hai convention news 02-27-14

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HOVER LOVERS’ HEAVEN The Heli-Expo 2014 exhibit halls saw a steady stream of visitors during the first two days of the show, a clear indication that HAI’s fore- cast for an attendance close to last year's record in Las Vegas is within reach. Meanwhile, the manufacturers continue to announce new helicopters, refinements to current models and signed purchase agreements. It doesn’t get better than that. Hey, heaven can wait. n BARRY AMBROSE THURSDAY AINONLINE.COM Anaheim Tiltrotor flies Industry Engines China Rising Prototype on show Demo flights in the AW609 AgustaWestland’s tiltrotor is here in California, and some specially qualified customers had the opportunity to fly it at Heli-Expo, a feat that seemed nearly impossible to the company only a few months ago. Page 22 Leaders convene at ‘Town Hall’ The rotorcraft industry–like all of general aviation–faces its share of challenges, particularly on the legislative front. However, industry leaders from all sectors are optimistic about the future of GA and are standing together. Page 20 RR nearly ready for Scott’s-Bell 47 The RR300 light turboshaft needs only minor alterations before the engine maker ships it to Scott’s-Bell 47 for installation on the company’s light utility helicopter. The first flight-test engine is scheduled to be sent by June. Page 4 A decade of ‘skies opening’ Last year the civil helicopter fleet in China grew by 20 percent and it is poised for similar growth this year, bringing the total number to 550, according to the Asian Sky Group Greater China Civil Helicopter Fleet Report. Page 19 Marenco brings SKYe SHO9 Nearing first flight of its all-composite light single, the start-up Swiss aircraft maker took a break from flight-test preparations to display prototype one on the Heli-Expo show floor. Deliveries are planned for 2017. Page 14 HAI Convention News ® FEB. 27, 2014 Helicopter ops are now on NTSB’s ‘Most Wanted’ list by Rob Finfrock The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is engaging with the rotorcraft community to reduce acci- dents involving helicopters, NTSB chairman Deborah Hersman told attendees at the second-day general session here at Heli-Expo. One of the NTSB’s “10 Most Wanted” safety recommendations for 2014 is to address the unique factors of helicopter operations, to promote industry safety. Hersman thanked HAI for the association’s willingness to engage with the Board on finding common ground and work toward solutions. “We thank Matt [Zuccaro, HAI president] and his team for really embracing this,” she added. “I think people can really look at being on our ‘10 Most Wanted’ list in two ways: as an opportunity, or as pun- ishment. It’s about changing the dia- logue, changing the discussion and about learning.” AgustaWestland unveils 109 Trekker by Curt Epstein Amid swirling dancers and projected rocky landscapes, AgustaWestland drew a crowd on the exhibit floor Tuesday with the formal unveiling of the latest addition to its lineup, the AW109 Trekker, its first light twin to offer skid landing gear. Expected to receive certification and begin deliveries next year, the helicopter wore the colors of launch customer Dallas-based aeromedi- cal transport provider SevenBar, which has also ordered another AW109 and a pair of AW119s as part of its first foray into rotorcraft operation. The helicopter, which can accommodate six passengers or up to two stretchers with two medical attendants, will be produced at the company’s Philadelphia facility. Based on the AW109/Grand, the Trekker is equipped with the Garmin G1000H glass cockpit and is powered by a pair of Fadec-equipped Pratt & Whitney Canada PW207C 815-shp engines for a max cruise speed of 154 knots. With a max- imum takeoff weight of 7,000 pounds, it will have an endurance of up to four hours and 20 minutes, or a 445 nm range, with the OEM’s modular five-cell fuel system. o Skid landing gear is the most obvious differentiator of the AW109 Trekker from earlier 109s. Continued on page 21 u BARRY AMBROSE ABACE CONVENTION NEWS: APRIL 15-17, SHANGHAI Contact us for advertising opportunities: 1.203.798.2400 [email protected]

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Page 1: HAI Convention News 02-27-14

hover lovers’ heaven

The Heli-Expo 2014 exhibit halls saw a steady stream of visitors during the first two days of the show, a clear indication that HAI’s fore-cast for an attendance close to last year's record in Las Vegas is within reach. Meanwhile, the manufacturers continue to announce new helicopters, refinements to current models and signed purchase agreements. It doesn’t get better than that. Hey, heaven can wait. � n

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THURSDAY AINONLINE.COM Anaheim

Tiltrotor flies Industry Engines China Rising Prototype on show

Demo flights in the AW609AgustaWestland’s tiltrotor is here in California, and some specially qualified customers had the opportunity to fly it at Heli-Expo, a feat that seemed nearly impossible to the company only a few months ago. Page 22

Leaders convene at ‘Town Hall’The rotorcraft industry–like all of general aviation–faces its share of challenges, particularly on the legislative front. However, industry leaders from all sectors are optimistic about the future of GA and are standing together. Page 20

RR nearly ready for Scott’s-Bell 47The RR300 light turboshaft needs only minor alterations before the engine maker ships it to Scott’s-Bell 47 for installation on the company’s light utility helicopter. The first flight-test engine is scheduled to be sent by June. Page 4

A decade of ‘skies opening’Last year the civil helicopter fleet in China grew by 20 percent and it is poised for similar growth this year, bringing the total number to 550, according to the Asian Sky Group Greater China Civil Helicopter Fleet Report. Page 19

Marenco brings SKYe SHO9 Nearing first flight of its all-composite light single, the start-up Swiss aircraft maker took a break from flight-test preparations to display prototype one on the Heli-Expo show floor. Deliveries are planned for 2017. Page 14

HAIConvention News ®

FEB. 27, 2014

Helicopter ops are now on NTSB’s ‘Most Wanted’ listby Rob Finfrock

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is engaging with the rotorcraft community to reduce acci-dents involving helicopters, NTSB chairman Deborah Hersman told attendees at the second-day general

session here at Heli-Expo.One of the NTSB’s “10 Most

Wanted” safety recommendations for 2014 is to address the unique factors of helicopter operations, to promote industry safety. Hersman thanked

HAI for the association’s willingness to engage with the Board on finding common ground and work toward solutions.

“We thank Matt [Zuccaro, HAI president] and his team for really embracing this,” she added. “I think people can really look at being on our ‘10 Most Wanted’ list in two ways: as an opportunity, or as pun-ishment. It’s about changing the dia-logue, changing the discussion and about learning.”

AgustaWestland unveils 109 Trekker by Curt Epstein

Amid swirling dancers and projected rocky landscapes, AgustaWestland drew a crowd on the exhibit floor Tuesday with the formal unveiling of the latest addition to its lineup, the AW109 Trekker, its first light twin to offer skid landing gear. Expected to receive certification and begin deliveries next year, the helicopter wore the colors of launch customer Dallas-based aeromedi-cal transport provider SevenBar, which has also ordered another AW109 and a pair of AW119s as part of its first foray into rotorcraft operation.

The helicopter, which can accommodate six passengers or up to two stretchers with two medical attendants, will be produced at the company’s Philadelphia facility. Based on the AW109/Grand, the Trekker is equipped with the Garmin G1000H glass cockpit and is powered by a pair of Fadec-equipped Pratt & Whitney Canada PW207C 815-shp engines for a max cruise speed of 154 knots. With a max-imum takeoff weight of 7,000 pounds, it will have an endurance of up to four hours and 20 minutes, or a 445 nm range, with the OEM’s modular five-cell fuel system. o

Skid landing gear is the most obvious differentiator of the AW109 Trekker from earlier 109s.

