HANGAR TALK Industry news relevant to your business
have been in Mirabel for 35 years conducting composite, final assembly, completion and paint capabilities in our facility, along with technical and product support engineering on site. As the demand for maintenance increased, it became clear that we had the opportunity to enhance support for our customers.”
Bell Textron Canada Launches MRO Capability
Bell Textron Inc. recently announced a new maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) service in its Mirabel, Canada, facility.
The increasing demand for customer support and services in North America prompted Bell to provide MRO services directly to all operators of Bell aircraft in Canada. The Mirabel facility provides these services to a range of aircraft, from the Bell 206 – Bell’s first commercial aircraft produced in-country – to the commercial aircraft currently being produced. “We are proud to offer this new capability in our Mirabel facility for our customers,” said Steeve Lavoie, president of Bell Textron Canada Ltd. “We
Cal Fire Receives Additional
S-70i
Firehawk Aircraft with Axnes PNG WICS
Axnes recently announced that
California’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) received an additional S-70i Firehawk helicopter recently with their PNG Wireless Intercommunication System (WICS) installed. This makes seven Firehawks delivered to Cal Fire thus far, out of an order of 12 total. The PNG WICS features NVG compatibility, push-to-talk (PTT) and voice activation (VOX) functions that allow easy integration of the MP50 handset transceiver into their mission set, along with multiple civil, para-public and military mission profiles.
The integration of the Axnes PNG WICS was performed by United Rotorcraft in Denver, where the S-70i airframes are equipped with mission equipment, including internal audio integration and two PNG MP50 handsets, to allow crews to operate inside and outside of the aircraft with full-duplex crew communication via wireless intercom.
Eventually, 12 Cal Fire S-70i Firehawk aircraft will be equipped with the Axnes wireless intercom to improve crew safety and situational awareness, enhancing communications for mission efficiency.
The MP50 handset used by Cal Fire is housed in a waterproof, rugged aluminium case and includes a two-to-three-mile range and secure AES 256-bit secure encryption. Battery life of the MP50 handsets include 30 hours of standby time and up to 12 hours of continuous operation.
30 Sept/Oct 2021
Since entering the Canadian market in 1986, Bell has become a key player in the Canadian helicopter market, supporting the Canadian Coast Guard, the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Sûreté du Québec and private owners in North America. Bell has produced more than 5,600 commercial aircraft that are operating around the world.
“Bell is known worldwide for its industry-leading support and services. Our customers are our priority, and we will continue to listen and focus on providing them with an excellent experience throughout the lifetime of their aircraft, right here in Canada,” said Chad Nimrick, director, Support and Services at Bell.
Axnes is proud to be the trusted partner for the wireless intercom technology on the Cal Fire Firehawk program,” said Brett Gardner, vice president at Axnes Inc. “The PNG system brings unprecedented situational awareness and safety to Cal Fire crews, freeing them from having to be connected to ICS drop cords. Our equipment is easy to operate and enhances their mission capabilities. Plus, PNG enables secure line- of-sight wireless communication with its full AES 256 grade encryption.”
The DO-160G (environmental-airborne) and DO-178C (software-airborne) qualified PNG WICS is integrated with the aircraft Becker Avionics DVC6100 digital intercom system, increasing mission capability and operational safety for the most challenging scenarios, particular during rescue hoist missions.
Zach Boyce, Fire Captain and Training Cadre Member at Cal Fire stated, “We operate our new high-performance Firehawk helicopters under very challenging conditions, so safety and crew awareness are very important to us. Axnes’ unique wireless intercom technology was essential to us because it provides excellent full-duplex wireless ICS capability, allowing seamless crew communications inside and outside of our aircraft in high noise environments. We were also attracted to their PNG product due to its unique adaptive noise and echo cancelling technology and its ‘hands-free’ VOX capabilities, which are vital to enhancing our firefighting missions.”
The PNG WICS system is designed for integration into any aircraft communications suite, or it can be deployed as a stand- alone portable system. PNG provides robust, reliable, clear, and secure full-duplex communications to crew members who are either wired or wireless.
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