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DART ELAM Rappel Kit now available to operators

The United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, described as the largest wildland firefighting organization in the country, earlier this year resumed its External Load Attach Mechanism (ELAM) program and has now allowed DART Aerospace to manufacture and sell the rappel hardpoints for the Bell Medium directly to industry operators.

DART explains it was recognized by the Agriculture Forest Service (USFS) as a result of its experience with aerospace product manufacturing and its history building this kit. The company will be responsible for inspecting and documenting the kit in accordance with the ELAM Rotorcraft Maintenance Manual Supplement (RMMS).

The kit, which will mainly be used for firefighting operations and the management of public lands in national forests and grasslands across the United States, is now available to the market.
The kit is approved on FAA Supplemental Type Certified #SH261WE, presently owned by the USFS; approved models appearing on the STC are the Bell 205, 210, 212, 214B and 412.

“We are happy to be working with the USFS to support their important mission,” said Wesley Reid, product manager at DART Aerospace. “Working on projects such as this allows us to leverage our internal capabilities to build high quality equipment while growing our already significant catalog of products in support of firefighting operations”.

The ELAM Rappel Kit is centrally mounted on the aircraft with a weight capacity of 300 lbs. It is manufactured as a bolted-on permanent installation; only the hard point is offered with the kit.

In addition to the USFS ELAM rappel kit, DART also offers other equipment used in firefighting operations including firefighting buckets, cable cutters, long lines, remote cargo hooks and baskets as well as its own rappel kit for the Bell Medium. These kits have been in use for over 20 years by firefighters and law enforcement around the world.