OREANDA-NEWS. December 5, 2012. UTair Aviation and Dostupnoye Nebo Aeroclub have held a joint presentation of their proposed Eurocopter Air Taxi project for Rostov-on-Don and surrounding areas.

The event featured a demonstration of the proposed air taxi service operating with light multi-purpose Eurocopter AS 355N helicopters. Guests of the presentation were taken aboard the helicopter and given a flight demonstration to consider the advantages of the proposed service. The AS 355N can carry up to 5 passengers. The helicopter has a speed of 278 km/h and a flight range of 740 kilometers.

The AS 355N helicopter is the newest modification of the popular twin-engine Ecureuil family of rotorcraft. The helicopter is A-certified and can take off and fly with a single engine. The craft is ideally suited to Russian weather conditions and can be operated at temperatures ranging from –40 to +35 °С. The AS 355N is designed for the performance of a wide range of civil transportation tasks.

The proposed Air Taxi service will be available to all qualifying members of the Dostupnoye Nebo Aeroclub (www.dnebo.ru). It is expected that passengers will order short flights to and from locations in the South of Russia, including for transfer to and from regional airports, general sightseeing tours, business trips, and sport outings. The Dostupnoye Nebo Aeroclub will issue gift vouchers for flights suitable for weddings, important family functions, holiday adventures or a prestigious means of greeting business partners visiting the region.

UTair Aviation, part of the UTair Group, is the leading helicopter operator in the world in terms of transport capacity and fleet size, with more than 350 domestic and foreign made helicopters in operation, primarily Mil and Eurocopter. UTair Group helicopters service clients on 4 continents. Principal UTair clients for helicopter services in Russia include leading Russian oil and gas companies, many of which have more than 40 years of cooperation with the airline. UTair is the largest provider of helicopter services to the UN since 1991. The range of rotorcraft capability in the UTair fleet and the professionalism of UTair personnel ensure the safety and service quality of flight operations at any level complexity in all geographic and climatic zones of the planet.

Dostupnoye Nebo Aeroclub was founded in 2008 by Mark Shulman. The main strategic objective of the club is the development of regional aviation in the Rostov region and other Southern regions.