Heli-One to Provide S-76 Flight Display Upgrades and Maintenance for His Majesty, the Sultan of Johor
Heli-One, the world's largest independent provider of helicopter maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, secures a contract to upgrade two Sikorsky S-76 aircraft for His Majesty, the Sultan of Johor of Malaysia. This contract features the design, certification, and installation of a new glass cockpit. This upgrade will prolong the lifespan of His Majesty’s aircraft in addition to expanding operational capability and enhancing the safety and situational awareness of the flight crew.
In addition to the new cockpit design, which includes an upgraded flight display, Heli-One will be installing a new custom VVIP interior, applying custom livery paintwork, and will perform all maintenance tasks due on the helicopters. Heli-One will also provide flight crew and maintenance technician training for the new equipment. By upgrading existing aircraft, His Majesty is expected to avoid the costly and lengthy process of replacement and associated factors, such as pilot and crew retraining and new service/inventory resourcing.
His Majesty recently completed a visit to British Columbia, Canada, where he met with members of government and industry and toured several aerospace firms. His Majesty notes, "I was greatly impressed by what I saw on my tour of the aeronautical facilities in B.C. The quality and cutting-edge technology is among the best in the world. I also wanted to clearly demonstrate my commitment to furthering ties between our two states. What better way to kick-start the relationship than with an investment and an endorsement.”
British Columbia Finance Minister Michael de Jong welcomes the agreement as a sign of the growing international reputation of B.C.'s aerospace industry and the promising economic ties with Malaysia. Minister de Jong adds, “This agreement, hopefully the first of many, shows that B.C. aerospace firms, like Heli-One, are among the world’s best in their field. His Majesty’s desire to have this work done in B.C. lends further confirmation of the capacity and expertise in B.C.'s aerospace and aviation sector.”
Heli-One is rapidly growing its flight display upgrade capabilities. This agreement joins other projects, including the Royal Malaysian Air Forces’ S-61 fleet and the Bundespolizei fleet of 18 Airbus AS332 helicopters. Heli-One is widely recognized as a global leader on the S-76, S-61 and AS332 models and has developed more than 100 post-delivery modifications on these platforms for customers to meet a variety of mission requirements.
"We are honoured to work with His Majesty, Sultan of Johor, to upgrade His Majesty’s aircraft. The upgrades we will do for his S-76s will not only expand operational capability and lifespan of the aircraft, but meet specific customization requirements that will enhance his traveling experience. Heli-One is uniquely positioned to provide nose-to-tail upgrade and maintenance offerings for S-76 operators, such as His Majesty, drawing on experience gained through supporting over 700,000 flight hours on the platform," says Anthony DiNota, president, Heli-One.
Heli-One will be working with ALOFT Aero Architects for the VVIP modification and Universal Avionics to deliver the avionics installation, which includes EFI-890H advanced flight displays and a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS)-compatible UNS-1Fw flight management system (FMS).