Stanley Hiller

Stanley Hiller, Jr. (1924–2006), was a pioneering developer of the helicopter.

Biography

Stanley Hiller was born November 15, 1924 in San Francisco, California, to Stanley Hiller, Sr. and Opal Perkins. The family moved to Berkeley, California, in the 1930s.

At the age of 15, he designed the world's first successful coaxial helicopter, and produced a working model. At 17, he presented his design for the XH-44 "Hiller-Copter" to the U.S. Army in Washington D.C., winning not only their approval, but also a draft deferment during World War II. Immediately thereafter, he established the first helicopter factory on the West Coast at 1930-50 Addison Street in Berkeley, California. On July 4, 1944, he tested the XH-44 at the Memorial Stadium at the University of California in Berkeley where he had been admitted as student at age 15. This initial test was followed by a successful public demonstration on the Marina Green in San Francisco adjacent to the U.S. Army's Crissy Field a few months later.