Helicentre Aviation’s Chairman Christopher Line met with Bruno Guimbal, President and CEO of Hélicoptères Guimbal at Heli Expo in Orlando, Florida last week where they shook hands as Helicentre Aviation’s sixth Cabri G2 order was confirmed.

The new aircraft will add to the existing fleet of five operated by Helicentre Aviation as well as three additional airframes already on order from the factory which are due for delivery in 2016. The new aircraft will increase the company’s training fleet to nine with further orders expected. The aircraft are utilised predominantly for professional helicopter pilot training.

“It has been over two and a half years since we began operating the Cabri G2, and it has proven to be a superb training platform” Line remarked. “We are very proud to be operating such a large and modern fleet which is growing with demand for our professional courses. We have flown well over 3,000 hours on our G2 fleet, more than half of these hours in the past 12 months. We have great confidence in the Cabri and the support from the factory has been excellent”.

The Cabri G2 has been selected as the preferred training platform for ab-initio pilots undertaking the BSc (Hons) Professional Aviation Pilot Practice (Helicopter) Degree, a joint initiative between Helicentre Aviation and Middlesex University, developed in conjunction with the Aviation Skills Partnership. The next intake of degree students will commence training for their professional licences in May this year.

Helicentre Aviation is holding an open day on Saturday 14th March where the current fleet of Cabri G2 helicopters will be available for trial flights and a Career Seminar will take place to enable prospective students to find out more about training routes and employment opportunities. The event is free to attend but registration is required at www.flyheli.co.uk/openday.

(Editors note – Sales and technical support for Hélicoptères Guimbal in UK and Ireland is provided exclusively by Cotswold Helicopter Centre and Helicentre Aviation’s purchases are all made through Cotswold.  The existing fleet of five G2s include two leased from Cotswold Helicopter Centre and one from a private owner in Uppingham)