25-Sep-2013 Source: BLR Aerospace
BLR Aerospace today announced that Heli Austria is the first European operator of BLR’s FastFin® Tail Rotor Enhancement and Stability System for the Bell 412. FastFin recently was certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for installation and flight on Bell 412 helicopters.
Based on patented technologies, BLR’s flagship FastFin System enables performance improvements in useful load, wind azimuth tolerance and hover stability for Bell medium helicopters. Meet with BLR in Exhibit D30 during Helitech International, Sept. 24-26 in London.
Heli Austria has been flying its enhanced Bell 412 for two months, and “the overall control and increased safety margins are excellent,” said Roy Knaus, owner of Heli Austria. “It’s a real efficient system that is especially beneficial for us at high altitudes.” Knaus also was the first operator in Europe to buy, install and operate FastFin for the Bell 204 and Bell 212.
Heli Austria’s Bell mediums routinely operate between 7,000 and 10,000 feet but sometimes reach altitudes of 13,000 feet performing a range of vertical reference work, including logging and construction. Heli Austria operates a fleet of 12 helicopters.
“Heli Austria operates in the highly competitive European utility helicopter market segment and was an early adopter of the BLR technology. Having installed their first BLR system in 2003, Heli Austria knows that the FastFin System can make the difference between profit and loss,” said Dave Marone, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for BLR Aerospace.
“Roy is a great advocate for the FastFin System and we appreciate his continued support.”
FastFin delivers significant performance improvements in hover load, wind azimuth tolerance, and hover stability. In 2010, Bell Helicopter made FastFin standard equipment on new Bell 412EPs, and today, more than 550 FastFin systems are operating worldwide, supporting diverse missions ranging from airborne law enforcement to offshore oil transport.
The system includes two parallel stall strips, known as Dual Tailboom Strakes, on the tailboom and a reshaped vertical fin. FastFin optimizes airflow around the tailboom, dramatically improving tail rotor efficiency and wind azimuth tolerance. FastFin also reduces operating costs and reduces cycle fatigue in structures and demands on tail rotor rotating components.
About BLR Aerospace
BLR Aerospace is fully devoted to performance innovation. With products now on more than 5,000 helicopters and airplanes worldwide, and endorsed by industry leading OEMs such as Bell Helicopter and Beechcraft Corporation, we back our superior designs with unsurpassed manufacturing quality. Note: BLR Aerospace is no longer known as Boundary Layer Research and appreciates the news media’s support in accurately using the BLR Aerospace name.