� Continued on page 21 u

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ABACE CONVENTION NEWS: APRIL 15-17, SHANGHAIContact us for advertising opportunities:

1.203.798.2400 • [email protected]

Page 2: HAI Convention News 02-27-14

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Page 3: HAI Convention News 02-27-14

AgustaWestland logs orders, enhances training and support by Curt Epstein

AgustaWestland has had a busy several days here at Heli-Expo. The airframer announced several orders, including one to Omni Helicopters Inter-national Group for nine helicopters (four AW139 intermediate twins and five AW189 medium twins in offshore config-uration), deliveries of which will begin in late 2015 and late 2016, respectively. The order marks the conclusion of an earlier agreement for a total of 13 AW139s, and the arrival of the AW189s will mark the type’s Brazil debut, where Omni will use it to support the oil and gas industry.

Lease Corporation International (LCI) has signed a further multi-year contract for seven AW139s and one AW189 to be delivered starting this year and ending in 2017. The agreement includes options on seven AW139s and three AW189s. LCI will provide the rotorcraft to its customers for use in offshore transport, search and rescue and aeromedical transport.

UK-based dealer Sloane Helicopters ordered a pair of VVIP and passenger-transport configured GrandNew light twins, to be delivered next year. The com-pany has sold more than 60 copies of the

AW109 family in roles ranging from cor-porate transport to law enforcement.

The manufacturer also received a pair of single-ship orders for the AW139 from Japan’s Yamagata and Tottori Prefec-ture Firefighting and Disaster Prevention Agencies and said it will lease a pair of the intermediate twins to Atlas Air Taxi. They will be delivered next month in Bra-zil and join the fleet of approximately 30 AW139s already in service there in the oil and gas transport fleet.

AgustaWestland also delivered the first of six previously ordered EMS-configured AW119Kxs to Minneapolis-based Life Link III.

Training and After-sales SupportMiddle East operator Gulf Helicop-

ters has ordered an EASA level-C full-flight simulator for the AW189 in support of the Qatar-based company’s recent pur-chase of 15 of the midsize twins. Rotor-sim, a joint venture between the OEM and Canadian training provider CAE, announced it will purchase the world’s first full-flight simulator for the AW169. It will deploy that simulator at its training

academy in Sesto Calende, Italy, and an additional AW189 level-D full-flight sim-ulator for its Aberdeen, Scotland facil-ity. Both simulators will be delivered next year.

Here at the show, AgustaWestland announced it has received certification for its new obstacle proximity LiDAR sys-tem (OPLS) that is making its Heli-Expo debut this year. Intended for use in SAR and EMS missions on the AW139, the sys-tem will assist crews during hover, by help-ing them avoid main and tail rotor strikes in confined spaces. It uses three main rotor-head mounted-laser imaging detection and ranging sensors to provide a 360-degree top view of the helicopter and any obstacles.

Lastly, the Italian manufacturer launched its new “Leonardo” customer portal featuring a newly designed account home page that allows customers to cre-ate online profiles of all users from the same company, to access documents and manuals, to generate service requests and to monitor progress of warranty claims. “We will continue to further enhance the portal and we are already working on a number of additional functionalities that will be introduced in 2014, with specific focus on e-commerce solutions for online ordering of spare parts and training ser-vices,” said John Ponsonby, the manufac-turer’s senior vice president for customer training and support. o

www.ainonline.com • February 27, 2014 • HAI Convention News 3

Richard Burman, CEO, Omni Helicopters International, left, and Daniele Romiti, CEO, AgustaWestland, sign the purchase agreement for four AW139 intermediate twins and five AW189 medium twins, all for use in oil and gas operations. Deliveries of the AW139s are to begin in late 2015 and of the AW189s in late 2016.

More helicopter siMs coMing online at FlightsaFety

Two new full-motion helicopter simulators will soon be coming online at two FlightSafety International learning centers. An Airbus Helicopters EC135 simulator is expected to be up and running at FSI’s Dallas facility, followed by a Sikorsky S-92 level-D device at the compa-ny’s São Paulo center in the third quarter.

The EC135 simulator is equipped with a Garmin avionics suite that includes the GMX 200 multifunction display and Waas-certified GNS 430W and GNS 530W. It also features the SFIM two-axis autopilot. FlightSafety’s initial and recurrent training programs for the Airbus EC135 include aircraft systems, emergency and abnormal procedures, human fac-tors and specialty training.

Like the EC135 device, the S-92 simulator will be equipped with FlightSafety’s Vital 1100 visual system, which depicts mission-specific imagery with improved scene content, environ-mental effects, dynamic shadowing and enhanced shading. In addition, the S-92 simulator has a Crewview glass mirror optical system, which enhances visual clarity and brightness while eliminating image degradation and distortion in the boundary areas inherent in tra-ditional display systems. This enhances imagery of near-ground operations and provides increased fields of view–up to 310 degrees horizontally. –C.T.

Spidertracks an option on new Robinsons

New Zealand-based Spidertracks announced a significant OEM endorse-ment for its low-cost flight tracking sys-tem at Heli-Expo 2014, with Robinson Helicopter now offering the Bluetooth text-enabled Spider S5 as an option on the R22, R44 and R66 models. The agree-ment marks the first time a rotorcraft manufacturer has offered the portable Spidertracks system from the factory.

“Robinson realized that our system

offered significant advantages over com-peting tracking solutions,” Hannes Gei-ger, North American communications spokesman for Spidertracks, told AIN.

All new Robinson aircraft will include a prewired power lead for the Spider S5, allowing the component to be quickly mounted atop the instrument cluster at the customer’s request. At less than half a pound and smaller than a home garage door opener, the Spider S5 is marketed as a portable electronic device, so STC approval is not required for installation on civil aircraft.

“We think the Spidertracks system offers an excellent overall value and believe that satellite-based tracking pro-vides significant safety benefits over ELTs,” said Robinson Helicopter presi-dent Kurt Robinson. –R.F.

Helitech courts U.S. participationEurope had the highest market share

of commercial helicopters in 2013, and more growth is expected this year in off-shore oil and gas, EMS and SAR services. HeliTech (Booth No. 4123) has picked up a new and powerful partner to help pro-mote participation in its USA Pavilion during the European Helicopter Asso-ciation’s Helitech International show, taking place from October 14 to 16 in Amsterdam.

The U.S. Commercial Service (USCS), supporting American businesses with gov-ernment and trade promotion activities in 75 countries, has agreed to offer match-making opportunities at the Amsterdam

event to USA Pavilion participants, intro-ducing them to possible buyers from Europe and around the world.

“In light of the encouraging fore-cast for helicopter sales in Europe, we are keen to network with a wide cross-section of the U.S. rotary industry here in Anaheim, highlighting Helitech’s potential export dimension,” said John Hyde, event director for Helitech Inter-national. Expectations are high for this year’s show, he said. In 2013 Helitech hosted 220 exhibiting companies that represented 26 countries, along with 5,600 attendees, a 30-percent increase over Helitech 2012. –A.L.

purple platypus Brings 3-D printing to heli-expo

The interestingly named Purple Platypus at Booth No. 3409 is not exactly what one would expect to see at a helicopter convention, but the Stratasys 3-D printer certainly rep-resents the latest technology. Purple Platypus is a distributor for Stratasys, manufacturer of what it says is the world’s first color and multi-material 3D printer, the Objet500 Connex 3.

What makes the Objet500 Connex 3 unique is “triple-jetting technology that combines droplets of three base materials,” according to Purple Platypus. In a single print run, the printer can make a part combining rigid, flexible and transparent color mate-rials. “This ability to achieve the characteristics of an assembled part without assembly or painting is a significant time-saver. It helps product manufacturers validate designs and make good decisions earlier before committing to manufacturing, and bring products to market faster.”

The Stratasys printer can print using resin layers as fine as 16 microns, and the objects simulate the characteristics of high-performance thermoplastics for engineers needing to prototype and design complicated parts, such as the bicycle helmet seen above. –M.T.

