Niagara's New Rides

[twinstar_ca]

Nice looking 130's for Ruedi and the gang... Has Niagara ever been anything but a Bell operator? I had my 1st ride over the falls about 42 yrs ago as a 15y/o in a Bell 47... Still remember it to this day..

[sven]

They are nice looking.

Ruedi sold the business to HTSC about 3.5 years ago.

 

I think they had some Enstroms before Ruedi bought the company, but under Ruedi's ownership it's been Bell Helicopter exclusively.

[Freefall]

Ruedi was one of the worst exploiters of the TFW program. Was happy to see him gone. He would put up adds for pilots requiring 500 hours then if you emailed him he would reply saying it was 1000.

 

Ec130 is a much better machine for tours and a bit quieter as well which should make all the locals happy.

[Phil Croucher]

He also wanted 2000 hours on type when the 407 had only been out a few months.....

 

Nice looking ships, thugh.

 

Phil

[abc]

Interesting to see that the "official" AHC press release says that besides sight seeing, the a/c will be used for external loads .Unfortunately with the redesign of the fuel system, you cannot install a hook on this a/c.It was probably designed for the tourist trade, i.e, Grand Canyon /Papillion, Blue Hawaii etc.

[Hazy]

Interesting to see that the "official" AHC press release says that besides sight seeing, the a/c will be used for external loads .Unfortunately with the redesign of the fuel system, you cannot install a hook on this a/c.It was probably designed for the tourist trade, i.e, Grand Canyon /Papillion, Blue Hawaii etc.

?

 

Is this a new thing? I've seen 130s with hooks on them.

[abc]

?

 

Is this a new thing? I've seen 130s with hooks on them.

Yes, hooks on the 130B4, on the 130T2,no.Not yet anyway.The new fuel bladder is housed in an metal "box" so to speak and is designed to come out of the box via the bottom on a hard landing.

[Heliian]

Interesting to see that the "official" AHC press release says that besides sight seeing, the a/c will be used for external loads .Unfortunately with the redesign of the fuel system, you cannot install a hook on this a/c.It was probably designed for the tourist trade, i.e, Grand Canyon /Papillion, Blue Hawaii etc.

What are you talking about? Cargo swing or sling? Where is your information coming from? And yes, the fatstar was designed for tourism with big windows and fenestron. You can still put a hook on it so it can be used for whatever.

[sven]

The new H130 (EC130T2) has a certified crashworthy fuel tank.

Current EC130B4 cargo hook installation could compromise that in the event of a hard (belly) landing.

 

A new cargo hook system is rumoured to be in development to address that issue.

[Heliian]

Thanks sven, a march 31 2014 press release in verticalmag said onboard was awarded the design contract for the T2 hook system. Thank airbus for the confusing naming scheme they have now.