Sandel Avionics (Booth 4866) announced that it had been issued a service installation bulletin (equivalent to an FAA STC) from the Russian aviation authorities and the Mil Design Bureau for installing its ST3400H HeliTaws system in the Mil Mi-8AMT and Mi-8MTV-1 helicopters. The ST3400H thus becomes the first non-Russian helicopter terrain awareness and warning system (H-Taws) to be certified in the country.

Installation in the Mi-8 required Vista, Calif.-based Sandel to undertake some modifications to the alerting parameters to meet Russian requirements. The program was driven largely by UTAir, Russia’s largest helicopter operator. The carrier provided the helicopter for the initial installation, which was undertaken by APG/NEBO with Sandel on-site support.

HeliTaws is a self-contained H-Taws equipped with a TruAlert system that allows pilots to operate from off-airport sites without triggering nuisance false alerts. The panel-mounted system has also recently been approved by EASA under a European TSO.