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Page 4: HAI Convention News 02-27-14

Russian fleet to gain 600 helicopters by ’18 by Mark Huber

An expert panel of senior Russian rotorcraft executives pointed to forecast surging demand for small and medium helicopters in their market between now and 2018. Dur-ing the seventh annual “Rus-sian Hour” here at Heli-Expo, Russia’s Helicopter Industry Association pointed to large structural changes under way in both the number and the make-up of the nation’s heli-copter market, one that for the moment continues to be domi-nated by heavy helicopters.

Between 2014 and 2018, Russia is expected to add 600 civil helicopters to its fleet, with

fully 400 of those coming from the light and medium categories, predicted Alexander Kalachev, chairman of the Russian Heli-copter Industry Association. Kalachev said the light helicop-ter market is particularly robust, growing 123 percent since 2009, from 234 to 523 ships in coun-try, while the medium and large sectors grew at a much slower rate during the period, by 4 and 3.2 percent, respectively.

However, heavy helicopters continue to dominate the Rus-sian market, accounting for 1,310 of the 2,443 helicopters on the civil registry, or about 54 percent. Light helicopters

currently comprise 21 percent of the market and mediums are at 25 percent.

Mediums are expected to make up the bulk of the demand between now and 2018, Kalachev said, driven by the demands of the expanding energy industry.

Kalachev said the influx of new helicopters is outpacing development of the infrastruc-ture required to support them and that Russia is in need of more maintenance and training centers, helipads and helicop-ter FBOs. “The infrastructure

is significantly delayed behind the fleet,” he said.

Alexander Mikheev, gen-eral director of Russian Heli-copters, said the industry in his country is open to con-tinuing to forge new partner-ships with Western airframe and component makers, pointing to ongoing coopera-tion with companies including AgustaWestland and engine makers Turbomeca and Pratt & Whitney, to augment pro-duction of domestic models. “We are always happy to find new partners,” he said. o

4 HAI Convention News • February 27, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

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HAI Convention News is a publication of The Convention News Co., Inc., 214 Franklin Ave., Midland Park, NJ 07432; Tel.: +1 201 444 5075. Copyright © 2014. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission of The Convention News Co., Inc. is strictly prohibited. The Convention News Co., Inc. also publishes Aviation International News, AINalerts, AIN Defense Perspective, AIN Air Transport Perspective, AINmx Reports, AINsafety, Business Jet Traveler, ABACE Convention News, Dubai Airshow News, EBACE Convention News, LABACE Convention News, MEBA Convention News, NBAA Convention News, Farnborough Airshow News, Paris Airshow News, Singapore Airshow News.

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Rolls-Royce signs contract for Scott’s-Bell 47 RR300sby Rob Finfrock

In a brief ceremony Wednesday after-noon on the Heli-Expo show floor, Rolls-Royce (Booth No. 5222) signed a multi-engine contract to deliver its RR300 light turboshaft powerplant for installation on the Scott’s-Bell 47GT-6 light utility helicopter.

“We have the commitment to ship them their first flight-test engine by June,” Rolls-Royce helicopters senior vice presi-dent Greg Fedele told AIN. “We’re really excited about this next step on the path toward production of the Scott’s-Bell 47.”

The engine maker noted that only very minor alterations to the RR300 were required for installation in the leg-acy Bell 47 airframe, with no changes to the engine’s core architecture. Introduced in 2007, the RR300 also powers the Rob-inson R66 light turbine helicopter.

Scott’s-Bell 47 president and owner Scott Churchill said the RR300 offers “a perfect fit for the 47, and with its already proven in-service record, we believe the 47GT-6 with the RR300 engine will be a very successful combination.”

The Scott’s-Bell 47 contract also dem-onstrates the company’s commitment to

building the lighter end of its product range. Another step toward that mis-sion, also announced during Heli-Expo, is the recent consolidation of the com-pany’s civil helicopter engine support operation with the Rolls-Royce Defense

Operations Center in Indianapolis. Fedele emphasized the advantages of

having fleet support for the M250 and RR300 under one roof, with support per-sonnel able to benefit from direct interaction with their counterparts in other markets.

“We have more than 16,000 civil heli-copter engines flying around the world,” he added. “We’ve taken the lessons learned from supporting our large mil-itary fleets, so that everybody–from a large fleet to a single-ship operator–gets the same level of service and the best support possible to keep them flying.” o

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The late Larry Bell, founder of Bell Helicopter, would no doubt have loved to have had a Rolls-Royce RR300 turbine to power his orignal Model 47.

Correction: Orlando Alaniz

In the photo of the unveiling of the Enstrom TH-180 in yesterday’s is-sue of HAI Convention News (page 29), the caption should have identi-fied Enstrom Helicopter director of sales and marketing Orlando Alaniz, who was speaking during the event. � n

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Clarification: Columbia Helicopters

Portland, Ore.-based Columbia Helicopters (Booth No. 4706) provided more information on the company’s ability to transition CH-47D Chinooks to commercial service and clarified the difference between commercial and military Chinooks. “We are only able to make parts for the commercial models of the Chinook, not the CH-47D military models,” explained Dan Sweet, public relations manager for Columbia. The story “Columbia set to recycle U.S. military Chinooks,” published Wednesday in HAI Convention News (page 10), was not clear on this distinction. � n

Page 5: HAI Convention News 02-27-14

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Page 6: HAI Convention News 02-27-14

6 HAI Convention News • February 27, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

news clips

z Eagle Copters Resumes Bell 407 Engine STCEagle Copters has resumed work on the Eagle 407HP

conversion that retrofits the Honeywell HST900D-2 engine into the Bell 407 in place of the stock Rolls-Royce C47. The Honeywell engine maintains power through higher altitudes, according to Eagle, improving payload capacity by 40 percent at 12,000 feet while reducing specific fuel consumption and delivering a 22-percent better power output than the stock engine in high/hot conditions. The new engine also offers an 8-percent reduction in takeoff and 10-percent lower max cruise specific fuel consumption.

The converted Eagle 407HP is on display here at Heli-Expo (Booth No. 8428). The company has signed a technology license agreement with Bell Helicopter and Honeywell to help develop the supplemental type certificate conversion.

z Twirly Birds Give Lifetime Award To Marine Aviator and HAI Board MemberThough their mission is camaraderie among helicopter

pilots, the Twirly Birds do more than just flock together once a year to swap stories. This year the organization took advantage of its annual gathering at Heli-Expo to honor Roy Simmons with its Les Morris Award for lifetime achievement. Simmons, who has been flying helicopters for more than 50 years, was a Marine Corps aviator who went on to a career with Columbia Helicopters, where he rose to become president of the company.

Retired since 1999, Simmons, a longtime HAI board member, served as chairman of the association’s board in 2004.

Twirly Bird president Steve Sullivan presented the award to Simmons yesterday at a celebratory event held at the Marriott Anaheim Marquis.

z Van Horn Opens Repair Station in ArizonaIn the wake of receiving a repair station certificate,

composite rotor blade manufacturer Van Horn Aviation (VHA, Booth No. 7129) has established a repair station, operating as Van Horn Repair (VHR). Co-located with VHA’s Tempe, Ariz. manufacturing facility, the operation will specialize in repairing VHA composite rotor blades.

“The repair station certificate allows us to better serve our customers by providing in-house repair and replacement of both warrantied and non-warrantied parts, said VHA president James Van Horn.

VHR’s services will include replacing bearings/bushings; repairing limited damage to composite skins; replacing abrasion strips; rebalancing blades; repairing voids in blades; and other structural repairs as approved by an FAA-authorized designated engineering representative. VHA quality manager and FAA-authorized designated manufacturing inspection representative Marie Dwyer will oversee VHR’s operations.

z SkyTrac Partners with DACSkyTrac Systems (Booth No. 5822) has partnered with

DAC International. Under the agreement DAC will become a regional distributor for SkyTrac’s fleet management and flight-data services. DAC will now distribute the SkyTrac ISAT-200A transceiver and fleet management services including business support, flight tracking and flight-data monitoring across a territory that includes Latin America, Oceania and Asia.

