Helicopter Aviation: How a TransFueler Will Save You Money

One of our largest TransFueler customer base is the helicopter industry. Particularly the "life flight", or airborne ambulance sector.  Airborne law enforcement is also a big user of TransFueler mobile refuelers. 

The three largest "life flight" type of companies all use TransFueler units to keep their helicopters ready to fly 24/7.  

Example: at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN, a TransFueler 750 gallon jet refueler stands ready to refuel the helicopter around the clock.  Prior to purchasing their TransFueler, the helicopter crew needed to fly the helicopter in between emergency flights to refuel.  That practice cost the operator thousands of dollars in wasted fuel, maintenance & crew time.  

You may not realize it, but simply starting the engine or engines on any helicopter is fairly expensive. Helicopter maintenance requirements are somewhat based on engine "cycles". That means: how many times was the engine started, run, and shut down.  Plus, add in some fuel to fly to a local airport, flight crew costs, and you can see how on site refueling saves a significant amount of money, time and maintenance.

It's estimated that the TransFueler refueler in service at the Mayo Clinic "paid for itself" in less than a year by cutting these costs.

In another example, a large (actually the world's largest) medical helicopter company has several helicopters based at small airports that simply don't have 24hr fuel service. They were forced to fly to a different airport to refuel, after transporting patients. Then fly back to their home base.  Again, wasting time & money. And adding yet another cycle to the engine...

In San Diego CA, the county fire department has a fleet of TransFuelers that are used to support air operations in the regions desert & mountain areas.  

San Diego County Fire

In Maricopa County AZ, the Sheriff's Department uses their fleet of TransFuelers to support law enforcement and search & rescue operations in the vast deserts surrounding Phoenix.  

Almost all 50 states have TransFuelers in operation supporting their medical helicopters, airborne law enforcement, and a wide variety of aviation uses. 

Along the southern border, a fleet of highly specialized TransFuelers provide aerial refueling of  surveillance blimps.  And the U.S. Customs & Border Patrol keeps their aircraft & vehicles running 24/7 with TransFuelers.