Bond Offshore Helicopters has taken delivery of its second Sikorsky S-92.
Destined for service in the North Sea oilfields, the rotorcraft was flown from the USA to Prestwick airport, Scotland, aboard a Volga-Dnepr Airlines Antonov An-124.
The aircraft is one of a batch of six S-92s due to start operations with Bond. The helicopters normally arrive by sea, but on this occasion, delivery by air was deemed to be the most efficient method of bringing the helicopter to the UK and getting it into service, says Bond.
Bond Offshore Helicopters
At Prestwick, the helicopter was transferred to a transporter truck for the final leg of the journey to Bond’s base at Aberdeen airport, in northeast Scotland: the centre of the UK hydrocarbon industry.
Final assembly and testing was carried out at the Aberdeen site, before the aircraft made its operational debut in the first week of April.
In 2013 Bond Offshore Helicopters carried 160,000 passengers to their offshore workplaces, flying more than 22,000h. The new aircraft is part of a purchase of 16 new S-92 helicopters announced in 2011 by Bond’s parent company, Avincis Group.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