DAC International (Booth No. 4006) serves a variety of market segments, including airlines, military and general aviation. Products include navigation, communication and display systems as well as test equipment, data loaders and data converters. DAC’s GDC-64 tablet aircraft interface unit connects Apple iPads to aircraft systems, and DAC can supply FAA and EASA STC-approved integration kits for iPad EFB installations.

AgustaWestland adopts ‘ThinkCustomer’ strategyby James Wynbrandt

AgustaWestland (AW) un-veiled its new vision and strat-egy for continued growth at its annual Heli-Expo press din-ner. Under a new “ThinkCus-tomer” banner, the company will streamline and simplify its operating model, diversify and grow its product offerings and increase its focus on customer satisfaction to respond to “a new market environment,” company

CEO Daniele Romiti said. He reported the company had a 13.6-percent increase in revenues for the first nine months of 2013 (€3.012 billion) over the similar period in 2012 (€2.976 billion).

Romiti noted that AW’s mar-ket share has grown from 12 percent in 2004 to 28 percent in 2013. “We’re not number one [in terms of deliveries],” he said. “I think the exact number

is unimportant. What is impor-tant is our growth rate has been 21 percent, [much more than] the Chinese growth rate in terms of GDP.” However, changes in the marketplace marked by increasing competition and greater customer expectations require adjusting the company’s strategy, he said.

Under its new lean and mean model, AW will also exploit “a wide range of partnering oppor-tunities, from licensed produc-tion and co-development, to support and training,” Romiti said. “That leads to increasing market penetration and leverage in business opportunities.”

Roberto Garavaglia, senior v-p for strategy and business development, said the company would focus on three product cat-egories going forward: its tradi-tional helicopters for vertical lift efficiency; tiltrotors for greater speed, range and altitude; and UAVs, to meet the needs of a growing and diversified market.

Pursuing its goal of increasing customer satisfaction, John Pon-sonby, senior v-p for customer training and support, introduced AW Step Change, a company ini-tiative “launched to reinforce the level of engagement of all employ-ees toward customer satisfaction,” as well as a new customer training and support division. o

AgustaWestland CEO Daniele Romiti said that under its ThinkCustomer banner, the helicopter OEM will streamline, simplify and diversify its operations with the goal of increasing customer satisfaction.

Robinson unveils glass options

Robinson Helicopter (Booth No. 5226) is displaying its new line of standard and optional glass-panel avionics options for all its helicopter models here at Heli-Expo.

The Garmin GTR 225B is now the standard com radio on all models. The company points out that it satisfies the new kHz channel-spacing regulations. The GMA 350H audio panel is now standard for dual com installations.

The optional GTX 330ES transponder meets ADS-B out requirements when paired to a GTN series navigator. The GDL 88 provides ADS-B out on 978 MHz and dual-band ADS-B in. Other new optional avionics include the Garmin GTN 600/700

touchscreen navigators and another GTR 225B com, and the Aspen Avionics PFD and MFD.

To accommodate the new glass options, Robinson replaced its seven-, nine- and ten-hole instru-ment panels with six- and eight-hole panels; the six-hole panel

is standard on the R22 and R44 Raven I, while the eight-hole panel is standard on the R44 Raven II and R66. The eight-hole panel is also an option on the R44 Raven I. Both panels allow for tradi-tional instrument configurations or glass panel avionics. –M.H.

Robinson’s full line of helicopters is equipped with standard and optional glass-panel avionics. Garmin’s eight-hole panel is standard on the R66 (above) and R44 Raven II.

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Sergei Sikorsky honors SAR crewsby Amy Laboda

Sometimes it’s the personal touch that makes the differ-ence. Sergei Sikorsky, retired vice president of special prod-ucts for Sikorsky (Booth No. 2822) and son of the company’s

namesake, Igor Sikorsky, pre-sented an informative history of the search-and-rescue pedi-gree of vertical lift aircraft dur-ing Heli-Expo 2014.

“In December 1938 Igor

Sikorsky presented the case to United Aircraft to develop the helicopter,” said Sikorsky. “He told United that, when developed, the helicopter would prove to be a unique

instrument for saving human lives,” he continued.

Just six years later, in 1944 in the deep jungle of Burma, a 24-year-old pilot, Lt. Carter Harmon, flew the first SAR mission in an R-4 to success-fully rescue survivors of a medevac aircraft that had gone down in the jungle behind enemy lines.

Sikorsky Aircraft put an S-55 helicopter on the FDR air-craft carrier at the company’s own cost to prove the utility of the carrier-based helicopter. It didn’t take long until an airplane pilot “bounced” off the deck and was quickly rescued by the S-55. “The captain stated that he would not sail again without two of the S-55 onboard his car-rier,” said Sikorsky.

The final screen of his pre-sentation was perhaps the most telling about Sikorsky’s personal involvement with his father’s dream. It showed Cdr. Frank Erickson flight testing the first helicopter rescue hoist. Dan-gling below the helicopter on the cable, being hoisted, is Airman Machinist Mate Sergei Sikorsky. “It worked,” he smiled. o

8 HAI Convention News • February 27, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

Airbus Helicopters AcHieves stAble 2013 finAnciAl performAnce

Airbus Helicopters saw sta-ble revenues and profit last year: €6.3 billion ($8.7 billion) and €397 million ($546 mil-lion), respectively, according to the financial results Airbus Group unveiled on Wednes-day in Toulouse. The company delivered 497 helicopters and recorded orders for 422 more, compared with orders for 469 the previous year. However, the value of the orders increased year over year, by 7 percent, to €5.8 billion ($7.9 billion). The civil market accounted for 55 percent of revenues. The back-log, as of December 31, stood at 995 helicopters worth €12.4 billion ($17 billion). The man-ufacturer spent €306 million ($421 million) in research and development last year. –T.D.

Sergei Sikorsky, behind the podium here at Heli-Expo 2014 and in the photo, dangling below the helicopter on the rescue hoist during the first flight test of the hoist.

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Page 9: HAI Convention News 02-27-14

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Page 10: HAI Convention News 02-27-14

Essex tapped for Bell 525 controlsby Curt Epstein

Component manufacturer Essex Industries (Booth No. 1430) announced it is a sup-plier for the Bell 525 helicopter program. The St. Louis-based company will design and man-ufacture the pilot and copilot cyclic and collective grip assem-blies along with the complete control post assemblies for the midsize helicopter, which is cur-rently under development.

“Our selection as supplier for the Bell 525 Relentless pro-gram is further confirmation that the expertise Essex has in the fixed-wing market can be applied to rotary-wing appli-cations as well,” noted Robert Geisz, Essex’s vice president of sales and business development.

Founded in 1947, the com-pany provides platform con-trols, aircraft components and liquid oxygen systems for life support. It recently began

deliveries of collective control grips for the U.S. Coast Guard’s fleet of HH-65 Dauphin res-cue helicopters. Qualification testing and flight testing of the grips was completed last year and the service plans to retrofit its entire fleet.

Here at Heli-Expo, the com-pany is displaying its liquid oxygen systems as well as its self-contained lightweight porta-ble protective breathing device, which can provide up to an hour of protection from the effects of decompression, oxygen depriva-tion, carbon dioxide, smoke or other harmful gases. Guests to its booth can drop off a business card for a chance to win a Kin-dle Fire tablet computer. o

10 HAI Convention News • February 27, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

Bell 525 Relentless pilots will become very familiar with the cyclic (left) and collective made by Essex Industries.

down home arizona

Universal Helicopters (Booth No. 4927) recently took delivery of this Robinson R-22, said Dr. Gordon Jiroux, president/CEO of the flight training company. Dr. Jiroux received this year’s Flight Instructor of the Year award.� n

Blue Sky Network shows new HawkEye featureby Rob Frinfrock

Anyone familiar with GPS-enabled, location-based services available on many smartphones will appreciate the benefits from the new geo-fencing condition capability, dubbed advanced variable response (AVR), offered by Blue Sky Network on its HawkEye 7200 portable satellite tracking unit.

