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The most notable addition to DART’s new Heli-Utility-Basket is its oversized, curve-top lid, which adds 30 percent more storage space.

DART gets multiple approvals for improvements to Heli-Utility-Basket

DART Aerospace Press Release | December 12, 2018

Estimated reading time 1 minute, 57 seconds.

DART Aerospace recently received approvals of updates to the supplemental type certificates (STC) from the FAA, TCCA, and EASA for its latest additions to its bestselling AS350/AS355 Quick Release Heli-Utility-Basket.

The most notable addition to DART's new Heli-Utility-Basket is its oversized, curve-top lid, which adds 30 percent more storage space.
The most notable addition to DART’s new Heli-Utility-Basket is its oversized, curve-top lid, which adds 30 percent more storage space. DART Photo

Since receiving initial certification of a utility basket on the AS350 in 1994, DART has been consistently improving and adding to the design to meet the evolving requirements of the industry.

The most notable addition to the new basket from its predecessor is its oversized, curve-top lid, which adds 30 percent more storage space; the lid is available as a retrofit option for long baskets using the light- or heavy-duty flat lid. Other additions include an optional ground-handling wheel for easy maneuvering and double-locking quick-release pins, also available for retrofit.

As with the previous generations, the new basket carries no VNE restriction; in fact, a new flight test program has allowed DART to relax performance restrictions on all DART AS350 baskets. Furthermore, the basket can be quickly installed or removed with no tools by one person in less than a minute, thanks to its industry-leading quick-release system.

“The impetus for this design change was to allow customers to transport rigid-based, multi-drop firefighting buckets,” said Wesley Reid, product manager at DART. “But we are excited about the benefits that the added cargo volume this new lid will present to operators in the heli-skiing, public service, utility and firefighting industries.”

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