Menominee, MI, April 5, 2013 – On March 29, 2013, Enstrom Helicopter Corporation received Type Certificate Number 74 from the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) for the Enstrom Model 480B Helicopter. The application was initially submitted to the JCAB on May 17, 2012.

On October 22, 2012, two JCAB officials, accompanied by Mr. Mitsuo Hattori, Enstrom’s representative  from Aero Facility in Tokyo, Japan, visited Enstrom’s facility for an Initial Familiarization meeting. There was also one FAA official in attendance to support Enstrom with certification efforts. The Initial Familiarization meeting lasted four days, during which the JCAB officials made a rigorous inspection of the Enstrom facility and its practices.

William Taylor, Director of Engineering, led the initial presentations, which included company overview and its history, certification history, and a 480B overview. “It was a pleasure working together with the JCAB and the FAA to achieve this,” said Taylor. “We feel it is a real accomplishment and look forward to entering the civilian market in Japan.”  While here, the officials took a tour of the facilities and a flight in a 480B helicopter with Taylor. Technical discussions went on for three days.

Dialogue was exchanged from November 2012 through March 2013 to ensure the Japanese translated Rotorcraft Flight Manual and Japanese dedicated Rotorcraft Supplement, as well as the Japanese translated placards, met the certification requirements.

“Enstrom has enjoyed a lot of success in Japan over the years, including a recent sale of 30 480B helicopters to the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force for training,” said Dennis Martin, International Sales and Program Manager.  “With the civil type certification of the 480B now complete, we look forward to building upon that success.  We feel the 480B’s combination of low cost of ownership, versatility, and excellent safety record, along with the JGSDF pedigree, will make it very popular with commercial operators, flight schools, and private owners in Japan.”

Founded in 1959, Enstrom Helicopter Corporation manufactures a complete line of helicopters. The three-seat, piston-powered F28F and 280FX are popular training, sport and light commercial aircraft. The larger turbine-powered 480B is available as a three-place advanced trainer and patrol aircraft, a 2+2 four-seat training helicopter, or as a three- to five-place executive transport. For law enforcement applications, Enstrom produces an optionally equipped variant of the 480B, known as the Guardian, and the F28F, called the Sentinel. For more information on Enstrom, visit www.enstromhelicopter.com.

Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company, has delivered the 31,000th M250 engine to Enstrom Helicopter Corporation for installation in a 480B training helicopter destined for the Japan Ground Self Defense Force.

The Rolls-Royce M250 engine line has amassed an impressive 223 million flight hours over the past 50 years of operation and has been continuously updated through a series of innovative design improvements during the lifetime of the program. The M250 engine continues to be installed on new applications, including the latest variant – the M250-C47E – on the US Navy’s Northrop Grumman MQ-8C Fire Scout.

Greg Fedele, Rolls-Royce, Senior Vice President – Helicopters, said, “The Rolls-Royce M250 engine line has compiled an unmatched record of success over the years. But we haven’t just rested on those laurels. Rolls-Royce continues to roll out improvements that will reduce operational costs while delivering the outstanding power and performance customers expect from their engines. We are proud to hit this significant milestone and look forward to delivering thousands more.”

Jerry Mullins, Enstrom Helicopter, Chief Executive Officer, said, “We are pleased to accept delivery of this 31,000th M250 engine from Rolls-Royce. The M250 has the power and performance required by our Enstrom 480B customers and offers outstanding value.”

The engine was delivered to Enstrom at a ceremony Feb. 22 at Rolls-Royce in Indianapolis, following completion on the Small Engine Assembly Line.  There was also a ceremony at Heli-Expo in Las Vegas on March 5 to announce. 

Founded in 1959, Enstrom Helicopter Corporation manufactures a complete line of helicopters. The three-seat, piston-powered F28F and 280FX are popular training, sport and light commercial aircraft. The larger turbine-powered 480B is available as a three-place advanced trainer and patrol aircraft, a 2+2 four-seat training helicopter, or as a three- to five-place executive transport. For law enforcement applications, Enstrom produces an optionally equipped variant of the 480B, known as the Guardian, and the F28F, called the Sentinel. For more information on Enstrom, visit www.enstromhelicopter.com.

Rolls-Royce is a world-leading provider of power systems and services for use on land, at sea and in the air, and has established a strong position in global markets – civil aerospace, defence aerospace, marine and energy. As a result of this strategy, Rolls-Royce has a broad customer base comprising more than 500 airlines, 4,000 corporate and utility aircraft and helicopter operators, 160 armed forces, more than 4,000 marine customers, including 70 navies, and energy customers in more than 80 countries. For Rolls-Royce, annual underlying revenue was $19.5* billion in 2012, of which more than half came from the provision of services. The firm and announced order book stood at $96.2 billion at 31 December 2012, providing visibility of future levels of activity. Rolls-Royce employs over 45,000 people in offices, manufacturing and service facilities in over 50 countries. Over 14,000 of these employees are engineers.  In 2012, Rolls-Royce invested $1.47 billion on research and development, two thirds of which had the objective of further improving the environmental performance of its products, in particular reducing emissions.  Rolls-Royce supports a global network of 28 University Technology Centres, which connect the company’s engineers with the forefront of scientific research.  The Group has a strong commitment to apprentice and graduate recruitment and to further developing employee skills.

* Assumed exchange rate: £1.00= $1.60