The American Helicopter Company was first formed in 1947 and later acquired by the Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation in 1954. The first project of the company was the two-seat open-cockpit XA-5 "Top Sergeant", which was based on the lower fuselage and undercarriage of a Sikorsky R-6 with an open rear boom and small rudder. It was driven by two tip-mounted 43kg AJ 8.75 pulse-jet engines driven by a fuselage-mounted compressor, and made its first flight in January 1949. This was followed by the single-seat XA-6 "Buck Private" with the same pulse-jet propulsion and a simple open frame structure. American Helicopter then constructed the XA-8 single-seat collapsible helicopter under a U.S. Army contract, flying the first aircraft in June 1952.

R.Simpson "Airlife's Helicopter and Rotorcraft", 1998