New Zealand HEMS operator also adds Sandel 4-ATI displays and AHRS in a technology upgrade for the first of its three helicopters

Vista, CA, (July 13, 2011)—Sandel Avionics has announced that its new HeliTAWS wire and terrain avoidance system has been chosen by Hawker Pacific, Auckland, NZ, the operator for New Zealand’s Northland Emergency Services Trust, to upgrade its fleet of S-76 helicopters flying in HEMS (helicopter emergency medical services) and executive transport operations. Hawker Pacific also selected Sandel’s 4-ATI Primary Attitude Displays, 4-ATI Primary Navigation Displays and Attitude Heading Reference Systems for the STC’d installation, which was performed by Australian Avionics, Cairns, Queensland, Australia.

“With the amount of close-to-the-earth flying these helicopters do in New Zealand’s mountainous terrain, Hawker Pacific recognized that our HeliTAWS provided significantly advanced operational awareness, as well as safety benefits,” said Jerry Henry, Sandel’s director of sales. “And the fact that they chose our displays and AHRS with reversionary attitude as the ideal upgrade for their S-76A simply confirms how cost-effective our systems are for helicopter retrofit,” he added.

Sandel’s HeliTAWS is a 3-ATI wire and terrain safety system that incorporates the revolutionary WireWatch™ wire-strike avoidance feature, a Sandel invention that protects helicopters from the nearly invisible threat of known wires, guy lines and transmission lines. HeliTAWS also includes Sandel’s proprietary TrueAlert™ technology, which eliminates nuisance alerts, a problem that other HTAWS products have not been able to overcome. With TrueAlert, pilots can safely take off, cruise, hover and land at off-airport locations without triggering nuisance alerts, while still receiving the established benefits of Class-A terrain and obstacle warnings during the entire flight. The system is completely automatic and does not require pilot management of the phase of flight.

Other benefits of HeliTAWS include its off-airport landing capability; high-resolution 3-D terrain display; Class A HTAWS functionality; and available NVIS compatibility. Designed for all helicopter operations, HeliTAWS is ideally suited for such demanding missions as HEMS, oil rig operations, tactical military support, airborne law enforcement, firefighting and search & rescue.

Sandel Avionics, located in Vista, California, is a privately held company that provides compact integrated display systems for fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft in the business aviation, air transport and regional, and military markets. Its products include the company’s best-selling, turbine-class TAWS for fixed-wing aircraft, 3-ATI and 4-ATI retrofit primary flight displays, and ST3400H HeliTAWS, the helicopter industry’s first complete wire and terrain safety solution. Learn more at www.sandel.com.