As soon as British Columbia Helicopters receives its first Cabri G2, it plans to place an order for its second, and may eventually acquire a third. L. Persin Photo
About a year before they signed on to become the first Canadian customer for the Guimbal Cabri G2 training helicopter, Sancho and Mischa Gelb visited the Guimbal factory in Aix-en-Provence, France.
The brothers and co-owners of the British Columbia Helicopters flight school in Abbotsford, B.C., were looking to replace one of their main trainers, a Schweizer (now Sikorsky) S-300, and had scanned the industry for options.
“There wasn’t really much that stood out, until we came across the Cabri G2,” said Sancho, 34, the company’s chief engineer.
“We pretty quickly decided that it was the only viable and real option to replace the Schweizer, if we wanted something equally as good or better than the Schweizer had been.”
They spoke with Bruno Guimbal, president and CEO of Hélicoptères Guimbal, during their visit to France, met the rest of the Guimbal staff and test-flew the Cabri G2.
“[We] pretty much decided then and there that was going to be our replacement helicopter,” said Sancho.
They signed an agreement to become the first Canadian customer at HAI Heli-Expo 2016 in Louisville, Ky.
“We’re all in our 30s, and so going forward we have a long career ahead of us,” said Sancho. “Having a helicopter that can actually meet up with those long-term goals is a pretty exciting step, going forward.”
British Columbia Helicopters is based about an hour’s drive from Vancouver and a 10-minute flight from the base of B.C.’s coastal mountains.
The company uses a pair of Schweitzer S-300s for the majority of its training, accounting for about 90 out of 100 hours for each student. The remaining 10 hours take place on a Robinson R44.
The company signed an agreement to become the first Canadian customer at HAI Heli-Expo 2016 in Louisville, Ky. BC Helicopters Photo
Safety is a key reason the company uses Schweizers, and safety was a key reason it pursued the Cabri G2 as a replacement.
“Whatever helicopter was going to take over the Schweizer had to at least be as safe as the Schweizer, if not better,” said Sancho.
Seeing the Cabri G2 in person in France and listening to Bruno Guimbal speak about its design and manufacturing process helped firm up the decision.
“It’s a true inspiration, what this guy has done,” said Sancho. “The combination of seeing and flying the helicopter, seeing how it feels, hearing about how it was built and talking to the owners there, it pretty much sealed the deal.”
The Cabri G2 made its Heli-Expo debut in 2014 and Guimbal recorded 10 orders from U.S. customers around the time of the show.
Certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) came in February 2015 after a 16-month process that paved the way for launch U.S. customer Precision Helicopters of Newberg, Ore.
Delivery to British Columbia Helicopters is set for Jan. 12, 2017, if Transport Canada certification goes through by the end of the year as expected, said Sancho.
As soon as the company receives its first Cabri G2, it plans to place an order for its second, and may eventually acquire a third.
“From there we’ll evaluate and see if we want to grow bigger or if we want to stay there,” said Sancho. “But that’s our short-term goal, is three Cabris.”
There’s plenty of anticipation ahead of that first delivery date for the Gelbs, who acquired British Columbia Helicopters in 2008 from founders Bonnie and Gerry Friesen.
The company aims to provide an intimate training experience, taking only four students at a time with Mischa as the chief instructor and Sancho as the point person for maintenance. Mischa’s wife Amy, a fellow co-owner, runs the office.
“We’re super-excited,” said Sancho. “Between now and then we’re going to be going back to France. Both myself and Mischa are going to go over there, spend a week and both of us will do the maintenance training as well as a bunch of flight training with Guimbal on the G2.
“We’re going to both go over there for signing the final acceptance on the first helicopter as well, and really excited about that.”
