The Enstrom 480 is a small, light

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

produced by the

Enstrom Helicopter Corporation The Enstrom Helicopter Corporation is an American helicopter aerospace manufacturer, based at the Menominee–Marinette Twin County Airport in Michigan, United States. The company was founded in 1959 by Mining engineering, mining engineer Ru ...

.Apostolo, Giorgio: ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Helicopters'', pages 64-65. Bonanza Books, New York, 1984.

Design and development

In the 1980s the Enstrom Helicopter Company was producing two helicopters, both powered by horizontally opposed piston engines. When the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

revealed a requirement for a turbine-powered training helicopter, the company designed a larger, turbine-powered version of its 280 Shark. The proposed unit was designated TH28 (TH for "training helicopter" derived from the 28(0), since the Army's proposal was NTH, "new training helicopter"). The Army contract effort was not successful, but the company effort looked promising enough that management committed to continue with a commercial version, which was introduced in 1993. Its power was provided by the C20W variant of the

Rolls-Royce Model 250 The Allison Model 250, now known as the Rolls-Royce M250, (US military designations T63 and T703) is a highly successful turboshaft engine family, originally developed by the Allison Engine Company in the early 1960s. The Model 250 has been pro ...

turboshaft A turboshaft engine is a form of gas turbine that is optimized to produce shaft horsepower rather than jet thrust. In concept, turboshaft engines are very similar to turbojets, with additional turbine expansion to extract heat energy from the ex ...

engine.

Design

The 480 fuselage consists of a welded steel-tube framework with aluminum cover and tailcone. The pilot controls the aircraft from the left seat, which is unusual for helicopters. The aircraft does not have a hydraulic system; a trim system absorbs rotor feedback and allows the pilot to position the desired stick setting. The 480B engine is capable of producing 420 shp, but in this application it is derated to 305 shp for 5 minutes and 277 continuous shp, which is available to 13,000 MSL on a standard day. Thus hot-temperature or high-altitude operations have a considerable degree of power available. The engine drives a three-bladed rotor of 32 feet diameter and a tail rotor of 5 feet diameter. The main rotor and hubs weigh a total of 300 pounds, so there is considerable inertia in the system during a loss of power. Autorotation landings are uneventful.

Variants

;480 :Five-seat civil version based on the Enstrom TH-28, certified in November 1993. Enstrom480B

;480B :Enhanced and with increased gross weight (3000 lb) and power limits, certified in February 2001 in the US. and in February 2019 in Canada. The gross weight and useful load were increased by approximately 150 pounds. ;480B Guardian :480B configured for police or law enforcement operations, fitted with a front-mounted camera and searchlight. ;TH-28 :Based on the Enstrom 280FX with a turbine engine, a larger cabin and larger horizontal and vertical stabilizers. Certified in September 1992 Military training, light patrol version, six built.

Operators

Civil operators

The aircraft is operated by a large number of small commercial and

flight training Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills. Flight training can be conducted under a str ...

operators, most operating one or two aircraft.

Military and government operators

Flight Training Center Pardubice Flight Training Center (, CLV) is a Czech Republic, Czech civilian provider of military training programs for both Fixed-wing aircraft, fixed-wing and Rotorcraft, rotary-wing aircraft based at Pardubice Airport. CLV is a division of the state-owne ...

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Military of Equatorial Guinea The Armed Forces of Equatorial Guinea (; ; ) consists of approximately 2,500 service members. The army has almost 1,400 soldiers, the navy 200 service members, and the air force about 120 members. There is also a gendarmerie, but the number of ...

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Indonesian National Police The Indonesian National Police (, abbreviated as POLRI) is the national law enforcement and police force of the Republic of Indonesia. Founded on 1 July 1946, it was formerly a part of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, country's military si ...

; *

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force The , , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service branches. New military guidelines, announced in December 2010, direct ...

; *

Royal Thai Army The Royal Thai Army or RTA (; ) is the army of Thailand and the oldest and largest branch of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. History Origin The Royal Thai Army is responsible for protecting the kingdom's sovereignty. The army was formed in 187 ...

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Venezuelan Air Force Bolivarian Military Aviation of Venezuela (), is a professional armed body designed to defend Venezuela's sovereignty and airspace. It is a service component of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela. Etymology The organization is al ...

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Zambian Air Force The Zambia Air Force (ZAF) is the air force of Zambia and the air operations element of the Zambian Defence Force. Following the creation of the Republic of Zambia in 1964, the former Northern Rhodesia Air Force was renamed as the Zambia Air For ...

- two on order (April 2023)

Former operators

; *

York Regional Police The York Regional Police (YRP; ) is the police service of the Regional Municipality of York, Ontario, Canada. YRP was formed in 1971 from the police forces maintained by the nine municipalities which amalgamated into York Region at the time. The ...

2000-2002. One aircraft, retired due to excessive noise./ ; * Police and Border Guard Aviation Group

Specifications (480)

References

Federal Aviation Authority Type Certificate No.H1CE
*

External links

Enstrom 480B product page

Enstrom page on The Helicopter History site

Enstrom in Ukraine
{{Enstrom aircraft Enstrom aircraft 1980s United States civil utility aircraft 1980s United States helicopters Aircraft first flown in 1989