Transport Canada Approval Still Pending

DART Helicopter Services said Tuesday that their subsidiary partner Apical Industries has received EASA approval of their Cable Cutters Kit for the EC145 (MBB-BK 117 C-2). FAA approval has been previously received. Transport Canada approval is pending.

The Cable Cutters Kit provides a means of protecting the helicopter during a wire strike by providing the capability to cut a cable or wire before catastrophic damage occurs. This kit is designed to reduce the possibility of a cable or wire entering the cockpit and to reduce the chance of flight control damage. Similar cable/wire cutting devises have proven to be effective even during multiple wire strikes. The kit incorporates both an upper and lower cutter and each cutter is designed with high strength cutting blades.

The Apical cutter design was tested to verify the capability to cut a cable having a 14,000 lb tensile strength. The kit contains skidtube mounted deflectors and wiper deflectors as standard. It also includes everything necessary to install the kit and is compatible with, but does not require any previously installed fixed provisions. An optional GPS antenna mount kit is also available, which allows the antenna to be placed on the upper cutter deflector for ideal positioning of the antenna.

FMI: www.darthelicopterservices.com