Jenoptik is exhibiting its prototype of a new civilian electric rescue winch at the specialist exhibition for rotary-wing aircraft  at Heli-Expo. The “SkyHoist 800” is developed in collaboration with ZF Aviation Technology, and can be viewed on stand 8761 of the globally operating specialist for the development, manufacture and maintenance of gearbox applications and aviation test benches.

The “SkyHoist 800” represents a new generation of civilian rescue winches with better performance and lower deployment costs, with outstanding reliability under all deployment conditions. The winch has been developed on the basis of a new type of modular concept that reduces stop times during maintenance and therefore saves money. The planned sophisticated capstan technology will withstand tensile loads of up to 360 kilograms and reliably handle a maximum lifting speed of 2 meters per second. This means that the capacity of the SkyHoist 800 exceeds the usual market parameters by far. The target weight of the end product is less than 48 kilograms. The market launch is planned for 2017, and no date has been given for planned certification in a recent interview with HeliHub.com

The Jenoptik subsidiary developing the hoist has over 30 years of established history in rescue hoists, including solutions for the German military UH-1D, Bo105 and NH90 fleets