New MD500E for
Hawaii County
Hawaii County is getting a new MD500E
to replace its aging Chopper One. The
new helicopter, which the Hawaii County
Fire Department will operate, will handle
rescue services and be based at Waiakea
Fire Station. HCFD Chief Darryl J. Oliveira
says that buying the new MD500E makes
more economic sense in the long run, given
that the 27-year-old Chopper One would
require $800,000 to refurbish. “The older
an aircraft gets, the more expensive it gets
to maintain it,” Oliveira told West Hawaii
Today. Instead, MD Helicopters is giving
Hawaii County $238,000 trade-in credit on
the old Chopper One.
Hawaii County’s Fire Department will use this
MD500E as a replacement for Chopper One.
■ COMMERCIAL | OBSERVATION
The Last “New” B0105
After sitting in the Eurocopter Canada
plant for the past four years, the twin-engine predecessor to the EC135 has
a new owner—Dam Helicopters of
British Columbia, which purchased
the helicopter for about $2.23 million.
Dam Helicopters’ BO105 LS will be
inspecting power lines, surveying for natural
resources, conducting EMS missions and
flying sightseeing tours. Duncan Wassick,
owner of Dam Helicopters, snapped up the
aircraft, noting that the price helped with
the decision. “The BO105 has the same
maximum payload of 2,500 pounds, but
only costs half as much,” he says. “It is true
that the BO105 has an analog cockpit, as
opposed to the EC135’s computers, FADEC
and glass cockpit. But my customers don’t
care about that. They just want a twin-engine helicopter. Besides, I like to work with
technology that has stood the test of time, as the BO105 has.”
German firm Bölkow Engineering designed the BO105 in the 1960s. When the BO105
started test flights in 1967, Bölkow had become part of Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm. It
subsequently became part of Eurocopter in 1991. There were 1,407 BO105s built, finding
work in police, EMS and military applications. Dam Helicopters’ BO105 LS will be flying
a variety of missions. Eurocopter says that 1,008 BO105s are still in service. As a group, this
aircraft has logged more than seven million flying hours.
BO105 for various missions, including power
line inspection and resource surveying.
Photo courtesy of Eurocopter
ME406 Series ELT for Fixed Wing and Helicopter Applications
© 2009 Artex Aircraft Supplies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Helicopter model with 6-axis G-Switch available
• Worldwide coverage
• Position accuracy within 3 km
• Single antenna output for 121.5 and
406 MHz frequencies
• TSO-C126, ETSO-2C126, Transport Canada,
Cospas/Sarsat approved
• Rod antenna available in white or black
for helicopter use
• 6 year battery life
• Made in the USA
Artex Quality • Artex Technology • Artex Service
The most important thing we build is trust
Cobham Avionics Artex Products, 800-547-8901 Aurora, OR 97002, USA Email: sales@artex.net
