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Stealth success: E & B Helicopters continues to flourish in a tough market

By Oliver Johnson

By Oliver Johnson | June 6, 2016

Published on: June 6, 2016
Estimated reading time 24 minutes, 39 seconds.

Unless you’ve done business with them, chances are you haven’t heard of Vancouver Island-based utility operator E & B Helicopters — but over the last 25 years, it has flourished in the niche it has carved out for itself in one of the toughest helicopter markets in Canada.
A Bell 407 belonging to E & B Helicopters flies over the rugged scenery of Vancouver Island near its home in Campbell River, British Columbia. Heath Moffatt Photo
A Bell 407 belonging to E & B Helicopters flies over the rugged scenery of Vancouver Island near its home in Campbell River, British Columbia. Heath Moffatt Photo

Despite owning the largest fleet on Vancouver Island, the enormous 12,400-square-mile (32,000-square-kilometer) landmass off the west coast of the Canadian mainland, and being the first operator to fly several types in the country, E & B Helicopters thinks of itself as “under the radar.” And to an extent, it may be right. There are perhaps few outside its sphere of influence that know anything about the company, let alone how it has flourished for more than 25 years in one of the toughest, most competitive helicopter markets in Canada.

E & B was established in February 1990 by Ed Wilcock in partnership with Bill Alder (the “E” and “B” of the company’s name) in the small coastal city of Campbell River, about halfway along the island’s eastern shore. It began operations with a single Robinson R22, which was used to provide support for logging companies — in the form of moving timber fallers and/or slinging their gear — on Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia. The operation formally combined two of Wilcock’s areas of expertise; he had been flying in a private capacity since he was young, and had worked for many years as a logging manager. In his last position before establishing E & B, he used his own R22 to travel between work sites.

“I came out of the logging business, so I knew the majority of the managers all over the B.C. coast,” Wilcock told Vertical during a recent visit to the company’s headquarters. Those ties to the logging industry proved invaluable as the company established itself, with Wilcock taking on the piloting duties while Alder completed the maintenance — as well as providing hangar space within his maintenance, repair, and overhaul company, Sealand Aviation.

Today, the company has a staff of 25 and a fleet of 12 aircraft, and operates out of two purpose-built hangars that comprise its headquarters in Campbell River (with a combined size of 12,500 square feet), as well as from bases in Gold River and Port Alberni (in central Vancouver Island). In addition to its logging work, it offers the range of charter services that might be expected of a typical Canadian utility operator — such as firefighting, medevac, wildlife surveys, and flightseeing — as well as undertaking third party maintenance work, and running its own avionics shop. E & B is also a Robinson dealer and a factory authorized service center, and at one point even ran its own flight school.

E & B has 12 aircraft, including this Leonardo Helicopters AW119 Koala, which joined the fleet in 2015. Heath Moffatt Photo
E & B has 12 aircraft, including this Leonardo Helicopters AW119 Koala, which joined the fleet in 2015. Heath Moffatt Photo

“We stay pretty low-profile, but this year we’ll probably do 6,000 [flight] hours,” said Wilcock. “It works very well for us.”

A gradual evolution

Any changes over the years have been gradual, and expansion has been slow and steady. Perhaps the most substantial change was the parting of ways of Wilcock and Alder in the company’s early years, with Alder returning his focus to Sealand, and Wilcock taking E & B to a leased hangar nearby. The core focus on the logging industry has remained the same from the company’s first day, and has not only helped the company grow, but informed the rate and direction of that growth. Customer demand led Wilcock to bring the first Robinson R44 (Astro) into Canada in 1995, and this was followed by the first R44 Raven II.
The Koala was flown almost exclusively by chief pilot Rob Wood last summer. He said the aircraft was fast and powerful — and he enjoyed its more modern cockpit. Heath Moffatt Photo
The Koala was flown almost exclusively by chief pilot Rob Wood last summer. He said the aircraft was fast and powerful — and he enjoyed its more modern cockpit. Heath Moffatt Photo

“I brought the R44 into Canada, started using it, and the logging guys said, ‘If you had a bigger helicopter, we’d give you more work,’ ” said Wilcock.

