb. 67 ex N10037 msn plate reads “built 5/5/64” (e-mail dated 8 December 2017, kindly sent to the author by John Phillips); N10037 of Continental Air of New York (FAA register of 1 July 66, no reports received for the last 13 months); regd. to Marathon Aviation, Miami, on 7 July 1965; N10037 passed thru Royal Air Force Sharjah, Oman, on 6 April 1966 on delivery; reg. N10037 cancelled on 7 April 1966 as exported to Thailand (FAA inquiry of 14 January 2021); cancelled from the VT-civil aircraft register prior to April 1978;60 it is unknown, if the aircraft survived using another identity.

VT-DVE msn 1 regd. Feb. 67 ex (59-5955, ntu) N92860 ordered by the USAF as 59-5955,61 but not taken up; N92860 of Continental Air of Miami (FAA register of 1 July 1966, no reports received for the last 13 months); believed to be the Twin Courier showing USAF insignia, but no serials and no front antenna that can be seen in the USAF photos at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helio_Twin_Courier#/media/File:Helio_U- 5A_Twin_Courier.jpg and at https://doc8643.com/aircraft/TCOU ; these photos are believed to have been taken at Hurlburt Field, FL, in 1961, when the USAF reportedly evaluated Twin Couriers 59-5955 and 59-5956 for use by the air commandos;62 however, Twin Courier msn 2 was only built on 1962 (see above); a photo of N92860 in standard Helio colors taken by Stephen Miller at Norwood Memorial Airport, MA, on 25 March 1962 can be seen at https://www.airhistory.net/photo/284430/N92860 ; on this photo, the Twin Courier already has its characteristic front antenna; N92860 was regd. to Marathon Aviation of Miami on 6 October 1965; N92860 passed thru Royal Air Force Sharjah, Oman, on 9-10 February 1966 on delivery (e-mail dated 8 December 2017, kindly sent to the author by John Phillips); N92860 was cancelled on

60 See Burnett / Slack / Davis, South-East Asia Civil Aircraft Registers, Air-Britain 1979, pp.4 and 186/7. 61 See https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP61-00763A000200100086-8.pdf . 62 Andrade, US military aircraft designations, p.172. 10

30 April 1966 as exported to Thailand (FAA inquiry of 14 January 2021); cancelled from the VT-civil aircraft register prior to April 1978;63 it is unknown, if the aircraft survived using another identity.

VT-DVL msn 6 regd. Feb. 67 ex N10036 of Marathon Aviation of Miami; “c/n 6, built 04/64 as model U-5B for USAF s/n 63-8073, original registry N10036, struck off charge released 04/64, King-Hurley Research Group (CIA front co) DC until 06/64, Marathon Aviation Corp FL (*install Lyc IO-540-C2C with Rajay/Riley turbochargers STC*, install oxygen system & 90 gal ferry tank in middle seat position with 81.8 gal usable 62.1 allowable and removable 52 gal tanks 06/64), reg cancelled 04/66, export to Thailand ferry from Norwood MA”64; regd. to Marathon Aviation of Miami on 15 July 1964 as N10036 (in the FAA’s USCAR of 1 July 66); N10036 passed thru Royal Air Force Sharjah, Oman, on 10-11 March 1966 on delivery (e-mail dated 8 December 2017, kindly sent to the author by John Phillips); registry N10036 was cancelled on 5 April 1966 as exported to Thailand (FAA inquiry dated 14 January 2021); cancelled from the VT-civil aircraft register prior to April 1978;65 it is unknown, if the aircraft survived using another identity.

VT-DVM msn 4 regd. Dec. 67 ex N10034 of Air Ventures of Washington DC (FAA’s USCAR of 1 July 1966, no reports received for the last 13 months), then Corsair Air Services Company; Barry Collman gives the following additional information regarding H-500 msn 4: “As N10034 it was sold by Corsair Air Services Company to Tradewinds Cargo Inc., of Hialeah, Florida on 22nd February 1967. However, it was not registered to them as N10034, but became N48130, that registration being quoted on their Application for Registration. […] N48130 was registered to Tradewinds Cargo Inc on 8th May 1967, then cancelled on 2nd June 1967 on export to ‘Thailand’” (e-mail dated 26 June 2013 kindly sent to the author by Barry Collman); cancelled from the VT-civil aircraft register prior to April 1978;66 it is unknown, if the aircraft survived using another identity. In 1975, VT-DVM reportedly reappeared as N48130.67 Further details are unknown, but it did not survive until today (request submitted to the FAA on 10 January 2005). Apparently, the registration was not taken up.

