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www.therockymountaingoat.com
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
On The Move
Yellowhead Helicopters expands fleet, adds another base
Above: One of three Bell 407’s. This new generation of Bell Helicopter is fast, technologoically-savy and looks very good on the top of local mountains. Left: Garry Foreman takes delivery of his first helicopter in 1975 in Texas. The helicopter, which has racked up18,644 flying hours, is still used today. Photos courtesy Yellowhead Helicopters
Joseph Nusse jnusse@therockymountaingoat.com
The two 205’s were originally purchased by the Omanian Police Department and It has been a long flight since local entrepreneur Garry Foreman purchased served in an enforcement role in Oman for 33 years. After this, they were purchased by an Australian company which then turned around and sold them off his first helicopter in 1975. Today, his company, Yellowhead Helicopters, is a growing industry name. fairly quickly. They both have very low hours, only 6,000 each, but have required Along the way, his fleet has shuttled celebrities such as Gene Hackman and Cana- many upgrades. Foreman says Oman is a very humid, highly corrosive environdian politicians such as Prime Ministers Pierre Elliot Trudeau and Jean Chrétien. ment for a helicopter, so some airframe parts had to be replaced. The equipBut at the heart of the family-run company still lies small-town Yellowhead Helicopters: A Timeline ment requirements of Canadian jurisdictions are also unique, and moving a helicopter from one country to another requires values for quality of life and community involvement. Recently many retrofits. The Rocky Mountain Goat sat down with Operations Manager 1968 Garry Foreman completes his The Bell medium-life helicopters may be very old, but they Jacob Foreman, one of Garry Foreman’s sons, to get an update first hover solo in C-FKGS, a Bell 47. Late 1960s to early 1970s, Garry Forestill have a bright future, Foreman says. The Canadian operaon significant developments that have created a buzz around man pilots helicopters in and around the tions of Pratt & Whitney are in the process of developing a new the hanger. Foreman says the company is working on opening a new base Valley including many of the very first generation of engine designed for the Bell 205. This new engine scouting missions with Mike Wiegele. will consume 20 per cent less fuel with a 50 per cent increase in in Kamloops. As a result of the much-publicized 2008 crash of 1975, Garry Foreman puchases his a Bell 206 carrying BC Hydro crews into a residential street in first helicopter C-GYHL, a Bell 206 Jet Horsepower. If this program is successful it will keep the Bell Cranbrook, B.C. hydro initiated an audit of all helicopter car- Ranger. Yellowhead Helicopters is born. 205 series mediums in the market well into the 21st century. Yellowhead has a deposit on this engine, and if the engine gets rier companies they commission. The result was a much shorter Mid 1980s, Yellowhad Helicopters approved, Yellowhead will be the very first in Canada to outfit list, Forman says. Yellowhead was one company that passed the adds an Aero-spatiale AS350D to its fleet of several Bell 206 Jet Rangers. The with this newer engine. audit. “It will completely transform that aircraft”. But he says there are other factors at play in this expansion. company soon after decided to remain only an operator of Bell helicopters. Yellowhead has considered expanding into the twin engine The air operations divisions of B.C. Forestry has been moved 1989 Bell 204 medium lift machine is market. At one point an order was placed for a Bell 427. The from Victoria to Kamloops this year and there are advantages added to the fleet. to having bases in larger centers. Clients such as mining compa- 1992 A Bell 206 L-3 Long Ranger is program was cancelled, however the order has rolled over to the Bell 429 program which, according to Foreman looks like it nies will fly their managers and investors into a larger regional added to the fleet. More followed. airport like Kamloops, and expect a helicopter pick-up right 2001 Expansion of the medium fleet will be a success. Despite this, Foreman does not see the comwith one Bell 205A-1. pany taking delivery of such an aircraft soon. on-site to transport to remote locations. 2005 The new generation of Bell heli“Yellowhead is conservative. We will let others go through the Purchasing a brand-new helicopter is no small task. The copters arrives, the first of three Bell 407 teething pains.” company recently purchased another Bell 407. Originally Yelintermediate helicopters. The 429 twin-engine helicopter costs roughly $5,500/hour to lowhead placed a deposited order for a Bell 417, a higher per- Total Fleet as of 2010: keep in the air, about twice as much as a 407, and only offers a formance helicopter based on the same airframe as the modern 3 Bell 205A-1’s, larger cabin and the safety precaution of having two engines. 407, but when the program was cancelled, the order was trans- 3 Bell 407’s, But Forman says single engines also have a great safety record. ferred, and a third 407 has now been added to Yellowhead’s 2 Bell 206L-3 Long Rangers 1 Bell 206L-4 Long Ranger In Yellowhead’s history, there have only been two engine failfleet. 7 Bell 206B3 Jet Rangers ures both with successful auto-rotations. Both were caused by Foreman says compared to its 206 Jet Ranger and Long foreign objects, not mechanical failures. Since these incidents, Ranger predecessor, the 407 is significantly faster, and has at least double the payload capabilities of the 206 Jet Ranger. The machine is very all the company’s helicopters have more filters to prevent air-borne debris from popular with the mining and heli-skiing communities, and it seems to be gaining entering the engine. Yellowhead Helicopters has remained a private family company based in Valepopularity within the forest industry as well, Foreman says. Modern safety requirements are part of the reason behind the growth in demand for larger aircraft mount since the time it was founded, which reflects its values. “In a private company, profit is not the only consideration. It is nice not being since they demand a certain total airframe weight. Today a Jet Ranger is almost 200 lbs heavier than 30 years ago simply because of higher requirements when it driven by shareholders who live on the moon.” Foreman says there are many quality of life decisions which have led to Yelcomes to carry-on emergency equipment, and even things like modern seatbelts. lowhead remaining in Valemount. However, they do come at a price. “They all add up. Also, people are getting bigger.” “Some costs are higher when you are not located in a larger center. But this is Besides a new base and purchasing of brand new aircraft, Yellowhead is also up grading and expanding their medium-lift fleet. Yellowhead has moved quickly to home. We could outsource the head office to New Delhi if we wanted, but we all replace their 204’s with two 205’s recently acquired from an Australian company. like the view here.” “Yellowhead Buzz” cont’ A5