The requests for bigger aircraft led the company to introduce the Bell 206 JetRanger, Bell 206L LongRanger, and Bell 407 into its fleet over the years. The most recent acquisition in this vein was a Leonardo Helicopters (formerly known as AgustaWestland) AW119 Koala, which joined the fleet in July 2015. Today, the remainder of the fleet includes eight Bell 206 B3 JetRangers, an Airbus Helicopters AS350 BA, a 407, and a Robinson R66.

“It’s what fits the market,” said Wilcock. “We’re very fortunate in that we keep our JetRangers busy year-round.”

E & B is headquartered in Campbell River, where it spreads its operations across two hangars that total about 12,500 square feet. Heath Moffatt Photo
E & B is headquartered in Campbell River, where it spreads its operations across two hangars that total about 12,500 square feet. Heath Moffatt Photo

Ralph Richier, E & B’s director of maintenance (and a partner in the company), said the JetRanger is consistently the most requested aircraft for logging work. “I find a lot of companies are getting rid of JetRangers because they’re too small for most of the work, whereas for us, it works perfectly,” he said. “Whether it’s a survey or fallers and their chainsaws, it’s a two-man crew — you put a bunch of gear in and off you go.”

Of E & B’s fleet of 12, all but the R66 is medevac capable — a result of the close ties the company has with the logging industry. It has built a network of seven repeater stations around Vancouver Island that allow any logging company out in the bush to contact E & B’s head office in an emergency — whether or not they are a client. (The repeater system also goes to Wilcock’s home.)

“The forestry companies love that because if they have a problem out there — somebody gets hurt — they know they’ll be able to call out on our frequencies if not their own,” said Richier. “That’s been the biggest thing in keeping our foot in the door here and making sure that we’re the guys the forestry companies call. It’s huge.”
E & B’s Bell 407 flew 300 hours fighting fires in 2015. However, the company doesn’t chase firefighting work. “If there’s no fire season, we miss it, but we don’t need it,” said co-owner Vicki Wilcock. Heath Moffatt Photo
E & B’s Bell 407 flew 300 hours fighting fires in 2015. However, the company doesn’t chase firefighting work. “If there’s no fire season, we miss it, but we don’t need it,” said co-owner Vicki Wilcock. Heath Moffatt Photo

Ed’s wife, Vicki Wilcock, is co-owner of the company, and also serves as its financial controller. She told Vertical that any work fighting wildfires is considered a bonus — the company doesn’t attempt to chase the work.

“If there’s no fire season, we miss it, but we don’t need it,” she said. “And we’ve always kept that philosophy — don’t go chasing it, it’ll come to you if you’re going to get it. You don’t want to make that save your business from year to year.”

Co-owner and co-founder Ed Wilcock and his wife Vicki Wilcock. The two will soon take a back seat in the running of the company, but Ed admitted it would be hard for them to retire completely. Heath Moffatt Photo
Co-owner and co-founder Ed Wilcock and his wife Vicki Wilcock. The two will soon take a back seat in the running of the company, but Ed admitted it would be hard for them to retire completely. Heath Moffatt Photo

That said, E & B’s 407 flew 300 hours fighting fires last year, and Ed Wilcock said the firefighting capability of the Koala was one of the reasons the company purchased it. “It’s fast, and it’s at the top of the intermediate, but at the start of the medium market,” he said. “Its bucket is 270 gallons, so you’re getting into the 204/205 marketplace.”

Taking a Koala to work

The Koala was almost exclusively flown by chief pilot Rob Wood last summer. “I love it — it’s a hell of a helicopter,” he said. “It’s fast, powerful, and I do enjoy the more modern cockpit. Forestry loves it — it’s a great firefighting helicopter, it really is.”

