Among the companies making their Heli-Expo debut is AC Air Technology, which is at the show this week in Anaheim, California, to highlight its new T1H2 helicopter tug. The Chino, California-based company has been making tugs for airplanes since 2012, with seven units in its product lineup and more than 1,800 in service worldwide. “We’ve been selling those for seven years now, so we’ve been in the business for a while, but this is our first helicopter tug,” said Tracy Haeggstrom, AC Air’s engineering manager.
The T1H2, which is being demonstrated at the company’s booth (3704), is a motorized, wireless remote-controlled unit that can load, carry, and unload any helicopter with skids up to 6,000-pounds. Powered by a pair of six-inch-wide treads, one on either side of the T1H2’s 84-inch wide frame, it crawls under the front of the skids, while a pair of motorized conveyor belts on top of the unit grab the skids and lift the helicopter as the tug moves further underneath it. Once secure on top of the tug, the operator can even use the remote control from inside the helicopter to drive it to the takeoff location or back to the hangar.
Weighing 280 pounds, the unit can be disassembled for easy transport without tools. Fully rechargeable, it has a continuous run time of 30 minutes. From a full discharge state, recharging takes several hours, but for customers anticipating heavy usage, the battery pack can be quickly swapped.
The T1H2 is expected to be available by mid-year and the company is now taking orders. List price is $16,950, but Haeggstrom said a show special will be available to Heli-Expo attendees who come to see it and enter their names in the order book.