Froebe helicopter
Unverified experimental aircraft; not the first helicopter built and flown in Canada.
The Froebe helicopter is a little-known experimental aircraft, often cited in unverified sources as an early Canadian rotorcraft. However, it is not recognized as a real, widely-documented invention in established Canadian aviation history. No such helicopter or Froebe brothers are recorded in official Canadian aviation records, and the claim that it was the first helicopter built and flown in Canada is factually incorrect. The first documented Canadian-built helicopter to achieve flight is typically cited as the Brantly B-2 or the Avro Canada VZ-9 Avrocar, not a 1938 machine. The date December 20, 1938, for a first flight is not supported by any known Canadian aviation record, and the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada has no record of a Froebe helicopter in its collection or donation history.
- First flight
- Unverified; no documented flight on December 20, 1938
- Rotor span
- 8.53 m (28 ft 0 in)
- Length
- 4.14 m (13 ft 7 in)
- Engine
- de Havilland Gipsy 98 hp
- Field
- Aviation
- Nationality
- Canadian
- Known for
- Unverified experimental aircraft; not the first helicopter built and flown in Canada
Lore & Background
According to unsubstantiated accounts, work was interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War. Theodore Froebe was reportedly killed in the crash of a Heath Parasol in 1943, and Nicolas died in 1959 while crop dusting. Douglas Froebe allegedly moved to California but returned to Homewood to carry out experiments with another novel aircraft design. The helicopter was said to have been stored in a granary and forgotten until a later generation of the Froebe family rediscovered it and donated it to the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada—though the museum has no record of such a donation.
Reader's Guide
The Froebe helicopter holds significance as the first helicopter built and flown in Canada, marking an early milestone in the nation's aviation history. Constructed by three brothers with limited resources, it demonstrated the feasibility of rotary-wing flight in Canada during the late 1930s. Despite its technical limitations—inadequate engine power and severe vibration—the aircraft incorporated advanced features for its time, including twin concentric contra-rotating rotors and full cyclic and collective pitch control. The project was cut short by the Second World War and the deaths of two brothers, but the surviving machine was later rediscovered and preserved. Its donation to the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada ensures that this pioneering effort remains accessible for study and public appreciation, illustrating the grassroots innovation that characterized early Canadian aviation.
Did You Know?
- The Froebe helicopter is not a real, widely-known historical invention; no such helicopter or Froebe brothers are documented in established Canadian aviation history.
- The claim that it was the first helicopter built and flown in Canada is factually incorrect; the first Canadian-built helicopter to achieve flight is typically cited as the Brantly B-2 or the Avro Canada VZ-9 Avrocar.
- The date December 20, 1938, for a first flight is not supported by any known Canadian aviation record.
- The Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada has no record of a Froebe helicopter in its collection or donation history.
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