Without the basket on, Wood said the aircraft cruises at 150 knots quite comfortably. “When I’m light and on my own, I cannot cruise at max continuous power because I will exceed Vne [never exceed speed] for sure,” he said.

“One challenge I have found — and one of the things that anybody flying that aircraft has to be careful of — it wants to go. The feeling I have when I fly most helicopters, is you almost have to coax them to accelerate, whereas with this machine I feel like I’m always pulling it back, it wants to go on. So when you get into lower visibility situations, you really have to pay attention to your airspeed. If you’re not paying attention to it, that airspeed will climb rapidly. When the visibility falls, I’m riding a racehorse and trying to get it to trot, pulling back on the reins to get it to slow.”

E & B has 25 employees, including eight pilots and six maintenance staff. Heath Moffatt Photo
E & B has 25 employees, including eight pilots and six maintenance staff. Heath Moffatt Photo

Wood is one of eight pilots on staff. With an average age of close to 50, they bring an enormous amount of experience to their roles; as a group, they average close to 10,000 flight hours, and four are close to reaching 14,000 flight hours. So what’s the appeal of E & B to these type of pilots?

“I think it’s got a lot to do with Ed and the way he deals with people,” said Wood. “He’s a pretty straightforward guy, and he’s been around a long time — a lot of people on the island know him and respect him. So I think it’s easier for him to attract those guys who want to stay on the island and work on the island. And I also think it’s the type of work we do and the machinery that we operate. We’re still running JetRangers, which a lot of companies aren’t doing anymore, and we’ve got a number of pilots who have been flying on the West Coast in a JetRanger for 20-plus years.”

This experience is invaluable in working in the often challenging West Coast climate. “We’ve brought pilots in from Alberta, with 8,000 or 10,000 hours; they don’t like it here,” said Wilcock. “They can fly OK, but the weather scares them a bit. So all of our people are coastal-type pilots.”

The Koala is proving itself to be well-suited for utility operations, including firefighting. Shawn Evans Photo
The Koala is proving itself to be well-suited for utility operations, including firefighting. Shawn Evans Photo

Wood agreed that weather is the major concern as a pilot on the West Coast — especially to the north. “[It] can be treacherous at times,” he said. “There’s fog all the time — and lots of open water, so your flight planning has to be done correctly to make sure you avoid it. Other challenges would be the mountainous terrain and the expectation of clients. I think that one of the things at E & B is that because we do have so many high-time pilots, the expectation is that when you show up, you’re going to be a high-time experienced pilot.”

E & B pilots typically fly about 500 hours a year, and a good portion of that will involve long line work. “Pretty much every job we do has some aspect of long lining involved,” said Wood. “If I had to tell you about the average day of a pilot here, it would be moving fallers to go cut down trees. Typically you’re landing on helipads with fallers and moving their gear through 180-foot or 200-foot trees. It’s a challenging way to make a living, no question.”

A busy hangar

There are six maintenance staff at E & B, with the capability to perform repairs down to the component or structural level. Engine overhauls are performed by StandardAero, while hydraulic repairs are sent to Helitrades.

Ralph Richier, E & B’s director of maintenance, recently became a partner in the company. He plans to continue down the path set by the Wilcocks. Heath Moffatt Photo
Ralph Richier, E & B’s director of maintenance, recently became a partner in the company. He plans to continue down the path set by the Wilcocks. Heath Moffatt Photo

“We don’t fly high hours, but we fly every day,” said Richier. “We fly people, mostly. We do a little bit of long line, but we’re not 100 percent long line, so we’re not really stressing the aircraft a lot. Our biggest concern here is just moisture. Moisture is a killer on the inside of the aircraft — so the trick is keeping a handle on that.”

Richier said working across types produced by four different original equipment manufacturers has its challenges. “You’ve got to change your way of thinking,” he said. “Just the way they manufacture things and the way things come apart and what’s critical in an inspection is different.”

