Nearly seven decades after it crashed south of Old Crow, a major makeover of an original Hiller 360 helicopter is complete thanks to Bob Cameron, a longtime Yukon aviation historian.

Cameron recently showcased the helicopter for media and others who were interested in the project. It’s kept at the Yukon Transportation Museum.

As the Whitehorse resident noted, the first Hiller helicopters were produced “right on (the) heels” of the first Bell helicopters in 1947, the same type of aircraft fans of the MAS*H TV show would know from scenes from the 1970s series.

Bell and Hiller were among the first to manufacture helicopters that became very useful, particularly for military use.

As Cameron explained, it was a survey company from Toronto that brought the Hiller to the territory. It did so after it was contracted to do some map-making in the northern part of the territory.

The company had been doing such work with surplus military planes. When it “heard of this new invention called a helicopter, they thought, ‘Gee, that sounds like it might work well for the survey,’ so they bought the first Bell and the first Hiller and sent them to the Yukon,” Cameron said.

It was just after take-off during one trip that the fuel pump failed, causing the engine to quit.

At that time, helicopters were either on rubber floats or wheels; in this case, it was rubber floats.

As Cameron said, things may have been different had the helicopter been on skids.

“If it was on skids, you can actually get away with sliding onto the ground a little bit at the bottom end, but on rubber floats, it’s got to be absolutely stopped because the rubber does not slide,” he told those gathered to see the helicopter.

“(The pilot) said in his accident report that he touched down with a little bit of forward motion and the rubber floats just dug in and over (the aircraft) went.

“There was nobody injured. (The pilot) had his two surveyors with him. If a helicopter crash can be gentle – it laid over gently, and then, of course, it completely smashed the rotor blades.”

While the repairs would have been relatively easy, Cameron said, at that time, there wasn’t any way of getting it out.

Cameron and others rediscovered the wreck in 1972, but would have to wait more than 40 years to finally get it out in 2014. As the historian pointed out, that means the helicopter was there for 62 years, through all kinds of weather conditions.

Laughing, Cameron pointed at the aircraft and commented: “There must have been a lot of lead in the paint because look at the paint; pretty good for that kind of a beating.”

By 2014, “the stars had aligned” so that the wreck could be retrieved.

The Dempster Highway had been officially opened in 1979. That meant the wreck was just 85 miles from access to a roadway.

Helicopters going into the area to do water surveys were also now able to carry heavier loads, such as the wreck.

Where previous helicopters used like the Jetranger would have had to do a bit of crow-hop to get a wreck like that out, the AStar “could just grab it – boom – (get it out) non-stop.”

Once out to the Dempster, it was loaded on a vehicle and brought to Cameron’s place, where he began the long process to refurbish it.

It’s been a lengthy effort involving numerous parties. They range from a collector of Hiller helicopters and parts in Texas to a local painter who was able to match the yellow shade of paint Cameron used for the tail boom to the original shade of yellow featured on the aircraft.

Cameron worked to ensure the helicopter kept its history while also working to make sure it can be displayed.

“Where there were bashes on the tail boom when I got it, I wanted them to remain so it didn’t look like an Oklahoma overhaul where you paint over the damage, so I put a bit of masking tape over the bare metal dents,” he said.

“So it isn’t the tail boom that was on it originally, but it looks like it could be. It is the authentic tail boom.”

Another local Hiller enthusiast, who has worked on his project for years and dreams of someday flying it, provided the old upholstery from his, which he had replaced.

After years of work, Cameron’s project is complete.