Born: United States of America
Primarily active in: United States of America

1931-2024

Frank Carson

Helicopter Pioneer

Carson Helicopters founder and president Franklin Donald Carson was born in 1931. Carson grew up the son of a Philadelphia locksmith and, at an early age, discovered his passion for aviation by visiting the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia with his mother. After high school, he joined the Pennsylvania National Guard and then the Army, where he learned how to fix and maintain helicopters. In 1958, he started Carson Helicopters, Inc. in a small, unheated barn on a 25-acre (10-hA) farm in Perkasie, Pennsylvania. He began modifying Bell 47 and other aircraft with his own upgrades and selling them to the burgeoning industry. “I was the first one to put a turbo-supercharged engine in a light aircraft and get it certified,” he told VFS (“Carson’s Successful ‘61s,” Vertiflite, Jan/Feb 2013). “In the 1960s, we built a lot of helicopters from spare parts and put our nameplate on them. At that time, it was legal.”

Early sales of turbocharged Hillers and stretched Bell 47s led to bigger things. The company started flying Sikorsky S-55s and S-58s on construction lift contracts in 1963 and bought a used S-61 from the Sikorsky in 1970. In the operating industry, Carson developed unique ways to use helicopters; from heli-construction to unloading ships in Saudi Arabia during the 1970s, firefighting, logging and airborne gravity surveys, he was a constant visionary in his industry. He continued his quest to improve the performance of helicopters with supplemental type certificate (STC) modifications and upgrades, including a cabin stretch to the MBB Bo 105 to increase leg room, and was awarded the Sikorsky Pioneer Award in 1998.

Over the years, the original farmhouse grew into a US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved helicopter repair station for the manufacturing, overhaul and repair of all major model helicopters. Carson’s 81-acre (33-hA) facility today includes an 84,000-ft² (7,800-m²) hangar, a 60,000-ft² (5,500- m²) warehouse, an office building, paint shop and heliport.

In the 1990s, Carson turned his attention back to his original passion: dreaming up helicopter upgrades and working to make them a reality. His proudest achievement was designing the S-61/H3 Composite Main Rotor Blade, which significantly increased the performance and safety of this aircraft, making it equivalent to newer and more expensive models. He was especially proud when the Carson Composite Main Rotor Blade was chosen to replace the main rotor blades on the VH-3D — Marine One, the aircraft of the President of the United States.

During Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, the UK Royal Navy bought 50 sets of Carson blades for its Westland Sea Kings. “If it wasn’t for our blades, they wouldn’t have been able to use the Sea King in Afghanistan,” Carson told Vertiflite in 2013. Aircraft with the Carson blades could take off and land at 12,000-ft (3,650-m) elevations in Afghanistan at 14,000-lb (6,350-kg) gross weight. The composite blade is also certified for 20,000 hours service life — twice the life of the original metal blade, and it proved durable in an erosive environment without special coatings.

Frank Carson continued working five days a week, dreaming up new ideas and being with everyone at Carson Helicopters. He saw the people who worked with him as family, and always appreciated everything they did to make his dreams a reality. He is survived by his wife, Terril, who has worked side-byside with him for 45 years, and his three sons, Clayton, Jad and Jordan, who had also joined the company over the years, “contributing their own expertise and who are passionate to continue Carson’s legacy,” the company stated.

Franklin Carson passed away on October 25, 2024 at the age of 93.

Society Updates: In Memoriam, Vertiflite, January/February 2025