New Army helicopters could mean more money for SARA
Published 12:56 am Friday, January 22, 2016
South Alabama Regional Airport officials are looking for big bucks as the U.S. Army changes out its helicopter fleet.
SARA Co-Director Jed Blackwell said that the Army has been using OH58A helicopters and is changing to a UH-72 Lakota.
Blackwell said the OH58A has a fuel capacity of 111 gallons of gas and typically refuels 40-50 gallons per time.
“We have about 20 to 30 per day that refuel here,” Blackwell said.
The UH-72 has a fuel capacity of 229 gallons and typically refuels 90-140 gallons per stop, Blackwell said.
“We should see an increase overall in fuel sales,” he said.
Blackwell said the Army has a fleet of 10 and is adding 30 per year through 2019 to have 180 helicopters.