Blue Sky (Booth No. 2609) business development vice pres-ident John Peterson said AVR allows operators to set cer-tain responses when a helicop-ter equipped with the Hawkeye 7200 passes through specific loca-tions. This provides flight depart-ment managers greater control by emphasizing the most perti-nent flight data for given mis-sion parameters and “ultimately makes fleet management easier, safer and less expensive.

“For example, position reporting frequencies could be turned off when an asset is at its home base, resume normal

reporting after leaving the base and increase reporting frequency when entering regions consid-ered more dangerous,” Peterson explained.

At Heli-Expo 2014, Blue Sky Network is also emphasizing other features that make Hawk-Eye 7200 attractive to rotorcraft fleet operators, including an all-in-one design with an integrated lithium-ion battery, dual Iridium and concurrent GNSS tracking capabilities, and Bluetooth con-nectivity to the company’s iPad and iPhone flight-tracking app.

The HawkEye 7200 also works with Blue Sky Network’s cloud-based SkyRouter secure tracking and management web portal. o

Microturbo inks support agreement by James Wynbrandt

Safran subsidiary Microturbo of Tou-louse, France, and Houston’s Bristow Group announced at Heli-Expo 2014 signing the first support by the hour (SBH) agreement for Microturbo’s e-APU60. The Microturbo e-APU provides auxiliary power for the AW189 helicop-ter, which Bristow operates. Under the five-year agreement Turbomeca, Safran’s helicop-ter engine specialist, will pro-vide integrated support activity for the Microturbo e-APUs installed on 11 search-and-rescue helicopters and six operating in the oil and gas sector. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“Our main objective is to deliver best-in-class support and services solutions to our customers, and to meet Bristow’s expectations in terms of

dispatch reliability, customer product support and services,” said Thierry Gourma-

nel, Microturbo’s commercial and cus-tomer support v-p.

Bristow has prior support by the hour agreements that cover Turbomeca engines.

“SBH has proved successful in keeping support costs aligned to

flight activity and revenue,” said John Cloggie, Bristow v-p and chief technology offi-cer. “This agreement will be the first time SBH will cover an APU, and I look forward to seeing similar benefits.” o

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Microturbo’s APU60

rolls-royce names two rr300 mro centers

BBA Aviation subsidiaries Premier Turbines and H+S Aviation inked an agreement yesterday with Rolls-Royce, acknowledging them as authorized repair and overhaul centers for the RR300 engine, which currently powers the Robinson R66. The deal, which runs through 2021, provides engine operators with major MRO providers on both sides of the Atlantic.

“We’re pleased to add the RR300 to the list of engines we sup-port for Rolls-Royce,” said Doug Meador (left), president of Premier Turbines parent company Dallas Airmotive. “This authorization com-plements our established in-house capabilities for the Rolls-Royce 250 engine and is a key facet of a long-term growth strategy to increase our helicopter service offerings.” He was joined by (l-r), Jason Giebler, gen-eral manager, Premier Turbines; Bert Brown, Rolls-Royce’s director of helicopter services, defense; Mark Thompson, helicopter service net-work process administrator for Rolls-Royce; Allan Noble, H+S Aviation’s program director for the M250/RR300; and Mark Taylor, managing director of UK-based H+S Aviation.

“We’ve seen the R66 fleet build up quickly since its introduction in 2010. We anticipate the need for strong field service support and repair capability as the fleet continues its rapid expansion,” Taylor said. –C.E.

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Sikorsky expects first flights of CH-53K & S-97 this yearby Curt Epstein

In the military segment, while clearly concerned with continuing budget con-straints, Sikorsky expects to achieve two milestones this year with the first flights of the CH-53K, the latest version of its heavy-lift military transport, and the S-97 Raider.

For the CH-53K, Sikorsky believes its government funding is on firm footing, and a ground-test vehicle is currently in operation with a formal acceptance cere-mony scheduled for May. The S-97, a fol-low-on to the company’s X2 technology demonstrator, is now undergoing final assembly. Sikorsky believes the 80-per-cent composite-frame helicopter will be a strong competitor for an eventual armed scout competition, which could see orders of more than 400 aircraft worth more than $8 billion.

The company expects progress this year in the CH-148 Cyclone Canadian maritime program, after the contractual issues that have caused years of delays, “We pretty well have that behind us,” said Sikorsky Aircraft president Mick Maurer. “We signed a principles of agreement at the end of last year that defines the terms of a con-tract amendment that we are now nego-tiating.” He noted the company expects resolution by March, and a clear path for the Cyclones to replace Canada’s aging Sea Kings starting in 2015.

While the company has won the com-petition (in partnership with Lockheed) for the U.S. Air Force combat rescue program, it has not been funded, but

Maurer said Sikorsky remains cau-tiously optimistic about the chances for its contract for 112 Black Hawks to sur-vive the budget process.

Looking over the horizon, Sikorsky is partnering with Boeing for its entry on what Maurer describes as the big-gest rotorcraft program in history with potential orders of 4,000 aircraft worth more than $80 billion. The SB-1 Defiant is expected to fly in 2017 as part of the joint multi-role tech dem-onstrator program, which will even-tually replace the Black Hawk and Apache platforms.

While the U.S. defense budget is cur-rently entering a down cycle, the com-pany is looking to other regions–such as Asia and the Middle East–where military spending appears to be on the upswing, with an increase of 55 percent predicted over the next five years. “This year our international military sales ver-sus last year will be up probably about three or four hundred million dollars,” said Maurer. “It’s not enough to offset everything that we would like on the U.S side and it can be a very volatile busi-ness.” Yet the company expects that for-eign buyers will become an increasing segment of its customer base. “Right now our military business on the new aircraft side is about two-thirds U.S mil-itary, one third international,” Maurer said. “We expect that within a few years to go to about half and half.” o

12 HAI Convention News • February 27, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

Metro AviAtion gAins FAA ApprovAl to oFFer

gArMin gtn650/750s For single-pilot iFr in helicopters

Metro Aviation (Booth No. 415) recently completed a year-long approval process for a supplemental type certificate (STC) for installation of the Garmin GTN 650/750 in EC135 helicopters, making the company the first to offer the touchscreen GPS, nav and com units available for installation on single-pilot IFR rotorcraft.

“In an age of touchscreen tablets delivering information at a moment’s notice, this equip-ment is more in line with what we have come to expect, and I am happy that we are now able to provide this technology to our customers,” said Metro Aviation managing director Milton Geltz.

The Garmin GTN 650/750 replaces legacy GNS 530s. In addition to the touchscreen interface, the GTN units feature digital audio and can display both standard weather radar and satellite weather information. –R.F.

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Page 13: HAI Convention News 02-27-14

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Page 14: HAI Convention News 02-27-14

StandardAero overhauls its first Rolls-Royce RR300

Building on its Rolls-Royce M250 maintenance program, StandardAero announced during Heli-Expo 2014 that it has seen growth in its nascent Rolls-Royce RR300 program, having recently released its first engine back into service. The RR300 powers the Robinson R66 helicopter.

As of yesterday StandardAero showed five recent engines coming into MRO at its Winnipeg, Canada location, and 50 scheduled globally.

“At this point we are developing training courses and continuing to qual-ify and train technicians while work-ing closely with Rolls-Royce to ensure

that Robinson R66 operators receive a high level of service,” said Manny Atwal, vice president, helicopters, for StandardAero.

