Heli-One opens S-92 support centre in Brazil
Heli-One's new S-92 customer support centre is the first in South America and the nineth worldwide.
Helicopter MRO Heli-One has openned a new S-92 customer support centre near Rio De Janeiro, Brazil with support from OEM Sikorsky and lessor Milestone Aviation. The new facility will provide parts provisioning and a maintenance, overhaul and repair capability for the heavy lift helicopter.
The Sikorsky-authorised S-92 Customer Support Centre in Cabo Frio, 100 miles east of Rio is the first in South America, and the ninth S-92 support centre to open worldwide. About 40 S-92 aircraft operate in South America – of which 17 are owned by Milestone.
The new support centre will significantly improve maintenance turnaround times and parts provisioning for S-92 operators across Brazil and the wider South American region, helping keep critical missions flying with greater reliability and efficiency, said Kevin Spengler, president, Heli-One.
“Operators will also benefit from the depth of experience within Heli-One’s highly skilled workforce, which has supported Sikorsky products for decades across our operations in Norway, Canada and Poland,” he added. “By bringing together that global expertise and applying the lessons learned from our established S-92 capabilities in those markets, we are building the foundation for Cabo Frio to become a leading regional Centre of Excellence for the S-92 platform.”
Demand for offshore transport is growing as the energy industry extends platforms further offshore, said Leon Silva, vice president of Sikorsky’s Global Commercial and Advanced Programmes. “It is essential that S-92 operators receive skilled and dedicated support services close to their home base of operations,” he added. “The investment our three companies collectively are planning for the Center of Excellence in Cabo Frio will enable us to stock more helicopter parts in Brazil, train workers with the advanced skills to repair parts locally and meet our goal to increase flight availability for operators.”
Pat Sheedy, president and CEO, Milestone said with nearly half the region’s S-92 fleet under the lessor’s ownership, it saw first-hand the aircraft’s performance and reliability plus the importance of locally-based support infrastructure. “This investment will further enhance aircraft availability, reduce downtime, and strengthen the resilience of offshore transport as activity continues to expand. We are pleased to work alongside our partners, Heli-One and Sikorsky, to deliver world-class, dedicated support services closer to our customers.”
Sikorsky revealed in March plans to boost production of its new S-92A+ platform to 12 aircraft a year by 2028.
Most of the global fleet of 275 S-92 operational aircraft is used to transport crews to offshore oil and gas platforms. The heavy lift helicopter is also used by coast guard operators to fly search and rescue missions while 13 nations fly their sovereign and political heads of state in the aircraft.
Read Silva’s views on the longevity of the S-92 platform in our recent free Helicopter Investor Uplift newsletter.
