. Capt Smith, an
F-15 Eagle pilot in the
Oregon Air National Guard, was killed in an auto accident in 1995.
Delford M. Smith founded the company as
Evergreen Helicopters in 1960. Smith was involved in the development of the commercial use of helicopters, and his company was one of the first to use helicopters for spraying
fertilizer and
herbicides, spreading seeds and fighting
forest fires. Smith helped develop a helicopter spray system called the "PaceSpreader" which permitted accurate, fast delivery of granular agents over large areas. The business subsequently continued to expand and split into a number of subsidiary divisions. The main subsidiary was Evergreen International Airlines which operated the
Boeing 747 as a cargo or tanker aircraft to locations around the world. The 747-200 "
Evergreen Supertanker" was capable of delivering 20,000 gallons of water on wildfires, nearly ten times what could be delivered by a conventional
U.S. Forest Service firefighting air tanker such as the
Lockheed P-3 Orion turboprop.
Scheduled passenger airline operations The airline division conducted some scheduled passenger operations with
Douglas DC-8 jet and
Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprop aircraft with
Detroit (DTW),
Minneapolis/
St. Paul (MSP),
Seattle (SEA) and
Spokane (GEG) being served in 1978. The company also operated a commuter airline, Evergreen Airspur, in southern California with
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter STOL turboprops in 1985.
U.S. government work Evergreen was part of the US
Civil Reserve Air Fleet and the
International Peace Operations Association. It was known to do work for the United States federal government, including fire suppression for the
U.S. Forest Service, troop transportation in the Gulf War of 1991, as well as helicopter transportation for oil rig firefighters at the end of hostilities.
CIA front Evergreen served as a
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) front in numerous operations over its history: Wherever there was a hot spot in the world, Evergreen’s helicopters and later airplanes were never far behind. Evergreen’s hardware was so inextricably linked with political intrigue that rumors swirled that the company was owned by, or a front for, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Indeed, several of the company’s senior executives either worked for the agency or had close ties to it. Smith never let on, disingenuously telling the Portland Oregonian in 1988, “We don't know when we’ve ever worked for them [the CIA], but if we did we’re proud of it. We believe in patriotism, and, you know, they're not the [Russian spy service] KGB.” Evergreen bought assets during the 1970s that were previously linked to CIA operations, including Montana’s Johnson Flying Service and the CIA’s aviation "skunk works" at
Pinal Airpark in
Marana, Arizona, which under Evergreen did special aircraft modifications such as building the
Boeing Dreamlifters (outsized 747s designed to transport
Boeing 787 composite fuselage barrels) and servicing the
NASA operated
Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) used to transport the
Space Shuttle. Evergreen subsequently sold the Pinal Airpark facility to Relativity Capital in 2011. The deal was contingent upon Erickson Air-Crane obtaining the necessary financing. Evergreen’s airplanes and helicopters had once "supported United Nations peacekeeping operations in 30 countries, flew insect-eradication missions throughout Africa, were used for illegal-drug abatement spraying in Mexico and South America, helped build the Trans-Alaska oil pipeline and developed and serviced the offshore energy market worldwide. All told, Smith said his company flew in 168 countries over the years. 'We were all over the world. Everywhere they needed a helicopter, they needed an airplane as well,'" said Smith. and began a liquidation of assets, including its headquarters campus in McMinnville. By the time of Smith's death 7 November 2014, the remains of his once billion-dollar Evergreen Aviation empire had been sold off, shut down, or was in bankruptcy and under investigation by tax authorities. ==Fleet at the time of the end of aviation operations in 2013==