Milestone Aviation Group (Milestone), a global leader in helicopter leasing, has partnered with Australian fire-fighting equipment designer, Helitak Firefighting Equipment (Helitak), to develop a new mission for the Sikorsky S-92A as a next-generation, multi-purpose fire-fighting platform.
As the largest owner of the S-92A, Milestone worked closely with Helitak to develop the innovative FT5000, a lightweight 4,000-litre (1,050 US gallons) collapsible belly-mounted fire suppression tank specifically designed for the helicopter. The first S-92A equipped with the FT5000 will be on static display at the upcoming HAI Heli-Expo in Dallas, Texas.
The S-92A is a global leader in high-capacity civilian passenger transport services as well as search and rescue programmes, with over 1.8 million overall fleet hours. Its next-generation avionics and dynamic cabin layout means that in addition to dropping water, it will be capable of transporting crews of up to 19 firefighters to the front lines of wildfire events. The S-92A’s rear-loading cargo ramp and spacious cabin also offers operators the ability to quickly reconfigure the aircraft from passenger and equipment transfers to cargo hauling or medevac services.
