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Coastal Helicopters converts AS 350 fleet to Turbomeca
February 13, 2012 By Carey Fredericks
Feb. 13, 2012, Dallas, Tx. - Coastal Helicopters Inc. has entered into an Engine Purchase Agreement with Turbomeca USA (Safran group) for five Arriel1D1 turboshaft engines. Coastal Helicopters, Inc. currently operates five AS350B2’s that were converted to Soloy AS 350 B2/SD2’s in 2005.
Turbomeca USA views Coastal Helicopter’s decision to reverse the retrofit back to the Turbomeca, Arriel 1D1 a decision which further solidifies their confidence in Turbomeca’s engines and service support.
Coastal Helicopter’s, Mike Wilson, General Manager states: “Coastal Helicopter’s is part of a larger organization that operates a number ofTurbomeca Arriel powered AS 350's. We have undertaken this re-power project in order to consolidate our parts inventories, enable more effective personnel training, allow for more effective personnel and equipment sharing and manage maintenance costs by standardization.”
The time between overhaul (T.B.O.) of the Arriel 1D1 engine has recently been increased from 3,000 to 3,600 hours. Featured with a very simple design, a reduced number of parts and only five modules for easy maintenance, the Arriel 1 has gained a solid reputation in the helicopter market based on its excellent handling characteristics and high level of reliability.
Certified in 1988 and logging today over 5,000,000 hours of flight, theArriel 1D1 is operated by 466 customers in 57 countries.
The family of Arriel engines relies on a solid experience of 10,000 delivered engines, accumulating 32 million flight hours. Turbomecaworldwide network already provides the after sales support of Arrielfor 1,300 customers in 110 countries.
