European aerial emergency services operator Avincis has agreed to a letter of intent for the purchase of five McDermott Aviation 214ST medium twin-turbine utility helicopters for aerial firefighting and other missions.
Based in Queensland, Australia, McDermott Aviation owns the type certificate for the Bell 214B and 214ST and operates more than 60 aircraft, including fifteen 214Bs and fourteen 214STs. The company’s bases across Australia and the Pacific provide aerial firefighting, heavy lifting, agricultural spraying, infrastructure support, emergency response, tourism, and training services.
Avincis plans to add the new 214STs to its firefighting fleet in Europe, which has had a busy summer season. The company completed more than 12,600 firefighting flight hours and nearly 5,400 missions in Spain, Portugal, and Italy through July 31, dropping more than 225 million liters (roughly 60 million gallons) of water.
Powered by two 1,625-shp GE CT7-2A engines, the 214ST can carry up to 3,000 kg (about 6,600 pounds) of useful load and a maximum external load of 3,582 kg. It can fly up to 4.1 hours and cruise at 120 knots.
“These five aircraft give Avincis another powerful option within our integrated fleet,” said Avincis group CEO John Boag. “The 214ST’s lift, endurance, and hot-and-high performance will strengthen our rotary-wing response, while its utility capability will allow us to deploy the aircraft across a wider range of critical missions throughout the year.”
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