StandardAero has begun the second phase of a program to upgrade the Pinal County Arizona Sheriff Department’s Bell UH-1H helicopter for hot, high, and heavy operations. The program, which is underway at StandardAero’s helicopter airframe facility in British Columbia, is expected to be completed in the next five to six months.
Included in the second phase are airframe modifications to the lift beam, main beams, and tail boom attach areas, as well as engine mount and main transmission mount areas. Main transmission and driveshaft assemblies also will be upgraded. Those modifications are designed for increasing horsepower and torque that is required to improve lift capability to 5,000 pounds of external cargo capacity and a 10,500-pound external gross weight limitation.
They are in addition to first phase modifications for improved hover-hold, yaw control and reduced torque, tail rotor power requirements, and fuel consumption. First-phase upgrades also include an upgraded engine and transmission cooling system.
StandardAero launched the UH-1H airframe upgrade program in 1992 and since then has performed more than 150 of them for military and restricted-category operators. In 2023, the sheriff’s department is considering a third phase in which installation of Bell 212 main rotor blades would provide a 10,500-pound internal and 11,200-pound external gross weight on its UH-1H.