StandardAero became the first inde-pendent Rolls-Royce-authorized MRO in North America for the RR300, in December last year.

A second RR300 authorized MRO agreement is in process for Standard-Aero’s Singapore facility, which would become the first independent RR300-authorized MRO in Asia. That agreement is expected to take effect and be opera-tional this spring, according to sources at the company. –A.L.

14 HAI Convention News • February 27, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

FreeFlight SupportS ADS-B trAFFic on gArmin 430

FreeFlight Systems (Booth No. 4513) and the University of North Dakota (Booth No. 3440) received FAA supplemental type certificate (STC) approval in the Bell 206B for the FreeFlight RANGR FDL-978-XVR. This installation is now the first rule-compliant 978 MHz ADS-B in/out universal access transceiver (UAT) for rotorcraft. The company and the school jointly developed the technology with contributions from the FAA’s Center for General Avi-ation Research (CGAR), as well as a consortium of universities.

The RANGR FDL-978-XVR integrates ADS-B in/out capabilities with a Waas/GPS and mode-A/C transponder integration in one box. It offers ADS-B in and TIS-B traffic plus Nexrad and other weather information to be displayed on Garmin GNS 430 displays. The RANGR FDL-978-XVR also supports weather and traffic display on an Apple iPad via an optional Wi-Fi module.

“This STC gives the large number of JetRanger operators an ADS-B solution immedi-ately,” said Kirk Peterson, avionics manager at UND. “We are partnering with innovation and technical leaders such as FreeFlight Systems to bring the benefits of ADS-B to more pilots as quickly as possible.” –A.L.

mArenco BringS SKYe Sh09 prototYpe to heli-expo

“It has not yet flown, but it is the actual prototype number one Marenco SKYe SH09,” explained Matthias Sénès, chief commercial officer for new helicopter manufacturer Marenco (Booth No. 2203). The blades are mock-ups, but only because the actual prototype blades are on the test stand along with engine number one, Sénès noted. “We decided it was important to bring the actual prototype this year, even though it does delay the first test flight, but there will be many test flights, and Heli-Expo is only once a year,” he explained.

The SKYe SH09 order book now stands at 51, including three new orders that Marenco Swisshelicopter announced during Heli-Expo. The carbon-fiber, single-engine, Honeywell HTS900-2-powered helicopter will sell for $3.25 million equipped with dual sliding cabin doors and a full glass cockpit. All deposits are refundable based on whether the aircraft meets minimum performance marks and its certification milestones in a timely manner. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2017, according to Sénès, who seemed pleased by the crowds surrounding the aircraft in the exhibit hall. –A.L.

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Kaman may put K-max BacK into production

Kaman Aerospace (Booth No. 4922) is soliciting customer feedback here at Heli-Expo 2014 to help the company determine if it should resume pro-duction of the civil variant of the single-pilot K-Max external-lift helicopter, which was certified in 1994.

“We regularly receive inquiries from operators interested in buying new K-Max aircraft for a variety of missions across the world,” said Jim Larwood, president of Kaman Aerosystems. “There is clearly demand for new aircraft to support firefighting, logging or any industry requiring repetitive aerial-lift capabilities, and the K-Max is extremely well suited for all of these indus-trial applications.”

Autonomously piloted models of the K-Max have recently flown for the U.S. Marines in Afghanistan. Civil versions of the aircraft have been used in construction, firefighting and logging. Kaman shut down the production line in 2003 after 38 were built. –M.H.

The intermeshing, counter-rotating main rotors of the K-Max eliminate the need for a tail rotor, which means that all engine power is available to lift the helicopter.

Four airmed operators sign P&WC maintenance contractsby Curt Epstein

Pratt & Whitney Canada (Booth No. 5406) has signed engine maintenance agreements with four U.S. aeromedical helicopter operators: Metro Aviation, Air Medical Group Holdings, TriState Care-Flight and Life Flight Network.

The long-term contracts include the OEM’s fleet management program,

which allows customers to eliminate the overhead and logistical issues associ-ated with operating a maintenance facil-ity; the event cost plan, which allows customers to pay an amount equal to a predetermined hourly rate at each main-tenance visit; the zero-time exchange and overhaul program, which provides the operator the option of purchasing a zero-timed, overhauled engine to replace an in-service engine that is coming due for overhaul; and the time and materials engine services agreement.

The four companies can use the engine maker’s global customer service support network, which includes more than 30 company-owned and -desig-nated service facilities with more than 100 field support representatives, and its Customer First Centre for rapid support and a large pool of rental and exchange engines. o

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carries more load

Dart Aerospace (Booth No. 6814) has improved on its quick-release heli-utility basket for the Airbus AS350 and AS355 helicopters. The new baskets can handle up to 100 pounds more load (332 pounds total) without any Vne restriction. The 96-inch or 56.8-inch-long baskets can be installed on either side of the aircraft by one person with no tools, in just one min-ute, and are equipped with lightweight fabric lids or, if the operator prefers, a heavy duty metal lid. The baskets are compatible with space pods and squirrel cheeks and sport integrated carrying han-dles. They cost just under $13,000 apiece. A retrofit kit is also available for customers that own previous generations of the Dart heli-utility basket, as well. –A.L.

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16 HAI Convention News • February 27, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

More uniformity would benefit military future vertical liftby Rob Finfrock

Mike Hirschberg, executive director of AHS International, used a media presentation at Heli-Expo 2014 not only to highlight the educational and advocacy roles of his organization, but also to share his perspective on the state of future rotorcraft development.

Following the presentation, Hirsch-berg spoke with AIN about future ini-tiatives driving the next generation of rotorcraft. Noting that advances in the civilian rotorcraft segment are frequently driven by U.S. mili-tary research, Hirschberg said the global industry faces a conundrum as the Department of Defense strug-gles to perform more roles with less equipment.

“The key to future vertical lift is to address the needs of [all service branches] with one type,” he said. “The military should be investing 10 times the money in research, but within exist-ing budget constraints development of any new rotorcraft is very difficult unless you can show it has capability for more than one service.

“The more disparate set of require-ments you try to meet, the more difficult it is,” Hirschberg added. “For exam-ple, the Army wants really long range; the Navy wants a really small aircraft. Those are almost mutually exclusive.”

One development that Hirsch-berg strongly supports is the expan-sion of fly-by-wire (FBW) technology to the civilian sector, as seen in Bell’s 525 Relentless medium-lift helicopter. “FBW should be used on all advanced rotorcraft,” he added. “It has many benefits to safety and performance.”

Human-powered HelicopterOne of AHS International’s most

prominent efforts has been its spon-sorship of the AHS/Igor I. Sikorsky Human-Powered Helicopter Com-petition, which after 33 years saw the AeroVelo team meet all award objec-tives during a flight last June, and win-ning a $250,000 prize. “It was a race to the finish,” Hirschberg recalled. “They did it with science.”

AHS International will host its 70th Annual Forum and Technology Dis-play in Montreal this May. The event will feature approximately 300 techni-cal presentations on factors influenc-ing the development of helicopters and other rotorcraft.

Founded in 1943 as the American Helicopter Society, AHS International today has 6,500 members around the globe, and offers a range of education programs to encourage ongoing devel-opment of rotorcraft technology. o

Rolls-Royce honors Helijet, signs multiple service dealsby Curt Epstein

Rolls-Royce has recognized Canadian operator Helijet International, which operates daily shuttle flights between Victoria and Vancouver in the Sikorsky S-76A, as the highest time M250-C30S operator in the world. “[Helijet has] accu-mulated more than 300,000 flight hours on its fleet,” said Tim McGrath, Rolls-Royce’s v-p for customer business.

