Weststar Aviation Services has signed a five year TrueChoice Flight Hour service agreement for its fleet of four CT7-2E1-powered Leonardo AW189 helicopters. This agreement is Weststar's first through GE's TrueChoice Flight Hour service.

The Malaysia-headquartered helicopter aviation services provider accepted its first AW189 in July 2014 and relies on GE's reliable CT7-2E1 engines to perform long-range, deep water missions for the offshore industry. Weststar's AW189 fleet has more than 15,000 flight hours to date, all with GE CT7-2E1 engines.

“We are delighted to be partnering with GE through enrolling our CT7 fleet of engines into the True Choice programme," says CTO Russ Allen. "The programme allows us to offer a differentiating value proposition to our clients through critically enhanced support services including the innovative and sustainable technology driven FADEC CT7-2E1 engine.”

The -2E1 version of the CT7 family is designed with an emphasis on low fuel consumption, low cost of operation and other technical features to ensure the aircraft requirements of long range, high speed and Category A performance. The engine leverages more than 100 million flight hours of experience from the T700/CT7 engine family while incorporating a state-of-the-art Full Authority Digital Control (FADEC) and advanced materials, primarily in the turbine section.

The CT7-2E1 engine's reliability is augmented by GE's continuous improvement approach to engine performance. GE released its Version 6.0 software update for the -2E1 in 2021, which enables better time-on-wing, digital predictive maintenance and time-limited dispatch.

“We're thrilled to add Weststar to our TrueChoice customer base,” adds commercial rotorcraft programmes director Elissa Lee. “TrueChoice Flight Hour is a popular choice for our CT7 operators due to its simplicity and flexibility, which are both hallmarks of how we strive to serve our customers.”

The CT7-2E1 can run on approved SAF blends to reduce lifecycle CO2 emissions.