Just a few months after its official introduction at last winter’s HAI Heli-Expo, the Schweizer 300CBi, an enhanced version of Schweizer’s Model 300CB, is on its way to launch customer CSE Aviation, one of the UK’s largest and best known flight schools, located in Oxford, England.

Upgrades over the basic 300CB abound on the 300CBi, fuel injection chief among them. By replacing the carburetor with fuel injection, the requirement for carburetor heat is eliminated, pilots report that throttle correlation is noticeably more precise and engine response smoother and more immediate.

Schweizer’s new automatic engagement system (AES), also standard on the 300CBi, replaces an optional start-up overspeed governor and features for the first time a low-rotor-rpm warning indicator and automatic rotor-engagement system. The new splined main rotor driveshaft has a higher replacement life (4,000 hr). Moreover, the hub and driveshaft are no longer a matched set, allowing both components to be usable for the full length of their respective lives.

The end result is a pilot- and student-friendly helicopter that eliminates much of the guesswork out of engaging the main rotor and generally reduces workload.
The 300CBi replaces the Schweizer 300CB in production and bears a base price of $214,750, a $5,000 boost over the price of its predecessor.

In other Schweizer news, Schweizer’s Model 333, that manufacturer’s only turbine-powered rotorcraft, has received Italian certification, the occasion being the first delivery of a 333 within that nation.