One Twin Courier is known to have crashed in India in 1967,68 but probably most of the others were also destroyed or abandoned. In 2006, Frank J. Rowe noted: “The last known report on the whereabouts of the U-5As had them as abandoned somewhere in Red China.”69 In 1966, ARC air bases like Doomdoomah or Sarsawa in the Himalayas were added for

63 See Burnett / Slack / Davis, South-East Asia Civil Aircraft Registers, Air-Britain 1979, pp.4 and 186/7. 64 See https://www.facebook.com/736925246344546/photos/a.736930546344016/2078979048805819/?type=3 (Bruce Leithead on Facebook in 2019, retrieved on 17 January 2021). 65 See Burnett / Slack / Davis, South-East Asia Civil Aircraft Registers, Air-Britain 1979, pp.4 and 186/7. 66 See Burnett / Slack / Davis, South-East Asia Civil Aircraft Registers, Air-Britain 1979, pp.4 and 186/7. 67 John Davis, Helio, in: AMCAR, no. 45, p.58. 68 Conboy / Morrison, The CIA’s secret war in Tibet, p.230. 69 Frank Joseph Rowe, The Helio Courier Ultra C/STOL Aircraft. An illustrated developmental history, Jefferson, NC / London (McFarland) 2006, p.109. 11 special operations. As to the Special Frontier Force mainly made up of Tibetans, its main task was to monitor the Indian frontier in the Himalayas against attacks, especially from China. It is known that “the Tibetan majority […] was being rotated along the Ladakh and NEFA border in company-size elements”70 and that the SFF border camps were fed by food packages airdropped from ARC aircraft.71 The history of border conflicts between India and China is long.72 Even after the war of 1962 between India and China, there have been several of such conflicts – especially in 196773 and 198774 –, and these border conflicts still continue to this day. So, it is likely that some of the ARC Twin Couriers were damaged and abandoned or destroyed in such clashes – in Tibet or in India. Another problem certainly was what may be called attrition by the hostile environment: “Although attrition was starting to take a toll on the planes delivered during 1963 and 1964 […] no replacements were budgeted”75 in the late sixties – and no more Twin Couriers were built in Massachusetts. So, probably more and more ARC Twin Couriers had to be broken up for spares over the years. The one that mysteriously reappeared in 1975 – former VT-DVM (msn 4) reportedly to be re-registered as N4813076 – was probably the last flyable Twin Courier at that time that was hoped it could still be exported. Apparently, that did not happen.

Other companies called Air America: After Air America had officially closed its doors in 1976, other companies took profit of the famous name. So in 1976, an “Air America Inc. of Factoryville, PA” registered Helio HST-550A Stallion N10038 (msn 1 ex N9550A) to their company (US Register Review 77, p. 112), and even re-registered it appropriately as N550AA in December 76; however, the registration N550AA was not taken up, and the aircraft was sold to Royal Aviation of Mesquite, TX, as N10038 in November 77. Already in January 78, the registration was cancelled, and the aircraft was sold to Asian Alcohol Corp. of Manila as RP-C1550, which still owned it as of 1990. For more details about the Helio Stallions, see my file Khmer Air Force AU-24As also published in this e-book.

© University of Texas at Dallas, 2003-2021

70 Conboy / Morrison, The CIA’s secret war in Tibet, pp.226/7. 71 Conboy / Morrison, The CIA’s secret war in Tibet, pp.227. 72 See, for example, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Indian_border_dispute . 73 See, for example, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathu_La_and_Cho_La_clashes . 74 See, for example, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumdorong_Chu_standoff . 75 Conboy / Morrison, The CIA’s secret war in Tibet, pp.230. 76 John Davis, Helio, in: AMCAR, no. 45, p.58. 12