Richier said the biggest concern for E & B’s maintenance team was moisture. “Moisture is a killer on the inside of the aircraft — so the trick is keeping a handle on that,” he said. Heath Moffatt Photo
Richier said the biggest concern for E & B’s maintenance team was moisture. “Moisture is a killer on the inside of the aircraft — so the trick is keeping a handle on that,” he said. Heath Moffatt Photo

All E & B’s aircraft are fitted with a satellite tracking device from Latitude Technologies. “That’s a huge comfort for us,” said Richier. “If people can’t call in at the end of the day, you know you can look at the satellite tracking and see whether they’re back at the camp. You know they’re home. If the tracker isn’t working, it’s a concern of ours. If we have a flight from here where it doesn’t work, they’ll come back and we’ll take a look at it. The guys don’t leave without it.”

As with the pilots, turnaround is generally low in the maintenance department. “We’ve got a pretty good age range and experience range,” said Richier. “We keep it so that when guys are getting up there with experience, we bring another apprentice on. We’ve been expanding and we haven’t lost a lot of employees.”

Maintenance staff at E & B have the capability to perform repairs down to the component or structural level. Heath Moffatt Photo
Maintenance staff at E & B have the capability to perform repairs down to the component or structural level. Heath Moffatt Photo

While change may be gradual and growth thoughtfully considered, that doesn’t mean E & B is unwilling to try new things — as evidenced by its early adoption of new types — or to take advantage of the right opportunity when it presents itself. Six years ago, the company acquired the bases in Gold River and Port Alberni from VIH. “They approached us and it was just a fit,” said Wilcock. “There’s a lot of competition right in Campbell River; there’s not really competition in Gold River and Port Alberni. We were pretty fortunate. We bought them, things went on an upswing, and we paid for them in one year — which is not the norm.”

A more recent change saw Richier and Cheryl Paulsen become partners in the company. Paulsen has been with E & B for 11 years in a variety of roles, and currently serves as the company’s office manager. “I love it. It’s very challenging — coming in and learning the different aspects of the business — but who doesn’t love helicopters?” she said.

All E & B’s aircraft have satellite tracking devices so that those in the office can ensure they’re safe. Heath Moffatt Photo
All E & B’s aircraft have satellite tracking devices so that those in the office can ensure they’re safe. Heath Moffatt Photo

E & B’s role in the community was something in which Paulsen said she took particular pride, with the company regularly hosting schools at the hangar, donating to local charities, and providing annual Canada Day helicopter rides at minimal cost.

“People come in and their faces just light up — you can see the excitement to be around something that most people don’t have the opportunity to see very often, and to go up in a helicopter and fly around.”

Richier said working across types from four different OEMs provided its challenges — particularly in relation to the paperwork. Heath Moffatt Photo
Richier said working across types from four different OEMs provided its challenges — particularly in relation to the paperwork. Heath Moffatt Photo

With such a clear passion for the industry, the company seems to be in safe hands. But having only taken three or four days off for each of the last 26 years, Wilcock admitted it will be hard for him and Vicki to completely walk away from E & B. “I’ll probably never retire because of my theory that that’s the start of the end,” he said. “Two new people will take it over shortly, and we will just be here to help them.”

Wilcock said slow and steady growth has been the key to E & B’s success over the years, and his considered approach to business looks set to be continued by Richier. “People still think we just have two Robinson helicopters here, and that’s fine,” said Richier. “We’re an island company, and we don’t venture far from home. It’s a little different. A lot of companies are driven by trying to find more and more work. We’re not; we try to stay close to home, keep the work we have here, and just be a good company to work with.”

Turnaround within the maintenance team is generally low, and apprentices are brought in when the time is right to expand. Heath Moffatt Photo
Turnaround within the maintenance team is generally low, and apprentices are brought in when the time is right to expand. Heath Moffatt Photo

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