Growing support of BLR Aerospace products from Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) peaked earlier this month when Hawker Beechcraft Corporation introduced its new King Air 250, featuring BLR Winglet Systems as a key performance enhancement. Just in the past year, both Hawker Beechcraft Corporation and Bell Helicopter also announced plans for factory installation of BLR Winglet and FastFin™ Systems, respectively, on new aircraft.

"This growing OEM acknowledgement of our technology represents an important milestone and a new level of success for BLR," said Dave Marone, vice president of Sales and Marketing. "At the same time, we congratulate our OEM customers for demonstrating their willingness to listen and respond to evolving market needs."

In addition to the recent King Air 250 announcement, Hawker Beechcraft Corporation last year introduced the King Air 90GTx, with Winglets from BLR as standard equipment. For aftermarket customers, Winglets are certified for installation on King Air 90, 200 and 300 aircraft. BLR's entire portfolio of Winglet Systems is certified by the FAA, EASA and ANAC, and 320 systems are operating worldwide. Sales of King Air 90 Winglets have been especially brisk, Marone said, with nearly 70 systems sold in the past seven months.

On the rotorcraft side, Bell Helicopter Textron in May announced its intent to install BLR's FastFin Tail Rotor Enhancement and Stability System as standard equipment on new Bell 412EP helicopters. FastFin is also available for Bell 204, 205, 212, Huey II, and most UH-1 derivatives as an aftermarket upgrade. More than 175 FastFin Systems are in operation worldwide.

Winglet Systems, available through BLR and dealers, deliver an array of important benefits to King Air operators, including improved handling qualities, reduced fuel burn, and increased vertical rate of climb.

The FastFin System improves productivity and safety while reducing workload for helicopter operators. FastFin also expands lifting capacity and performance while enabling greater stability in hover operations.

"Having a close association with these fine organizations (Bell Helicopter and Hawker Beechcraft Corporation) is a point of pride for our team," Marone said. "Most importantly, it's a validation of two value-added technologies."