Turbolyft: Revolutionizing pre-owned helicopters

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The Airbus Helicopters AS350 is a versatile machine. It serves in a variety of sectors, including airborne law enforcement (ALE), firefighting, utility, and emergency medical services (EMS). 

For many organizations looking to launch an aviation division or supplement their existing response capability, an AS350 helicopter is the way to go. However, if budget constraints rule out a factory-new machine, operators are left with the option of buying a pre-owned helicopter and customizing it for their operation. 

Enter Turbolyft. Founded by aircraft maintenance engineer Jeremy Prasad and his wife, Abigail, in 2019, the company specializes in completing aircraft that are “built, not bought.”

With locations in Canada and the U.S., Turbolyft has always focused on AS350, AS355 and H125 helicopters. The company’s initial offering was its distinctive Bluebox and tooling program — rugged military-grade cases containing the necessary parts, components, tools, and consumables for field staff to complete a range of maintenance tasks.

While the Bluebox program is still running strong, Turbolyft has expanded its offerings to include maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, helicopter parts, and made-to-order helicopter completions. 

Recently, Turbolyft partnered with North Carolina-based Digital Airware to fully customize and rebuild an Airbus Helicopters H125 for the Miami-Dade Police Department, marking the company’s first ALE completion.

“Our focus is on delivering a bespoke aircraft,” said Brandon Lowe, director of sales and marketing at Turbolyft. “We do it all in-house, including avionics work, custom modifications, equipment upgrades, upholstery, major inspections, and more.”

Introducing the AS350Y

At Verticon 2025 in Dallas, Turbolyft will be unveiling a line of custom AS350 helicopter configurations designed to deliver like-new capabilities at a more affordable cost. 

“A lot of agencies want to buy a new aircraft,” Lowe explained. “But for those that can’t afford new, we can deliver a package of enhancements to a pre-owned helicopter that can save them a lot of money.” 

Taking inspiration from the stylized “Y” in the Turbolyft logo, the company has named its packaged options “The Y-Series.” 

There are five Y models to launch the series: the Y Enforcer for the ALE market; the Y Fighter for aerial firefighting; the Y Lifter for utility operators; the Y Savior for medevac and search-and-rescue (SAR) missions; and finally, the Y Custom, which is a unique build tailored to the exact needs of the client and their mission profile. 

“The Y Enforcer is the law enforcement package,” Lowe explained. “It’s designed around first-time ALE helicopter operators and is configured for day and night policing, SAR, SWAT, and more. The Enforcer package can also be considered an upgrade package for existing ALE fleets looking to modernize their operations.”

The Y Enforcer is equipped with a night vision goggle (NVG) cockpit, engine data acquisition unit, rescue hoist and dual hook, loudspeaker, horizontal stabilizer cameras, search light, artificial intelligence (AI)-driven data and sensor system, and more. 

“The AS350 is a good initial attack and reconnaissance machine for aerial firefighting,” Lowe continued. “We are still finalizing the equipment on the Y Fighter, but we plan to include an NVG cockpit, AEM MTP136D radio, loudspeaker and cabin speaker systems, utility basket, horizontal stabilizer cameras, AI sensor system, Helitak FT1300 water tank, and more.  

“Our recent partnerships with Helitak Fire Fighting Equipment, Anodyne Electronics Manufacturing Corp. [AEM] and Voxelis AI are key components of the Y Fighter configuration, allowing the operator to fight and scout fire with cutting-edge technology, day and night.”

Turbolyft’s Y Lifter package will equip an AS350 with everything a utility operator might need, including a utility window and mirror kit, utility basket and step, Helitak fire bucket, Onboard Systems cargo swing utility package, AI sensor system, and more.

Finally, the Y Savior package will be customized for medevac and air rescue operators, with NVG cockpit, rescue hoist, loudspeaker, litter kit, human external cargo dual hook, searchlight, exterior cameras, and more. 

Lowe stressed that the Y models are also designed for new helicopter operators who may have the funding for a machine, but don’t know where to start or what they might need. However, all elements are interchangeable, and Turbolyft will customize a helicopter with any combination of equipment. These packages are also targeted at offering mission-ready suites for factory new completions, he said.

“We work with operators on a limited budget, too,” he said. “The strategy with the Y-Series as an upgrade option is to offer a modernized and custom solution, suitable for the customer’s needs and requirements, but remaining within their budget criteria. The Y Custom is an ideal solution for this.”

The Y-Series will launch with the AS350/H125, but will be offered and expanded across multiple platforms, including Airbus H135 and H145; Bell 407, 429, 505, and OH-58; as well as future plans for the Leonardo AW09.

All Y-models will include the Turbolyft “works” package, which includes a set of Turbolyft aircraft covers, Turbolyft supplemental type certificate (STC) package, Digital Airware subscription, Voxelis AI Sensor System, and SR3 Rescue Concepts training package. The AS350Y models will also come with a Turbolyft field tooling kit.

“We’ll be unveiling the AS350Y models at Verticon,” Lowe said. “We will have an augmented reality aircraft display for visitors to experience. Digital Airware will be sharing the booth with us, so people can experience their software capabilities and how they enhance the Y-Series. We will have our Bluebox crates, tooling, upholstery work, and horizontal stabilizer camera STC on display as well.”  

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