Helicopter Maker Dedicates James Bournonville R&D Center

Enstrom Helicopter Corporation’s experimental hangar now bears the name of Jim Bournonville, a long-time employee of the Michigan-based designer and manufacturer of piston and turbine helicopters.

Mr. Bournonville was born and raised in Menominee, Michigan—Enstrom’s home town and base of operations—and went to work for the helicopter-maker in 1968. After many years of serving as Enstrom’s Head of Manufacturing, Bournonville joined the company’s R&D division, where he took on the roles of Senior Mechanic and Production Supervisor. Jim’s numerous designs and innovations helped grow Enstrom’s reputation for building safe, powerful, and affordable helicopters.

Enstrom President Todd Tetzlaff, who spent many years working alongside Bournonville, stated: “After 55 years on the job, he [Bournonville] understands the inner workings of Enstrom better than anyone else. His no-nonsense approach work-ethic and mentorship to Enstrom’s newer employees consistently prove priceless. Jim is technically gifted, and he’s always willing to share his knowledge with anyone who is willing to learn.”

While Bournonville has officially retired from full-time work, he’s chosen to stay on with Enstrom in a part-time capacity—continuing to test and improve the marque’s rotary-wing offerings.

Mr. Tetzlaff remarked: “The building dedication ceremony was small and quiet. Jim wouldn’t have had it any other way. We surprised him at lunch by bringing his family in to unveil the official signage. I said a few words, we took pictures, and then Jim asked to go right back to work.”

Tetzlaff added: “The James Bournonville Research and Development Center will no doubt be a home to future innovation and development inspired by the facility’s namesake. On behalf of all Enstrom employees and customers around the world, thank you, Jim, for your decades of dedication to building Enstrom Helicopter into what it is today.”

Enstrom Helicopters was founded in 1957 by mining engineer Rudolph J. "Rudy" Enstrom, who based his young company at the Menominee–Marinette Twin County Airport (MNM) in Michigan. The company's first product was 1965’s piston-powered F-28. Rudy Enstrom—who knew little of helicopter design and had been sustained to an extensive degree by outside aerospace experts and generous investors—had been removed from his own company by the time the F-28 debuted. His surname remains Rudy’s only enduring contribution to the Enstrom enterprise. 

Between 1965 and 2011, Enstrom built over 1,100 helicopters in both piston and turbine iterations. Throughout those decades, the company offered three models: the F-28, the more aerodynamic 280, and the turbine-powered 480—each with its own variants.

A hallmark of Enstrom's designs is the lack of exposed pitch change linkages for the main rotor. The mechanisms, contrary to convention, are housed within the aircraft’s hollow main-rotor shaft. The architecture reduces aerodynamic drag, and renders the linkages less susceptible to external hazards such as bird-strike, powerlines, or FOD.

In January 2022 Enstrom declared bankruptcy due to what the company’s management described as “several financial difficulties.” Technical support for Enstrom customers ceased, and the Menominee factory closed in January 2022. At the time of its closure the company had only thirty employees.

In May 2022 Surack Enterprises purchased Enstrom.

Years prior to adding Enstrom to his portfolio, Chuck Surack had learned to fly helicopters in an Enstrom 280. Impressed with the machine and the company by which it had been built, Surack purchased a 480.

Of Enstrom as a whole, Surack remarked: “When the company became available, I knew how good the employees were … it’s the safest helicopter in the world. If you look at the safety record it’s really, really safe, and I just knew there was an opportunity to improve the company and restore it, and take it on to the next level.”

FMI: www.enstromhelicopter.com