Microflite Helicopter Services welcomes its 14th Airbus Helicopters rotorcraft

Microflite Helicopter Services has again placed its trust in the performance, versatility and safety credentials of Airbus Helicopters’ family of civil aircraft, welcoming helicopter No. 14 to an all-star fleet.

The latest addition, an H125 (formerly AS350 B3e), is destined to help safeguard thousands of lives, providing enhanced capability to the company’s front-line emergency response work, ranging from aerial firefighting to search and rescue and disaster recovery.

Mr Booth said timing was critical in the lead-up to Australia’s fire season, adding that there was also no question the power of Microflite’s Airbus Helicopters fleet played a key role in its successful bid to secure three additional government contracts covering year-round emergency response work across Victoria.

Announced in October, the news takes Microflite’s firefighting contracts with Victoria’s Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning from two to five, utilising a line-up of five aircraft from the versatile Squirrel (Écureuil) family. The company also provides “call-when-needed” firefighting services in New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania, and proudly operates Life Saving Victoria’s two Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopters (an AS350 B2 and an EC120).

“We are well prepared for the coming season and this additional Airbus Helicopters aircraft will provide even greater capability and fleet redundancy,” said Mr Booth, who, with his father, purchased the company 10 years ago.

Mr Booth said the company’s “strong partnership” with Airbus Helicopters was integral to its growth: “We see it very much as a partnership because when we go for our contracts and tenders, and we put our best foot forward, we only tender Airbus Helicopters products and, in doing so, we commit to the safety management systems and maintenance programs built around these aircraft.”

Renowned for excelling in extreme conditions, the H125 offers exceptional performance, agility, safety, low maintenance and low acquisition costs. In 2005, its predecessor, the AS350 B3, broke the world record for the highest-altitude landing and take-off, performed on Mount Everest at 8,850 meters (29,035 feet).