KTVK-TV in Phoenix has received an HD electronic newsgathering (ENG) American Eurocopter AS350B2 helicopter from Texas Aviation Services (TAS) in Fort Worth, TX, the company said last week.
The station typically flies Newschopper 3 for three to eight hours per day to provide airborne shots used during its “Good Morning Arizona” and “Good Evening Arizona” shows.
TAS worked closely with Geneva Aviation, a division of DART Helicopter Services, on the helicopter. Newschopper 3 relies on Geneva Aviation’s electronic newsgathering systems, including an all-digital HD A/V control system. Supplemental accessory and electrical consoles to support all A/V controls and avionics were integrated.
The new HD helicopter has a customized instrument panel; cyclic switching for camera, microwave and avionics switching; and a FLIR HD camera system with an Airfilm camera mount. A Sony XDCAM HD disc recorder, Boland/Marshall and Astro HD video monitors, NSI microwave transmission pod and a Nucomm microwave transmitter/receiver round out the complement of equipment.
For more information, visit www.texasaviationservices.com.
