In this paper the correlation between the kinetic energy of helium atoms and the probability of field ionization is investigated by exploiting the narrow velocity distribution of supersonic molecular beams. Field ionization measurements were carried out on supersonic helium beams at 298 K and 95 K corresponding to energies of about 65 meV and 20 meV, respectively, for the individual atoms. The field ionization was performed with a tungsten tip, radius of curvature 12 nm, kept at room temperature. The ionization probability was found to increase by about a factor 10 when the beam was cooled from 298 K to 95 K. The results presented in this paper are of importance for improving the understanding of field ionization and for the development of a new detector for helium and other molecular beams. (C) 2007 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.