Magellan Aerospace (“Magellan”) announced today that a Wire Strike Protection System™ (WSPS™) will soon be available for the Robinson R66 helicopter platform with the anticipated issuance of a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) in the first quarter of 2016.

The WSPS™ is designed to provide a measure of protection for helicopters in level flight in the event of an encounter with horizontally strung wires and cables, using the concept of guiding wires over the fuselage into high tensile steel cutting blades. The basic WSPS™ system is comprised of an upper cutter, lower cutter, and a windshield deflector.

The R66 WSPS™ kit is expected to be available for new R66 helicopters commencing in the fall of 2016.  Internal provisions for the R66 WSPS™ platform will be available as an option from Robinson on new helicopters and will allow for easy installation of the exterior kit.  A comprehensive aftermarket kit, including the internal provisions, will be available to retrofit older R66 helicopters from Magellan Aerospace’s authorized distributors (http://magellan.aero/product/wsps).