Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Apr 26/00) - Yellowknife-based Arctic Sunwest has added a dynamic duo to its fleet of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.

Two years ago, the company, with operations at the Yellowknife Airport, ordered two brand-new Eurocopter Colibris. The first Colibris is now in Arctic Sunwest's hangar and the second is ready for pickup in Fort Erie, Ont., said general manager Bruce Jonasson.

"The Colibri was made to compete with the (Bell) JetRanger. And it beats the JetRanger," said Arctic Sunwest chief pilot Floyd Sample.

Prior to joining Arctic Sunwest, Sample flew for Great Slave Helicopters for seven years. According to company specifications, the Colibri has a higher cruising speed, more horsepower, a bigger range, and higher load numbers than the Bell 206B JetRanger.

The Colibri, with seating for four people and the pilot, comes with a dramatic amount of visibility.

Sample said the Colibri is a joy to fly. Not just because it's right out of the box -- as of last week, the helicopter had 30 hours of service -- but because of its stability in the hover and its high visibility. It also has liquid crystal display.

"The technology drew us to this machine," said Jonasson, who added there are only seven Colibris in Canada.

As well as what you can see, this ship is noteworthy for what you don't hear -- rotor noise.

"For a helicopter, it's incredibly quiet," said Jonasson At 70 decibels, the exterior sound level of this helicopter is only one decibel above that of a car travelling down the highway, he added.

"That lends itself to wildlife study, work in any noise-sensitive areas," he said.

In the North, the Colibri has forestry, tourism and exploration work applications, Hiring this new machine does come at a premium above the going hourly rate though. While hourly rate is higher, the helicopter cruises faster than a JetRanger and that means less time in the air, said Jonasson.

As for the price tag -- the sleek, single-engine helicopter hovers around $1 million.

Eurocopter, founded in 1992, was created by the merging of the helicopter divisions of Europe's Aerospatiale Matra and DaimlerChrysler Aerospace.