Slave Lake Helicopters President George Kelham visited Eurocopter’s booth today where his company’s newest AS350 B2 in utility configuration is being displayed. This AStar features several pieces of Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) equipment and primarily serves for firefighting, reforestation and oil and gas missions. “We prefer the squirrel cheeks storage pods to the sliding doors,� explains Kelham. “Our customers—tree planters and fire fighters, for example—have a lot of gear. In fact, all five of our helicopters are equipped with the squirrel cheeks, so we can carry more weight outside of the cabin.� Slave Lake Helicopters, based in the province of Alberta, started operations in 1998. The company currently owns a fleet of 4 AS350 B2s and 1 EC120. “For the dollars you spend on moving trees and people, there’s just no comparison: The AS350 B2 is the ideal helicopter for our line of work,� concludes Kelham. The AS350 AStar is one of the world’s best-selling helicopters, operated across the world for utility, law enforcement, search and rescue (SAR), corporate/VIP and HEMS missions.