NEWS | Eurocopter AS350 Ecureuil

3000th AS350 / AS355 Helicopter

Eurocopter delivered the 3000th helicopter of the AS350/AS355/EC130 family during Heli-Expo 2001. It was an EC130B4 for Blue Hawaiian





3000th AS350 / AS355 Helicopter
Eurocopter, February 11, 2001 - The continued market success of Eurocopter's Ecureuil / Squirrel / AStar / TwinStar family hits a new peak during HeliExpo 2001 with the delivery of the 3000th aircraft.

It is in fact an EC 130 B4, latest addition to the single-engined AStar product line, and the operator is Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, USA. This company is the launch customer for the ultra-quiet, spacious, high-performance new helicopter.

Being the largest helicopter operator in Hawaii and a long-standing Eurocopter customer, Blue Hawaiian will add the EC 130 B4 to its existing AStar fleet and fly it for an average of 100 flight hours per month in tourism/sightseeing missions.

Blue Hawaiian Helicopters was founded in 1985 by Dave and Patti Chevalier. It began on Maui with a single four-passenger Bell Jet Ranger. Since then, the company's fleet has grown to 15 state-of-the-art, six-passenger AStars - six AS 350 BAs and nine of the more powerful AS 350 B2s.

Employing 130 people including 33 pilots, all of whom are high-time experts, Blue Hawaiian flies more than 140,000 passengers a year out of three bases, one on Maui and two on the Big Island of Hawaii. Having won several awards as the State of Hawaii's No. 1 tour operator, the company is an FAA certified Repair Station, a factory-authorized Service Center for American Eurocopter and a factory-authorized Service Center for Turbomeca Engine Corporation.

Renowned for their "Best Equipment, Best Maintenance" policy, and flying for demanding passengers in an environmentally sensitive area, the EC 130 B4 is the perfect choice for Blue Hawaiian.

With its additional passenger seat, greater visibility, high performance, greatly reduced noise emission and added comfort, Eurocopter's latest member of the AStar family will complement Blue Hawaiian's impressive fleet. Eurocopter launched the single-engined AS 350 AStar in 1977. The twin-engined AS 355 TwinStar was certified in 1980. The manufacturer then consistently developed a fully-fledged product family from the basic model, constantly upgrading, adapting and modernizing them in close contact with the customers as well as anticipating and meeting new market requirements. Military versions of the model, the single-engined AS 550 and the twin-engined AS 555, were developed to meet the most stringent requirements both in land and naval missions.

The commercial market is presently being served with the AS 350 B2 which comes at the lowest cost in its category, the AS 350 B3, the most powerful in its category, and now the EC 130 B4, the most spacious and quietest in its category combined with the performance of the B3 version.

These three single-engined aircraft are joined by the twin-engined AS 355 N which provides excelllent performance for operation above densely built-up areas with rooftop take-off capability, or aerial work in mountain regions and demanding utility work. It is a family concept that works through evolution and innovation, as the delivery of the 3000th AStar, the EC 130 B4 to Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, proves.

Eurocopter is a wholly-owned subsidiary of EADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company), one of the world's three largest aerospace manufacturers.


  See also


Eurocopter AS350 Ecureuil
Eurocopter AS355 Ecureuil 2
EC130B4 in US State of Hawaii
AS350 Ecureuil in FR Eurocopter France
US Blue Hawaiian State of Hawaii
7,000th Ecureuil helicopter





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