Safe Flight Powerline Detection System To Obtain EASA Certification for Eurocopter 355
White Plains, NY (March, 27, 2006) — Safe Flight Instrument Corporation’s Powerline Detection System (PDS) will be installed and EASA certified on the Eurocopter AS 355 through Trans Helicopter Service (THS) of Paris, France. THS Company has filed a certification request to the European Aviation Safety Agency in Cologne Germany for the 25 European countries.
The Powerline Detection System will be marketed and distributed through THS following certification. Negotiations are underway with two major European insurance companies to obtain discounted aircraft insurance as well as with Eurocopter of France for installation and support.
Safe Flight’s PDS is currently being distributed in the United States, Scandinavia, South Africa, and Brazil. FAA STC’d on the Bell 206 series with additional installations on the Eurocopter 120, Eurocopter 135, AS 350B and AS 355 through field service approvals.
Wire strikes are one of the greatest hazards to civil and military helicopter operations. Although pilots are taught to be aware of both charted and uncharted wires, strikes continue to occur with distressing regularity.
In the delivery of electricity, powerlines create a radiating electromagnetic field. Safe Flight’s Powerline Detection System is designed to sense this 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 audio 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. The Powerline Detection System may be a significant, and potentially life saving advantage when the pilot has not seen the powerline.
Safe Flight Instrument Corporation, founded in 1946 and headquartered in White Plains, NY, pioneered the development of stall warning, angle of attack measurement, automatic throttles, and wind shear warning systems for fixed-wing aircraft. In the helicopter market, Safe Flight produces exceedance warning and powerline detection systems. Safe Flight products are installed on over two-thirds of the world’s aircraft in the general aviation, corporate, commercial, and military sectors.