Success Stories
Rotorua Sustainable Tourism Charter members are always implementing new and innovative sustainable business practices. Check back here regularly to learn about the contributions Charter member businesses are making towards sustainability.
HELIiPRO goes into low fuel/stealth mode
Jun 2, 2010
Sustainability is a tricky issue for helicopter companies considering their key service delivery equipment uses significant amounts of fuel and generates a lot of noise. However, HELiPRO has taken a major step to reducing both these impacts. “We’ve have an EC120 Eurocopter on trial which is not only fuel efficient, but also the quietest helicopter of its class” says Tim Barrow, HELiPRO’s Operations Manager. A review of Eurocopter’s website indicates that this company is committed to adopting sustainable environmental business practices as well as manufacturing helicopters with ever improving environmental performance.
According to the website Eurocopter has conducted extensive research on reducing the noise levels and fuel emission of its helicopters, and its production sites have been awarded ISO 14001 certification. “We operate over environments sensitive to noise including Department of Conservation land and urban areas. This helicopter allows us to operate in these environments without causing a noise nuisance”, says Tim. Tim explains that a significant amount of noise on a helicopter is generated by the tail rotor so Eurocopter has included a new generation enclosed tail rotor which is one of the reasons for the helicopter’s low noise profile.
With regard to fuel, Tim points out that the EC120 uses around 97 litres an hour while the Aerospatiale Squirrel, which takes the same number of passengers, uses around 160 litres per hour. The EC120 offers other benefits which HELiPRO believe are critical such as improved ground safety from an enclosed tail rotor, improved flight safety due to the digital flat-screen display system, which substantially reduces the pilot’s workload and having the lowest operating costs in its class. “We are well aware of the potential social and environmental impacts associated with our business and we are constantly looking at ways to address these. I believe we’ve taken a leap forward by leasing an EC120” says Tim.
