History
Founded in 1980, the company was originally called Hillsboro Helicopters and began as a one-helicopter flight school in Hillsboro, Oregon, an agricultural town 15 miles west of Portland. As Hillsboro’s landscape changed with the introduction of several large technology companies, Hillsboro Helicopters steadily built its helicopter and airplane business. Then in 1992, Ed Cooley, former CEO and chairman of Precision Castparts Corporation, purchased the company. Precision Castparts, a fortune 500 company and the world’s leader for over 40 years in the manufacturing of jet engine castings, blades and fans, continues to be one of Oregon’s largest companies.
When Cooley purchased the company, Max Lyons was hired as the GM and vice president responsible for operations. Lyons comes from a fourth-generation lumber family, and his first involvement with the helicopter industry came in 1974 as a teenager working as a ground crew member for a Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane. He became acquainted with Hillsboro Helicopters in 1983 as a student pilot receiving his helicopter licenses. In 1988, Lyons joined the company as a helicopter flight instructor with management responsibilities for the foreign student pilot program. Lyons and Cooley, a Harvard Business School graduate, took the formerly pilot-owned school into the world of business philosophy, implementing large company practices to help track and increase growth. The company expanded its portfolio to include an impressive sales division and a strong, focused charter division. In 1996, the company name was changed to Hillsboro Aviation, Inc. to better reflect the full scope of the company’s services. Then in early 1999, Lyons purchased the company from Cooley.
Today, Hillsboro Aviation is made up of three core business groups and 14 separate profit centers with a fleet of 70 aircraft, 55,000+ flight hours annually and 180 employees. With an average of 20 percent growth over the last 15 years, Hillsboro Aviation has continued to be an influential leader in the general aviation industry. It has established its position in the industry as a U.S. leader in helicopter sales, one of the two largest helicopter training facilities in the U.S. as well as the largest combined airplane and helicopter training school on the west coast with thousands of graduates from over 75 countries. Its diverse charter division operates a fleet of Bell helicopters and Hawker Beechcraft King Airs throughout the U.S. Its sales and service division provides aircraft maintenance, avionics, FBO fueling services, parts, pilot supplies and an extensive background in aircraft sales.