Since its inception in 1986 Helijet has carried two million passengers on its M250-powered helicopters, noted com-pany chairman Alistair MacLennan. “It is an extremely reliable engine and we use it in the exact forum that it should be–at sea level, moderate temperature–and we want to thank Rolls-Royce for providing us with safe and reliable transportation over the last 27 years.”

In related news, Rolls-Royce signed

multi-year service agreements with four large fleet operators, encompass-ing operational support for more than 220 M250-engine powered rotorcraft. Yesterday at the company’s booth, McGrath sealed a deal with Mike O’Reilly, president of Calgary-based Eagle Copters, which specializes in sales, leasing, MRO and STC manu-facturing and owns 15 M250-powered helicopters, including the Bell 206B, 206L3 and 407.

The other three companies are Mis-souri-based Air Evac Lifeteam (with 125 Bell 206 and 407 air-medical transport helicopters); petroleum industry trans-port provider PHI (68 M250-powered rotorcraft); and Canadian operator Yel-lowhead Helicopters (16 206B, 206L3 and 407 models). o

Below, here at Heli-Expo, Tim McGrath (left), Rolls-Royce v-p of customer business, honored Alistair MacLennan, Helijet chairman (center), and Brian Walker, Helijet director, on achieving 300,000 engine flight hours with their Sikorsky S-76A fleet. Rolls-Royce also found Heli-Expo a fertile site for signing several agreements. Left, Rolls-Royce’s McGrath and Mike O’Riley, president of Eagle Copters sealed a pact that will enhance operational support for Eagle Copters’ Rolls-Royce M250-powered helicopter fleet.

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Starlite UpS itS aS332C1e SUper pUma order

Starlite Aviation Operation of Dublin, Ireland, launch customer for the Airbus Helicop-ters AS332C1e Super Puma, announced here at Heli-Expo that it is adding to its initial order for two with an option for an additional two. Starlite’s first AS332C1e was delivered last week and the second is on display at the Airbus Helicopters booth (No. 523) painted in Starlite’s livery. This second C1e, a twin engine, medium-to-heavy lift helicopter, will be delivered next month and will be deployed on a utility and medevac contract with EULEX (European Rule of Law Mission) for use in Kosovo. Standard equipment on the aircraft includes a four-axis autopilot and an automatic flight control system that provides flight envelope protection. Starlite currently operates 10 Airbus SA330 Super Pumas.

“Having Starlight Aviation as the launch customer is a strong endorsement of the AS332C1e,” said Airbus Helicopters president Guillaume Faury. –J.W.

tablet-friendly eman mx library in alpha teSting

“We’re changing our interface to be tablet-friendly, both Android and iOS,” Dale Alven, vice president, technical solutions for eMan (Booth No. 8209) told AIN. “Alpha testing is going well,” he continued, “and we expect to have both operating systems’ apps available to our users by the end of the first quarter.”

The eMan technical library system can be installed on a customer’s servers, but more cus-tomers are choosing to offload their IT infrastructure and complexity onto eMan’s servers in the U.S. and Europe, allowing the company’s clients, which include Air Berlin, Metro Aviation and Era Helicopters, among others, to access their technical data and maintenance docu-ments via any Web browser.

“What we are selling these days is really a service, with the IT responsibility on us,” explained company COO Kevin Clark. “For instance, we host Air Berlin Technik. If they need to give one of their service providers access to tech documents, we can very quickly create authorization to just the documents the provider needs, firewalling them off from the rest of Air Berlin’s resources on our servers,” he said. The company has approximately 4,000 users on its system worldwide, according to Clark.

Pricing for the eMan service is user-based, from $2,500 to more than $10,000 per month, depending on how many users a company wants in its technical documents library. –A.L.

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www.ainonline.com • February 27, 2014 • HAI Convention News 17

Donald Shinnamon, Sr., wins MD Helicopters Law Enforcement Awardby R. Randall Padfield

Donald Shinnamon, Sr., the recipient of the MD Helicopters Law Enforcement Award here at Heli-Expo 2014, credits his father with his interest in both aviation and law enforce-ment. Though not involved in aviation work, during World War II his father was stationed at NAS Patuxent River in Maryland, home of the Naval Test Pilot School, where he acquired his enthusiasm for aviation. After the war, the elder Shinnamon became a police officer in the Balti-more County Police Department.

“When I was a division commander in that same police department,” Donald Shinnamon told AIN, “an officer in another patrol divi-sion donated a Cessna 150 to start an aviation

program there. A few years later, I was trans-ferred to this division as commander and took on the project of building up the aviation pro-gram, which was still only the 150. I wanted to add helicopters, but didn’t have the budget to buy new civil aircraft. So we started with three Army-surplus, Hughes TH-55s, from which we put together one. We eventually replaced the TH-55s with Bell OH-58s, replaced the 150 with a Maule and, using drug money, bought a Rob-inson R22 for narcotics surveillance. Today the department flies Eurocopter AS350Bs, with great, state-of-the-art equipment.”

Shinnamon, who had direct command of the department’s aviation program from 1986 to 1996, holds a commercial pilot certificate with ratings in single-engine airplanes and helicopters and an advanced ground instruc-tor certificate. “I got these as I was building the aviation program,” he said. “As I started to find my way to the national scene for police aviation, I wanted credibility to speak on the technical aspects of flying.” In 1989, he was designated as a police aviator and regularly flew missions as a pilot. He retired from Balti-more County Police Department in 1997 after a 26-year career.

While still with the department, Shinnamon had attended the annual conference of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) in 1992 and heard a discussion that a committee was needed to speak to aviation-related issues. “So I went to the meeting of about six of us from around the country,” he said. After the meeting he offered his help to the organizer, who told Shinnamon that he

could take over the whole effort to create the aviation committee within the IACP, because the organizer didn’t have time to do it. “I ended up chairing the committee for 15 years, until I retired from public service in 2010,” after work-ing as the chief of police for two Florida cit-ies’ police departments and director of public safety for a third Florida community.

Shinnamon has been a member of the Air-borne Law Enforcement Association since 1986. As member of the National Sheriffs Association from 1994 to 2005, he founded that group’s aviation committee, too.

Shinnamon is one of a small group of police aviators who “have been consistently involved on the national level of police aviation for a long period of time. and came together to form the Airborne Law Enforcement Accreditation Com-mission in 2002. We knew we needed professional standards for police aviation, we talked about it for many years and we finally found some seed money to get to work on it,” he explained. “Most of us had experience with police depart-

ment accreditation standards, we had a model to work from and we knew how the process gener-ally works. It was the first set of industry standards, if you will, for police aviation that address everything from pilot require-ments to maintenance training to the administrative structure.”

In 2008, Shinnamon was selected to serve on the first FAA rule-making commit-tee charged with drafting reg-ulatory language to integrate small, unmanned aircraft sys-tems into the national airspace system. More recently, Bin-

gen, Wash.-based Insitu, a Boeing subsidiary, engaged him to help develop the civil market for the company’s unmanned aircraft systems.

“The missing piece of the UAV puzzle is sense-and-avoid technology on board the aircraft, the purpose of which is to do the same thing a human pilot does now, which is to see and avoid other aircraft,” Shinnamon said. “In the near future we will have this technology and then we will see full integration of unmanned aircraft into the airspace system, but that’s still a few years off.

“Where I think the FAA is being overly restrictive is in its policy on very small unmanned aircraft,” he continued. “These are UAVs weighing four pounds or less that are flown in visual line of sight of the operator, meaning they are constantly watching the air-craft, during the daytime and in good weather, so the operator can take care of avoiding other objects in the sky. There is a very cumbersome process to get permission from the FAA to do this and I think this is overly restrictive. And it’s keeping public safety organizations from using the benefits of this technology, which are great.”

Shinnamon believes that the same guide-lines established by the Academy of Model Aeronautics (www.modelaircraft.org/files/105.pdf), which are followed by people flying radio-controlled model aircraft and fit on one sheet of paper, should be sufficient. “But this is not the position of the FAA,” he lamented.

