Enstrom 480

The Enstrom 480 is a light turbine helicopter made by the Enstrom Helicopter Corporation. In the 1980s the company, which then built two piston-engined helicopters, designed a larger turbine version of its 280 Shark in answer to a United States Army requirement for a turbine training helicopter, designated TH28. The Army contract went elsewhere, but Enstrom carried on with a commercial version that was introduced in 1993 with a Rolls-Royce Model 250-C20W turboshaft. The fuselage is a welded steel tube frame with aluminium covering, the aircraft has no hydraulic system, and unusually the pilot flies from the left seat. Variants include the 480B, certified in 2001 with a higher gross weight, and the 480B Guardian configured for police work. Operators include small flight schools and commercial users, and military and police users in several countries including Japan, Thailand and Indonesia.