SKY Helicopters is the leading helicopter company in Vancouver, offering helicopter
adventure sightseeing tours and rides as well as charter helicopter services
throughout British Columbia. Recently the company added a new helicopter hangar
with a twist – it is also home to an EAW sound reinforcement system installed by
Sapphire Sound.

“When the owner, Andrew Westlund, called me he had just come back from a Sales
Force pep rally at Indy Stadium and had fallen in love with the sound system,’
explains Steve Klassen, sales and design of Sapphire Sound. “He was in the process
of building a new helicopter hangar and decided it should be a multi-functional
space. So not only would it store some helicopters and hi-end vehicles but also it
could be used for weddings, business retreats, performing arts – anything the
community required. To do that it needed a killer sound system.’

Klassen is a long-time EAW user and very familiar with their products. Sapphire
Sound had recently installed a QX system in a local church and he was confident it
would work equally well for Westlund’s new hangar.

“I invited Andrew to hear the church system to make sure it provided the WOW
factor he envisioned, but we were on a tight deadline so in the end he trusted my
judgement and we went with it,’ Klassen adds. “The QX box is quite impressive and
has an excellent reputation. There was no doubt in my mind that it would be the
perfect fit for this project.’

Klassen installed two QX596i loudspeakers to cover the 80 by 80 foot space. He also
placed two EAW SB1000 subwoofers under the stage to bolster the low end.

QX loudspeakers deliver high output, broadband pattern control and exceptional
fidelity making it appropriate for long throws in arenas and stadiums or in an
application like the SKY Helicopters hangar. The QX596i is loaded with an ultra-
efficient mid/high compression driver with a 90 (h) x 60 (v) degree constant
directivity horn. Four Phase Aligned™ 12-inch low frequency transducers arranged
as vertical and horizontal pairs extend pattern control well into the low frequency
range.

The SB1000z is a high output, large-format subwoofer designed for applications
that require the fatter-sounding output of dual 18-inch drivers. The system utilizes
EAW UX8800 digital signal processing tools. Klassen installed a touchscreen at FOH
with iPod inputs both at FOH and on the stage for simpler input applications. There
are also line-ins at FOH and on the stage to easily patch in a console if needed.

“When it was all set up it was immediately put into use for a Google marketing
event,’ concludes Klassen. “It was a bit nerve wrecking but at the end of the day,
the speaker for Google went out of his way to compliment us on the tremendous
audio quality and the hi-tech gear, and we knew we had a hit.’