The Helicopter Landing Kit was developed by Leland Stanford, a structural firefighter, in 1985 because he was involved in several emergency helicopter landings whereby the personnel on the ground who were assisting in landing the helicopter got in the way and, fortunately, no one was seriously injured, but it made him realize how dangerous landing a helicopter is.
Leland's core business has always been the gas filled cylinders that inflate life jackets. While in the life jacket business, the need for additional safety items such as battery-operated strobe lights has come to light many times. Leland is actively involved in the manufacturing and distribution of several types of strobe lights. The one that is featured in the current Emergency Landing Kit uses a wind proof wire, metal base that turns onto the bayonet fittings on the bottom of each battery powered strobe. These wind proof bases allow the strobe to stand upright so the pilot can see a "box" of five flashing strobes. The fifth one uses a different colored lens indicating an upwind direction, as helicopters need to land into the wind.