Flight Trails was formed in 1974 as an aviation company with a full service operation and a commercial flight operation. The company originally operated out of Palomar Airport just north of San Diego, California. In 1981 a subsidiary, Flight Trails Helicopters, Inc., was established with the primary purpose of supporting helicopter customization for the Hughes Helicopter Corporation. FTH became the world wide “go to” expert on all Hughes 300 and 500 series products. FTH’s also became a service center to Hughes and supported all after market requirements for parts and overhaul of dynamic components. The Hughes Corporation sold its 300-line product to Schweitzer Helicopter and the line was moved to Elmira, New York. The Hughes Corporation sold the remainder of its helicopter operation to McDonnell Douglas Corporation, which moved the operation from California to Mesa, Arizona. FTH made the decision to also relocate its operation from California to Arizona to better support the completion process. Over 90 percent of the MD product line in operation today have been worked on by Flight Trails.

Flight Trails expanded its business in Arizona to include a full avionics and radio shop to support installation of upgraded avionics packages into both fixed wing and helicopters.