JULY 2018 95
G
rowing demand for refurbished
Bell medium-lift helicopters is
seeing Oz Choppers make an
impact across domestic and
international markets.
The Mudgee, NSW-based business
is investigating the potential of
expanding to a second on-site hangar
as operators continue to source twin-
engine Bell 212 and 412 helicopters for
firefighting and utility operations.
The steady growth has been almost
10 years in the works for Oz Choppers
owner and veteran pilot Mark Rogers,
who sources machines from across the
globe for complete overhaul.
“There are plenty of 212s and 412s
for sale but there generally aren’t
many for sale at the standard that
we’re putting out,” he said.
“It’s a strong utility helicopter and
we know the Bell product very well.”
We fix it, you fly it
Founded in 2009 by Rogers and his
wife Kate, Oz Choppers was originally
established as the maintenance and
refurbishment arm of the couple’s
main flying business, Commercial
Helicopters, which they subsequently
sold to Armidale-based Fleet
Helicopters in 2014.
“Oz Choppers was just busy
maintaining all our Bell aircraft
and refurbishing our own in-house
fleet. We always had machines going
through a refurbishment program,”
he said.
After refurbishing the first of three
Bell 212s bought from a South Korean
operator in 2011, Rogers received a
chance request from Kestrel Aviation
owner Ray Cronin in August 2012 to
buy a 212 for a firefighting contract.
“I didn’t have any intentions of
selling them initially but with Ray
needing a machine that kicked it off,”
he explained.
“Then Ray needed a second
212 with pretty much the same
specifications, so I did another up for
him.
“What those sales did was show
us there was a market for the type
of machine we were putting out – a
stripped back, freshly painted and
upgraded medium-lift platform.”
The success of the first two
refurbished Bell medium twins to an
external operator has since attracted
both domestic and international
interest, including Papua New
Guinea-based operator HeliFix (two
212s), Alaska-based Northern Pioneer
Helicopters (one 412), Germany’s
Agrarflug Helilift (one 412) and a slew
of local companies.
Oz Choppers recently sold its 12th
refurbished Bell medium twin to
Orange Helicopters, a 212 that will be
used predominantly for firefighting
operations.
Rogers said utility work, such as
sling loading and crew transport for
mining operations and firefighting
formed the bulk of customer requests.
Perhaps one of the unique factors
about Oz Choppers is its method ofsourcing and refurbishing helicopters
before they find a buyer.
But Rogers said that strategy was
a calculated risk, given the current
market demand for Bell medium
twins.
“We found out pretty quickly with
Kestrel wanting to buy a couple of
them that there was a market for both
types and there still is,” he said.
A plentiful parts supply chain was
another advantage operators were
attracted to when it came to both 212s
and 412s.
“That why people are buying them
because nothing else really fits the bill.
A lot of the fire contracts are for that
type of helicopter,” Rogers said.
“We’re not spreading the love too
far between different types. We’re
just really focused on the 212 and 412
market.”Diamonds in the rough
For Rogers, sourcing the right heli
for a refurbish comes down to both a
solid network of brokers and workable
logistics.
Indeed, there’s few places in the
world the veteran operator won’t
go to for a good deal,with Rogers
listing South Korea, Germany, Japan,
Sweden, Australia, New Zealand,
Brunei and Alaska as places where
he’s found several Bell twin mediums
and in years gone by, JetRangers and
LongRangers.
“Every country has its challenges
and the more times you have to
organise the logistics, the better you
get at it,” he said.
“You get a bit of a network going.Oz Choppers
New avionics are installed
in-house by sister company
Airborne Avionics.MARK JESSOPOz Choppers strips out the
airframes, rebuilds and repaints
them.MARK JESSOP