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LEADING THE BELL 214
INTO THE FUTURE
OUR LEGACY
In 1971, the Erickson Lumber Company leased an S-64 Skycrane helicopter from
Sikorsky Aircraft for timber harvesting and renamed the company Erickson Air-Crane,
purchasing several more over the next few years.
By 1992, with the S-64 considered to be at the end of its life, Erickson purchased the
Type Certificate from Sikorsky and put in place a comprehensive and fully integrated
service operation to support it.
Since then, Erickson has developed specific expertise in supporting a variety of legacy
aircraft, as well as continued to manufacture and maintain the S-64, now renamed the
Aircrane. Over the years, Erickson continually upgraded and expanded the Aircrane’s
capabilities in support of some of the toughest missions globally, from firefighting and
logging, to infrastructure support and oil & gas exploration.
Erickson is uniquely positioned as an Original Equipment Manufacturer, as a global operator,
with a fleet of close to 90 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, and as a fully integrated
service provider. With its comprehensive range of maintenance, repair and overhaul
capabilities, supply chain management expertise, component manufacturing and
extensive reliability and design engineering resources, Erickson has become a leader in
the support of legacy helicopters.
A NEW PARTNERSHIP
As an OEM, Bell Helicopter faced the inevitable difficulties of providing support to a legacy
aircraft like the Bell 214, with parts becoming scarcer and more expensive and the supply
chain breaking down. In addition, fewer engineering and technical resources were
available to support any efforts to improve component reliability or design on such a
legacy aircraft. Faced with these issues, but determined to provide world-class support to
all its customers, Bell Helicopter chose to transition full product support to a third party
with a proven track record and a relentless focus on servicing legacy aircraft: Erickson.
As a result, an agreement was made for Erickson to assume full product support
responsibility for the Bell 214B and 214ST helicopters, including spare parts manufacture
and supply, technical assistance, maintenance training and MRO services. Under this
agreement, Erickson will make, buy and distribute Bell 214 part numbers to support
legacy customers throughout the world.
As an OEM and global operator of legacy aircraft, Erickson is in a unique position to
understand the essential requirements of safety, airworthiness and quality embedded in
the support of such products. By transferring responsibility to one of the world’s most
respected legacy support companies, Bell Helicopter made certain that the future of the
Bell 214 was assured.
THE BELL LEGACY
The Bell 214B ‘Heavy Lifter’ is the largest, most powerful single engine helicopter currently
in the world. With a maximum lift capacity of 3,000kg, plus a 2.5 hour endurance (with
reserve) it is the most productive and cost effective in its class.
The Bell 214ST is a rugged, reliable workhorse known for its multi-mission capabilities and
impressive power. With outstanding hot and high capability, it can handle impressive
payloads up to 2,495kg at lower elevations.
ERICKSON MRO LEADING YOUR LEGACY INTO THE FUTURE
“
Erickson has been a trusted
partner of Bell Helicopter for
more than 30 years. As a
specialist in offering services
for heavy-lift aircraft, we know
the Bell 214 community will be
in great hands with Erickson.
Jason Johnson, Director of Sales and
Customer Support, Bell Helicopter
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LEADING THE BELL 214 INTO THE FUTURE
SUPPORTING YOUR INVESTMENT
Erickson’s uniquely integrated capabilities and focus on legacy aircraft, together with
unrivalled experience as a global operator, allow us to offer viable solutions to Bell 214
operators, whatever their mission, anywhere in the world, with a view to sustain and
enhance their organization’s capabilities, maximize the return and insure the business
continuity. Erickson’s focused support delivers:
Improved spares availability and lead time – Erickson’s extensive in-house
manufacturing capability and global supply chain management expertise will largely
improve the supply of parts and sub-assemblies, as well as reduce acquisition lead times.
Development of DER repairs – Erickson’s DER team continuously seeks to develop
repair solutions as an alternative to new parts, allowing for shorter lead times, reduced
direct maintenance costs, and less inventory to carry.
Access to reliability engineering data and solutions – Erickson has a
comprehensive in-house reliability engineering process that works hand in hand with
flight operations and personnel to continuously investigate causes for early removals
and failures, and we seek ways to improve component reliability and overall fleet
availability for a wide range of design, structural analysis and certification projects.
SAFEGUARDING THE
BELL 214 LEGACY
As an operator of the Bell 214, Erickson
recognizes and values its exceptional
capabilities and is dedicated to keeping
it operational for many years to come
through a program of capital investments,
upgrades and enhancements.
More importantly, as the support
organization for the Bell 214 community
throughout the world, Erickson is
committed to putting its uniquely
integrated capabilities and legacy
support experience to work to safeguard
the Bell 214 legacy, by maximizing the
value of operators’ investment and their
business continuity.
A dedicated organization focused on supporting legacy platforms – Erickson
has over 25 year's experience of developing innovative MRO services to support legacy
platforms. Its entire workforce is geared towards caring for legacy helicopters, from its
maintenance staff, buyers and logisticians, to its engineering team.
A willingness to invest in legacy platforms – Erickson does not hesitate to invest in
the support of legacy platforms. On the Bell 214, Erickson is engaging in a multi-million
dollar project to re-start the production of rotor blades, with investment in capital
equipment, tooling and engineering.
The benefits to operators are:
Greater aircraft availability – With an improved supply chain, lower lead times, and
a greater number of options (PMA, DER), operators are able to reduce their aircraft
downtime both during scheduled maintenance events and unscheduled removals.
Reduction of direct maintenance costs – By spending time and effort optimizing the
program’s supply chain, and by leveraging its internal manufacturing capabilities as well
as its DER/PMA engineering staff, Erickson is able to not only make more parts available
faster, it is also to work on parts affordability and to provide operators with options they
never had before.
Improved asset utilization – Along with greater aircraft availability, Erickson’s impact
on the supply chain’s performance in terms of speed, cost and overall reliability is
allowing operators to improve their inventory levels and subsequently reduce the number
of assets needed to support their fleet.
Peace of mind – There is tremendous value for operators to know that their fleet is
supported by an organization whose entire business is built around legacy aircraft.
Operators are cared for by a team of professionals which knows their product, understands
their business, and has a proven track record in supporting their mission profiles.
“
Sustainable operations – Erickson is dedicated to keeping the Bell 214 helicopter fleet
operating safely and efficiently for many decades to come. Sustainability of this program
has a direct impact on operators’ business continuity and competitiveness, with that
in mind, Erickson’s team of professionals is constantly looking to improve the products it
supports. The goal is not just to keep the program alive, but to allow it to thrive.
Kerry Jarandson, Vice President
Manufacturing & MRO, Erickson Inc.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
www.ericksonaviation.com
+1 503 505 5800
5550 SW Macadam Avenue, Suite 200, Portland, OR 97239, USA
© 2015 Erickson Air-Crane Incorporated. All rights reserved.
ERICKSON MRO LEADING YOUR LEGACY INTO THE FUTURE
We currently have nine Bell 214
aircraft in our fleet with more
than 30 years flying them. We
are excited and ready to fully
support the aircraft and their
operators around the world.