Olympia, WA – Representatives of Soloy Aviation Solutions announced that they have signed a contract with China’s Changhe Aircraft Industries Group for 12 AC311 Honeywell engine kits for delivery throughout 2013.
“This is the final piece of negotiations that consummated the contract during Heli-Expo in Las Vegas in March,” stated Dave Stauffer, CEO, Soloy Aviation Solutions. “It was a tremendous group effort between our company, Honeywell engine’s China representative and the delegation from Changhe Aircraft Industries Group. It’s a major win all around.”
Stauffer explained that Soloy’s AC311 engine kit covers the installation of the Honeywell LTS101-700D-2 engine into China’s all-new Avicopter AC311 light helicopter.
“The Avicopter AC311 helicopter is a clean sheet design being produced by the Changhe Aircraft Industries Group at their facility in Jiangxi province, China,” he stated. “Powered by the Honeywell engine, the AC311 can carry up to six people and still have a max useful load of 1,985 lbs. (900 kg). It’s similar to the Changhe Z11, but with the more powerful Honeywell replacing the WZ-8D engine, it offers performance better suited for the unique operating environment found in mainland China.”
Stauffer also explained that the Avicopter AC311 kit is based on the STC Soloy received to replace the original Turbomeca Arriel engine with the upgraded Honeywell LTS101-700D-2 engine on Eurocopter AS350s. Soloy received Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) approval for the AS350B2 engine upgrade kits from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) earlier this year.
“To date, Soloy has delivered over 125 ‘SD2’ kits to AS350 operators around the world,” Stauffer said. “In fact, along with the 10 conversion kits we’ve already delivered to Changhe Aircraft, we have interest from a number of current AS350 operators for conversion kits to operators in China. We expect that number to grow substantially now that we have the STC from the CAAC and as operators see the performance benefits the conversion brings to their AS350s.”
Soloy Aviation Solutions
Soloy Aviation Solutions is a Washington State based company specializing in fixed and rotary wing aircraft power and performance improvements as well as contract engineering and aviation parts manufacturing for over 40 years.
For more information, contact Soloy Aviation Solutions at (360) 754-7000 or visit Soloy Aviation Solutions online at www.soloy.com.
