All-New Aircraft Upholds Enstrom Name, to be Exhibited at HAI

Enstrom Helicopter has now flown their first completed, all-new 480B after their corporate shakeup 8 months ago.

The turbine-powered 480B is the 1,317th Enstrom helicopter built, and the 255th 480 series helicopter completed by the brand. Enstrom emphasizes that the helicopter wasn't finished from 2022 production, but an entirely new airframe manufactured under the brand's new management. They plan to showcase their work at Heli-Expo 2023, then use the aircraft as a mule to certify future mods and improvements.

Enstrom Production Test Pilot Cody Parkovich affirmed the aircraft is perfectly up to spec. “It flew great,” said Parkovich. “No issues. We were able to complete all our flight test steps on schedule. The team did a great job putting this helicopter together.”

“This was a critical milestone in our plan to not just bring back Enstrom, but to start to reinvent ourselves and the way we operate," said Adam Richardson, Enstrom's Chief Operating Officer. "It took all functions to focus on the objective. New supplier relationships, new machinists and fabricators and luckily many from prior years, better print definitions, a high standard of workmanship, and everyone onsite helping each other cross-functionally to bring us back online.”

FMI: www.enstromhelicopter.com