Guimbal Cabris continue migration to U.S.

Midwest Helicopter Academy has taken delivery of another Guimbal Helicopteres Cabri G2, bringing its Cabri fleet to three in the United States to support demand within the 141 Flight School.

Helicopteres Guimbal’s United States distributor, Precision Helicopters of Newberg Oregon, joined Midwest Helicopters week for the assembly of its new delivery along with one of its own Cabris near St. Louis, Missouri.

Midwest Helicopters has now been flying the Cabri G2 since January 2016 and ever since has conducted a steady migration, making the Cabri its flagship training helicopter.

This delivery to Midwest Helicopters brings the fleet of Cabris in the United States to 12 with plans for six additional Cabris before the end of the year. By January 2017 the United States will be the third largest importer, a close tie with China, of the Cabri G2 in the world behind the United Kingdom and New Zealand. There are plans by the end of 2017 to be the largest operator base of the Cabri of any country.

In an earlier 2016 release, General Aviation Manufacturers Association stated that Guimbal Helicopteres produced more of its G2 Cabris in 2015 than Robinson produced R22s, representing an impressive effort by the French manufacturer.

Guimbal is now assembling its 175th Cabri in Aix, France where just 18 months ago Guimbal was delivering its 100th aircraft to a German operator. Perhaps a more impressive figure is that there have been zero injuries to a Cabri pilot or passenger in more than 90,000 flight hours.

The first U.S. helicopter was handed over to Precision Aviation Training at the 2014 HAI Heli-Expo as Guimbal and Precision awaited the much anticipated Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standard airworthiness certification in early 2015, releasing the aircraft to Precision’s flight school.

Precision has continued to move away from the Schweizer 300 model as its training helicopter as Midwest Helicopters has transitioned away from its Schweizers and R22s.  Both companies had been flying either the Schweizer 300 or the R22 for over 20 years.

Midwest Helicopters chief pilot/owner, Chris Bailey said: “At one time the H-269 was the only helicopter that had ever been built from the ground-up for the purpose of training pilots. The crashworthiness and stable platform made it the best trainer for years hands down, until we met the G2. For a pilot, flight instructor and a business owner the Cabri checked all of the boxes the S300 did for years. However, now the G2 trumps all other piston helicopters with its added safety features such as incredible rotor inertia, a true fuel bladder and Fenestron tail rotor system, not to mention the excellent customer support that’s so hard to find these days from manufacturers. Simply put, for Midwest Helicopter Academy the G2 equals safety, efficient training, and reliability. We know what to expect with the Guimbal, it stays in the air every day without drama.”