Safe Flight Powerline Detection EASA Certified on BK117
English based Sterling Helicopters to receive STC
White Plains, NY (Immediate) — Safe Flight Instrument Corporation’s Powerline Detection System has been installed and successfully flight tested on the BK117 by Sterling Helicopters. European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued the STC on the 27th of February 2008.
Sterling Founder and Managing Partner, Gerry Hermer, oversees the program and is excited about the potential market. “The BK117 is a viable EMS helicopter platform and we see the Powerline Detection System as an important safety tool for EMS pilots. Powerline strikes are a tremendous risk to even the most experienced pilots. Safe Flight’s Powerline Detection System has demonstrated an increased situational awareness when operating in the wire environment, providing our pilots with adequate time to avoid this potentially deadly hazard”.
Weighing less than one pound, Safe Flight’s Powerline Detection System is designed to sense the electromagnetic field from any direction and warn pilots once a helicopter is in the vicinity of a live wire. When an electromagnetic field is sensed, the Powerline Detection System emits an unmistakable auditory alert. Pilots literally “hear” their relationship to a powerline hazard, even without seeing it. The aural warning increases in frequency (like a Geiger counter) as the helicopter gets closer to a live powerline. A red warning light also illuminates on the cockpit indicator.
Sterling Helicopters is the leading helicopter charter company in Norfolk, East Anglia and operates throughout the U.K. Sterling’s reputation for excellence and great service has been hard won by its staff of professional, enthusiastic and dedicated individuals.
Safe Flight Instrument Corporation, a leader in aviation safety and flight performance systems, was founded in 1946. Headquartered in White Plains, NY, the company pioneered the development of Stall Warning, Automatic Throttles, Wind Shear Warning, and many other innovations in aircraft instrumentation and control systems for fixed- and rotary-winged aircraft. Safe Flight products are installed on over two-thirds of the world’s aircraft – in the general aviation, commercial, and military sectors.