Stanley Hiller and the Hiller Museum

World War I began in the 1910s and the French and English discovered a new weapon — the airplane. Balloons were being used for weather-gathering and scouting the enemy but the airplane soon took over the role and thousands of improved airplanes (like the Wright "Jenny”) were built and used on the battlefront. After the war, many of these Jennies, now surplus, could be bought for $500 and many used them for the fabulous ’20s thrill of "barnstorming.”

Stanley Van Winkle Hiller was born in San Francisco in 1888. He was a pioneer designer of engines and airplanes who had built a glider in 1909 and an airplane in 1910. He became well known for his skill and dedication to aircraft. In 1912, he built a 60 horsepower engine and flew it from Lake Merritt in Oakland.

A son, Stanley Hiller Jr., was born Nov. 15, 1924 in San Francisco. He, like his father, was a motivated genius and exhibited his talent at a very early age. As a youngster of 10, he became interested in building flying model planes. They kept crashing, so he designed a model car (called the "Comet”) and he put his model plane engine in it. It was, about 1 1/2 feet long, and with an engine in it it could go 60 mph. He played with it in his backyard until a local store found out about this invention and persuaded Stanley Jr. to mass produce it to sell. He started a company that hired local kids to put them together and he was producing 350 per month (and making $100,000 off of it). He was now an entrepreneur.

Stanley Jr. was admitted to the University of California at age 15 but his youthful exuberance couldn’t stop him from pursuing his "hobby” of air flight. He dropped out of school after one year at Berkeley and began designing the world’s first successful coaxial helicopter at age 15. By the time he was 17, he designed the XH-44 which he called the "Hiller-Copter.” The U.S. government was interested in the Hiller-Copter and he immediately formed the first helicopter factory on the West Coast at Berkeley. They wanted more of these helicopters. Hiller became the founder of Hiller-Industries which, in 1945, became United Helicopters. In 1948, the company became Hiller Helicopters. In 1966, Hiller Helicopters merged with Fairchild Industries and Stanley Jr. began pursuing a second career into other business ventures. He became one of the five largest helicopter manufacturers in the nation. He relocated from Berkeley to near the Dumbarton Bridge on an 81-acre unincorporated site.

In 1998, Hiller Jr. opened The Hiller Aviation Museum at 601 Skyway Road (parallel to Highway 101) in San Carlos. Converting an airplane hanger into a museum was quite a feat. To fund it, he formed a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational museum with a purpose to maintain the museum and educate the public about the history of air flight.

As you drive up to 601 Skyway Road, the building seems unremarkable and one thinks he had the wrong address. As you enter the former hanger, you are confronted by a large cavernous room with some air craft models (the 1903 Wright Flyer) hanging from the ceiling. Immediately, a docent (in my case Matthew Mintz), offers his services of escorting around the museum and it’s a good thing someone is there to help you. I was immediately overwhelmed by the model displays in the adjoining hanger in the south side of the buildings. Yes — two hangers. The display museum is set up to offer you information in decades starting with the century of 1800. And there it was, the first information was on the dirigible Avitor. Not only were there models of the Avitor, there was a reproduction hanging from the ceiling that was so big you almost miss it. It was awesome. The wall facing the Avitor has the most interesting and important event of the early 1900s — a huge photo of the Tanforan meet in 1911. I had to sit down on one of the numerous benches "for old folk” and rest after the thorough briefings I was getting from Matthew.

After the 1800s era came the early 1900s with the skeleton models of the first aircraft (which look like present-day recreation aircraft). The 1910 exhibit had the Curtiss Pusher, a very successful early airplane, followed by the 1920s. The planes are too numerous to mention but there are photo displays on the walls you can look at when your neck gets tired from straining while looking at the ceiling. A collection of early helicopters abound in the 1940s and ’50s area. On display is the Hiller 369, Hiller 1099, a Bell 47, plus others. On the north wall of this hanger is a second floor where the kids can land and take off in a simulated flight apparatus. It a great "hands-on” for the older kids and will keep them occupied for quite some time. There is a observation area where you can watch the activity of the San Carlos Airport.

The north hanger has a Restoration Workshop where men at work restoring engines and planes can be observed. In addition, the offices of the museum and a research library are in this wing of the hanger. You have to leave through the gift shop which had a great collection of aviation toys, books, flightwear and models.

The best way to satisfy you curiosity about the Bay Area’s role in aviation is to visit the Hiller Aviation Museum. Call 654-0200 or checkits website www.hiller.org for more information. It is well worth a visit but plan on being there a few hours. You can leave and return to the museum if you desire to eat at the "food trucks” that frequent the building (or go to the fast food place a block away).

Rediscovering the Peninsula by Darold Fredricks appears in the Monday edition of the Daily Journal.