Fort Worth - June 20, 2008 Texas Aviation Services (TAS), an industry leader in helicopter and aircraft completions for over 37 years, recently delivered an ENG (Electronic News Gathering) American Eurocopter AS350B2 to KTVK TV 3 in Phoenix, Arizona. TAS worked closely with Geneva Aviation, a division of DART Helicopter Services and KTVK TV 3 to provide an advanced configuration High Definition television news helicopter.
The customizing included the latest Geneva Aviation Electronic News Gathering systems including an all digital HD audio-video control system. Supplemental accessory and electrical consoles for the support of all audio-video controls and avionics were integrated. A highly customized instrument panel, cyclic switching modifications for camera, microwave and avionics switching, a FLIR HD camera system with an Airfilm camera mount complemented the advanced suite of high-end electronics. A SONY XDcam HD disc recorder, Boland/Marshall and Astro HD video monitors, an NSI microwave transmission pod, and a NuComm microwave transmitter/receiver rounded out the array of installations.
To further enhance the safety of the aircraft, an avionics package consisting of a Garmin GNS-430W and GNS-530W GPS/Nav/Comm WAAS, GTX-330 Digital Transponder, L3 Skywatch/Traffic Avoidance System, Technisonic TDFM 7145 4 band FM, Kannad 406 ELT added to the impressive capabilities of this helicopter. Platinum Air-conditioning, Oil and Fuel Filter Kits, Whelen LED Strobe Lights, Pulsed Landing Light, Tailboom Battery Relocation and other enhancements were installed.
The DART rear bench seat modification was installed, allowing more working space for the cameraman. The seats were reupholstered with custom designed fabric by Aerocomfort of San Antonio, Texas. The exterior of the helicopter received a vibrant five-color paint scheme that incorporated KTVK 3’s bright red 3-meatball logo with a red-to-orange fade on the tail. “After flying a Geneva system for 13 years as the pilot reporter at KTVK, I knew what we needed for our news studio in the sky. So with Geneva Aviation and Texas Aviation we built an awesome helicopter to shoot TV news, features and sports from above. We fly three to eight hours a day during our Good Morning Arizona and Good Evening Arizona programs and Newschopper 3 is one of the stars of the show,” commented Bruce Haffner, Pilot/Reporter, Newschopper 3, KTVK, Phoenix, Arizona.
About Texas Aviation Services
Texas Aviation Services, with 140,000 square feet of facilities at Meacham Field in Fort Worth, TX, is an independent helicopter technical services company with 37 years of successful history. TAS specializes in both civilian and military helicopter completions, retrofits, MRO, avionics systems integration, interiors, paint, component overhaul and engineering. Originally founded in 1971, TAS performs complex customizing projects on civilian Bell, Eurocopter, Agusta and other helicopter types, and extensive retrofits on military Blackhawks. The Meacham Airport operations are one of the largest of their type in the mid-South, with the capacity for scores of helicopter projects per year. Additional information is available on the Web at www.texasaviationservices.com. TAS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ranger Aerospace & Aeronautics, Inc. (www.rangeraerospace.com). Other Ranger subsidiaries include Integrated Flight Systems (www.integratedflightsys.com) and Platinum Aviation Group (www.platinumaviation.com).
