“Since 1999, we’ve been operating three AS350 B2 Ecureuils/AStars. At the beginning, we had an AS350 BA Ecureuil/AStar, which we then converted into a B2 version; and, since then, we have only gone for B2s.

Slave Lake Helicopters is based in the Province of Alberta where we fly 80% of our missions within a 100 miles radius of Slave Lake (150 miles to the north of Edmonton). Our main activity is tree planting but we also perform other forestry missions, like fire-fighting. Last year, we planted 10 million trees and this year we have taken orders for 8.2 million more, and the season hasn’t even started! We are also very active in the hunt for oil.

The region of Alberta is Canada’s equivalent to Texas in the United States. Our Ecureuil/AStar helicopters fly on average 600 hours per year and have two undeniable advantages: their power and their lifting capacity. We chose the “squirrel cheeks” option (additional baggage compartments) so we can carry more load outside the cabin. There’s no doubt about it: the Ecureuil/AStar really is the best aircraft for our type of activity.”