Helicopter Express, an operator headquartered at DeKalb-Peachtree airport in Atlanta, Georgia has taken delivery of a converted Eagle Copter 407 HP, which will be used for firefighting. The aircraft's conversion from a VIP configuration was completed by Wysong Enterprises, a helicopter centre based in Tennessee.

Helicopter Express is known for special missions, including heavy lifting, utility and construction, disaster relief, aerial cinematography, charters and firefighting. Wysong has worked on 21 aircraft for Helicopter Express.

“We have been working with Wysong for more than 20 years, and we always get a quality product from it,” said Helicopter Express president and chief operating officer Richie Kittrell. “It has done the type of work on this aircraft for us, as well as working on green aircraft. It has performed avionics repairs and changes of equipment for us regularly because of the changing FAA equipment requirements that are specific to our missions. Wysong is truly a one-stop-shop. We can get everything from a new paint job to new avionics from Wysong. The Eagle 407 is the industry leader in the light aircraft market. This is our seventh one. We can do everything we need to fight fires all over the country. The Eagle HP is head and shoulders above anything else.”

“We have a lot of confidence in Wysong's abilities and in its team,” adds Eagle Copters Spyke Whiting. “We had some time constraints and Wysong was able to get the work done for us quickly. I have great confidence in its abilities, and we have worked with it on numerous occasions.”

Wysong sales manager Paul Schreuder says that the Eagle 407 is very versatile: “For this reason, it was easy to convert the aircraft from transportation to a firefighting aircraft. The power, payload and range make this a good match for this type of mission. It was great to coordinate with both Eagle and Helicopter Express on this completion.”

Wysong installed new equipment from Dallas Avionics including two Technisonic Industries TDFM 136B radios, a Jupiter Avionics JA-94 audio controller, radio adapter and interface. An ELT, Blue Sky Hawkeye and provisions were also included in the conversion.

Special equipment was installed specifically for firefighting. The new upgrades included a Forestry Service GPS Port, water bucket and Heli-Torch Relay. A new LED position light conversion and various Garmin installations with provisions including GTS800 traffic system, Garmin GTX 345 with ADS-B; GRA55 radar altimeter; GI205; and Garmin USB chargers were added. Other safety features included an AAI wire strike, AAI locking fuel cap, various and AAI protector kits.

The interior was upgraded with new leather seating and iPad mount, the seat belts were rewebbed and instruments relocated to accommodate the new mission layout. Wysong has worked on three aircraft for Eagle Copters.