“Viper 1” flies the skies in St. Louis, St. Charles, Lincoln & Warren Counties, to bring you the latest traffic jams, breaking news and severe weather coverage. “Viper 1” is the ONLY radio station-operated traffic jetcopter in St. Louis, Mo. “Viper 1” is outfitted with cutting edge technology to bring you the cleanest audio on the radio dial, the aircraft is also outfitted with highspeed wifi to bring you live video feed on Viper social media pages … Facebook, Twitter etc.
Helicopter Specifications
Type: Bell Jet Ranger
Model: 206 B3
Max Gross Weight: 3,350 lbs
Max Takeoff Horsepower: 420 hp
Max Cruising Horsepower: 370 hp
Fuel Capacity: 98 gal. Jet A
Height: 10.7 ft – to center of rotor shaft
Length: 39.2 ft – from tip of rotor to tail
Fuselage Length: 32.4 ft
Max Speed: 140 mph
Engine: Rolls Royce
Interior Cabin Width: 5.1 ft
Seats: 5
Cockpit
Along with the standard aviation radios, compasses and gauges, Viper 1 is equipped with a combination of digital Aviation & Ground radios with GPS. These GPS/radio units also have an interface that allows it to receive weather information and data from the XM satellite network. This data gives the pilot real-time weather radar, lightning strike displays and other weather information. Viper 1 is also equipped with a “FLIR” – Thermal Imaging System. This data gives the co-pilot real-time thermal imaging scenery when assisting emergency personal.
Main Rotor Blade
There are two main rotor blades on the Viper 1 Jetcopter. These blades are shaped like the wings on a regular airplane, which provides the lift to make Viper 1 fly. Helicopters are referred to as rotating wing aircraft. There are also two tail rotor blades that keep Viper 1 flying straight. Both blades are 16.7 ft. long and 1.1 ft. wide.
