Avionics News February 2014 - 48

TOP LEFT: The service center installed a Garmin G500H dual-screen electronic flight display on a
Eurocopter EC130 B4.
ABOVE: AHS services aircraft for a number of governmental, law enforcement and fire protection agencies.
Avionics manager William Dolf installed a Becker DVCS 6100 Digital Audio System in one of these
Bell UH-1H Huey helicopters operated by the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District.
LEFT: Sparrow and India Tang, founders and owners of Advanced Helicopter Services, stand together in the
company's hangar.

ADVANCED HELICOPTER SERVICES
Continued from page 46

avionics manager. "It has great owners who are truly working
hard to do it right. I wanted to be a part of their team."
In early 2013, led by Dolf, the new department opened,
offering specialized avionics integration and modification
services at the service center's new location at the WattsWoodland Airport in Woodland, Calif. The shop quickly became
an authorized dealer for most major avionics manufacturers.
"I arrived in February 2013, and immediately jumped into a
Becker digital audio installation on a Bell UH-1H Huey," Dolf
said. "It was a busy time the first few months as I balanced
my time doing the installation against getting additional FAA
approvals and applying for dealerships.
"Our FAA inspector, Mike O'Kane from the Sacramento
FSDO, and with whom I had worked with at the Sacramento
Cessna Citation Service Center, did an outstanding job of
quickly getting our paperwork approved. Luckily for me,
Sparrow had purchased a defunct avionics shop, so all of the
test equipment necessary to meet dealership requirements as
well as a wire marker was immediately available."
48

avionics news

february

2014

Now, with its comprehensive capabilities, Advanced
Helicopter Services truly provides customers with trusted,
one-stop expertise - maintenance, repair, overhaul, inspection,
avionics services, aircraft painting, dynamic component
services and custom maintenance solutions - for all helicopter
model types.
"One of the major keys to our company's success is that
we're family owned by people who take great pride in their
business and who offer their employees and customers the
best," Dolf said. "That allows them to draw highly qualified
people to operate their organization who, in turn, provide
great service to the customers."
The new avionics team is looking forward to its second year.
"As AEA members know, building an avionics business is
always a work in progress," Dolf said. "But avionics has always
been a very interesting field, and the newer technologies make
things even more exciting from the technician's side as well
as safer from the pilot's point of view. I'm really impressed by
the Garmin G500H equipment and its integration. We finished
an installation in June on a Eurocopter EC130 for Palmaz
Vineyards of Napa, Calif. Look for it on display by Garmin at
HAI (Heli-Expo) in Anaheim." q

Avionics News February 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News February 2014