The Oshkosh-Menominee Connection
Founded in 1959 by mining engineer Rudolph "Rudy" Enstrom and rescued from bankruptcy in 2022 by Sweetwater Music founder Chuck Surack, Enstrom Helicopter Corporation is an American designer and manufacturer of piston and turbine-engine helicopters. The company is based at Michigan’s Menominee–Marinette Twin County Airport (MNM).
Enstrom cordially invites all persons interested in rotorcraft—pilots and non-pilots alike—to join representatives of the storied rotorcraft marque at EAA’s AirVenture 2023 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Enstrom’s AirVenture 2023 campaign will include the unveiling of a trio of new rotorcraft, which includes the company’s new 480B and 280FX models. AirVenture attendees—all six-hundred-thousand (estimated) of them—will have opportunity to witness first-hand the all-glass instrument panels Enstrom debuted at 2023’s Helicopter Association International (HAI) Heli-Expo in Atlanta. Enstrom is also looking forward to showcasing the superior quality of its lively new helicopter interiors and impeccable exterior paint-jobs.
Over the more than thirty-years Enstrom has partaken in EAA’s AirVenture fly-in, the Michigan-based concern has conspicuously remained the only certified helicopter OEM to present at the highly-anticipated weeklong event. Notwithstanding EAA’s primary focus on fixed-wing aircraft, Enstrom’s leadership views AirVenture as an invaluable opportunity to contemporaneously network with existing Enstrom customers and impress the brand’s quality, durability, and eminently flyability upon potential new customers.
Enstrom vice-president of sales and marketing Dennis Martin stated: “It’s been more than a year since we’ve relaunched Enstrom under stable ownership. However, many helicopter enthusiasts still are unaware that we’re back building quality, affordable rotorcraft. What better avenue to showcase our brand identity than in front of hundreds of thousands of people at EAA?”
Mr. Martin added: “Some [AirVenture] visitors who are only experienced in fixed-wing aircraft might feel anxious about making the jump to rotorcraft, and there are a lot of misconceptions about the process. We get to tell everyone, ‘Hey! Helicopters are cool, and you can learn to fly one!’”
Enstrom Helicopter Corporation owner Chuck Surack also plans to attend EAA AirVenture 2023 for purpose of meeting his customers, shaking their hands, and answering their questions vis-à-vis Enstrom’s extant and planned products and the direction in which he intends to steer the company over the near- and long-terms.
EAA AirVenture gets underway at sunrise 24 July and wraps up at sunset 30 July. Guests will experience seven-days chock full of thrilling displays of aerobatics, informative programs and presentations, hands-on workshops, static displays of aircraft spanning aviation’s splendid history, and a great deal more.