St. Louis Whirlybirds Club – Est. 1984
The St. Louis Whirlybirds started in 1984 by Keith Smith (Founding Member), Shirey Smith (Founding Member), Cam Morrison (Treasurer), and Max Hurst (Secretary).
Flying Schulter Heli Boys and Dubro Sharks, they discovered the difficulty of flying and maintaining the machines. They soon got together and decided to form the St. Louis Whirlybirds. Flying at parking lots across the St. Louis area and having meetings at local restaurants, they soon realized the need to have a Helicopter field of their own. Just by chance, they met a gentleman named Forrest Kennedy at J and J Hobby (owned by RC Helicopter Pilot Lou Bohres) and he offered for them to rent part of his property in Imperial Missouri for the first official St. Louis Whirlybirds Helicopter Club Field.
The St. Louis “Whirlybirds” name is based off the TV Series “Whirlybirds” that ran 1957 to 1960. Starring Kenneth Tobey, Craig Hill, and Nancy Hale. Charter helicopter pilots Chuck and P.T., solve crimes, rescue people, perform tasks, and more, flying a Bell Helicopter which is the star of the show.
The St. Louis Whirlybirds logo is based off a scratch-built Huey UH-1 that Cam Morrison created, and the artwork was originally done by John Lucco. This is the official logo as stated in the Whirlybirds bylaws.
Keith Smith was the first president of the club and served a 4-year term. Here is a list of past to present club presidents: John Schoulp, Joe Moriarty, Dennis Dielschneider, Joe Moriarty (second term), Troy Von Kloha, and Jeffrey Young (current president).
Antire Valley Park (St. Louis County Park) is the current flying field for the club established in 2013. After meeting with St. Louis County Parks Department, the St. Louis Whirlybirds were approved for the use of the field.
Original Logo:
TV Show:
Founding Members:
