We have chartered a B3 helicopter with emergency floats etc from Greenland Air. Air Greenland owns a fleet of very new helicopters which are predominantly used to service transmitters surrounding the numerous small villages and for mineral exploration. In recent years there has been a lot of heliskiing on the West Coast which has covered the traditional quiet season. I have been impressed with the quality and maintenance of the aircraft and the flying skills of pilots I have had to date. An engineer based nearby checks the machine every week.
The helicopters are comparatively more expensive to charter than anywhere else I have been (except Antarctica) and we have to pay a location cost to bring the machine from the base in Nuuk on the west coast. It is big contract to sign and involves a bank guarantee for extra flying and a minimum number of hours paid in accordance with an advance schedule.
We are on the East Coast of Greenland and helicopter arrivals etc can be delayed by weather and mechanical problems can cause longer delays! There are backup aircraft in the region and the helicopters are the newest most modern machines I have ever flown in.
