Helio Courier

JAARS-trained pilots operate seven Helio Couriers in our overseas programs, including Cameroon, the Philippines and Southeast Asia. Out of our entire fleet, these aircraft can handle the roughest, shortest airstrips, making them well-suited for the mountainous terrain in these locations.

While the Helio Couriers cannot carry as much as our other fixed-wing aircraft, they are essential for traveling to areas with the shortest airstrips.

These aircraft are often used to:

• Fly personnel to and from remote villages.
• Transport cargo for community development.
• Perform relief work.
• Perform medical evacuations.
• Provide additional support services to translators.

The Helio Courier stationed in Cameroon also serves the needs of the local hospital and transports missionaries’ children to and from a Christian boarding school in Yaoundé. In addition, we operate two Helio Couriers at the JAARS Center in Waxhaw, N.C., for flight training and public relations events.

Replacing the Helio Couriers

There are downsides to the Helio Courier, however. These aircraft have not been in production since the 1970s, and JAARS must manufacture custom parts to keep ours maintained. Helio Couriers also run on avgas, which is becoming less available and more expensive in many areas of the world.

In light of these factors, the Helio Couriers based in Cameroon and Southeast Asia will soon be replaced with turbine-engine aircraft, which operate on readily available jet fuel. To read more about this project, please click here.