@ San Carlos, CA
July 2023
First flown in 1948, the Hiller Model 360 helicopter was designated by the company as the UH-12 (“UH” for United Helicopters) and entered production. In 1960, the UH-12E’s cockpit was “stretched” by 25 inches to result in the UH-12E4, the “4” designating “four seats”. Then in 1963, the Hiller company introduced a new “L” rotor system that eliminated the Rotormatic paddles and provided better flight characteristics. Another improvement would be supercharged engines denoted by “SL4”. The “L” rotor system would not prove popular, its advantages not outweighing its greater cost, and the UH-12E would persist as the main production variant with over 2,000 UH-12-series helicopters would be delivered. This particular UH-12L4 airframe was marketed as a Fairchild-Hiller SL.4. Part of the collection at the Hiller Aviation Museum.