Although retired from official police work, Shinnamon continues to provide consulting ser-vices to his clients and to serve aviation in other ways, including volunteering as unmanned air-craft coordinator for HAI. n

SALUTE TO EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Donald Shinnamon ,Sr.

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Page 18: HAI Convention News 02-27-14

Instructor award goes to Universal’s Dr. Gordon Jirouxby R. Randall Padfield

For the hundreds of helicopter pilots who have trained or flown with Dr. Gordon Jiroux in a Robinson R22 over his 30-plus, accident-free years as a flight instructor and the count-less others in the industry who know him, the announcement that he would receive the W.A. “Dub” Blessing Award (Flight Instructor of the Year) here at Heli-Expo 2014 was probably met with the thought, “Well, it’s about time!”

Just last year, Dr. Jiroux, 57, founder and president of Universal Helicopters, received an honorary doctorate in aviation sci-ence from Dodge City Community College (DCCC), Kan., “in appreciation of his out-standing contributions to the college, his vast aviation knowledge and his commitment and dedication to the global aviation industry.”

Universal Helicopters exclusively pro-vides flight training for DCCC, Kansas State University in Salina and Embry Rid-dle Aeronautical University (at its Prescott, Ariz. campus). Founded in 2000, Universal has six training locations in four states, 35 helicopters and more than 40 flight instruc-tors. Over the last 10 years, the company has flown some 25,000 hours of accident-free flying, most all of it in training.

Hello Mr. RobinsonA native of New Jersey, Dr. Jiroux–

who uses the honorary title formally at the request of DCCC, but continues to be “Gor-don” to just about everyone–got the aviation bug from his father, whose best friend was an Allegheny Airlines pilot. “Those were the days when airline pilots were celebrities. He was like a superhero to me,” he told AIN. “I decided I wanted to a pilot or a baseball player.” But at age 16, when he had a chance to join the Air Force ROTC in high school, he couldn’t get his mother to sign the permis-sion form. “So there went my idea of going straight from high school into a military program,” he said. “I got a job and saved as much money as I could.”

In 1979, now living in Arizona, he became fed up with landscaping and one day went to Scottsdale Airport, found a chief pilot of a small company and told him, “I want to be an airline pilot. He told me that was going to be difficult with the economy and the ranks of airline pilots being flooded with Viet-nam War vets.” The pilot gave him an issue of Rotor & Wing International magazine, showed him an ad for Robinson Helicopter and suggested that he “check out this new low-cost helicopter, the R22, that had just come out on the market.”

The 23-year-old Jiroux called the num-ber in the ad. Frank Robinson answered the phone. “I told him I wanted to come to Cal-ifornia to learn how to fly his helicopter,” said Dr. Jiroux. Robinson told him his com-pany was the manufacturer, but that he had just delivered two R22s to a company in Long Beach, just a few miles away, and that he could get training there. “Frank gave me

Tim Tucker’s number at Pacific Wing and Rotor and suggested that I visit him [Frank] if I came to California.”

Dr. Jiroux did take training at Pacific Wing and Rotor and did visit Frank Robin-son. “Over time, Frank and I became friends and he arranged for me to purchase ship number four,” Jiroux said. “He didn’t have a dealer on the East Coast yet, and know-ing that I was from the East Coast, he asked me to go to Morristown, New Jersey, to set up there. But before I picked up ship number four, he asked me to go to Arizona, because he wanted this ship to fly in one of the hot-test parts of the country. So I moved back to the West.”

Luck Turns to PassionIn 1982, Dr. Jiroux started his first flight

school in Arizona with Robinson’s help. In 1983, he became a Robinson dealer, as well as a pilot examiner in the R22. “So I had a very storybook start to my career,” he said. “I was in the right place at the right time and with the right attitude. Can you imagine having Mr. Robinson and Tim Tucker as your two men-tors starting in the aviation business? How could you be any luckier than that?”

To help her son finance his flight train-ing business and buy his first R22, which cost about $42,000 then, Mrs. Jiroux loaned him the $25,000 she had in the bank. He put $20,000 down on ship four and paid $775 a month until it was paid off. He told AIN he recently paid $301,000 each for three new R22s from the factory.

Dr. Jiroux said his original goal as a heli-copter pilot was to fly offshore over the Gulf of Mexico. But he knew he needed turbine time to get a job there, and more important, he found he enjoyed working with Frank Rob-inson and that he really loved flight training. “I realized that training was, and still is, my passion,” he said.

As his operation grew, however, he added other work to the business, including air tours in the Grand Canyon with Bell JetRang-ers, photo flights, movies and herding cattle. After some 20 years in the business, Dr. Jir-oux decided to focus strictly on flight training. “In the last nine or ten years, I stopped doing everything but flight training, and mostly with college-degree programs,” he explained. And he considered the lessons he had learned over those years.

Lessons Learned“When we had one of the biggest flight

schools in the world in the ’80s and early ’90s, we were having a crash about once a year,” Dr. Jiroux said. “Compare that to now, when we have twice as many helicopters and we’re in our tenth year without any accidents.

“The biggest thing I learned about flight training in helicopters,” he continued, “is what I’m really creating is a flight instructor, because a commercial pilot’s first job is usu-ally instructing. So instead of gearing most of my training on developing a commercial pilot, today we gear it toward developing a commer-cial pilot with the knowledge that that person needs to be a teacher. We have to incorpo-rate this right from day one. I think that this realization has given me the company I have today.”

The second lesson is “micromanaging each

instructor in an apprenticeship-style program, where one instructor is overseeing another instructor,” Dr. Jiroux explained. There are various signoffs to teach different maneuvers as the new instructor progresses. This means that a new flight instructor gets an instru-ment student, not a brand-new student. Our instructors are mentored through the first 1,000 hours of their careers. I feel our job is not done until our students have 1,000 hours and we have helped them secure a job outside of flight training.”

He said that Universal Helicopters has zero unemployed graduates when they get their CFII (because it offers jobs to all its graduates who reach this milestone) and zero unemployed graduates when they reach 1,000 hours and start flying in the industry, because the company helps them find jobs. The com-pany hires only instructors who have gone through its training program, because “we know them.”

The third most important lesson Dr. Jir-oux said he has learned is “you can’t make any decision based on economics or convenience.” For example, “I know I could bring in more students, if I hired some additional instruc-tors whom I didn’t train. That would be con-venient. That’s a red flag to me.”

“Here’s the economic part,” he contin-ued. “There’s not one person who works for me–and gets anywhere near an aircraft–that I hired from a resume. As soon as we realize that an individual is not someone we’re going to hire, we ask that individual to leave our pro-gram and go somewhere else. We mold our students in our company image. We see them for two years as a student, so we know them when they become our instructors. The flight instructors leaving our company with 1,000 hours are basically the ambassadors for our company. If they’re great, we’re great. If they stink, we stink.”

For the past 10 years, Dr. Jiroux has con-ducted an annual two-day safety seminar for certified flight instructors, which is approved as a Flight Instructor Refresher Course. He pays all expenses for Universal Helicopters instructors to attend.

Wrote Anthony Lyons, vice president of community and industry relations at Dodge City Community College, in his nomination letter for the Flight Instructor of the Year award, “Dr. Gordon J. Jiroux is the most intu-itive educator I have ever met.” o

18 HAI Convention News • February 27, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

SALUTE TO EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Dr. Gordon Jiroux

Gyronimo’s app makes planning easyby Matt Thurber

Gyronimo’s Performance Pad iPad app combines weight-and-balance and performance calculations to help pilots quickly and accurately plan flights with-out any tedious paperwork.

Gyronimo (Booth No. 1537) has developed Per-formance Pad apps for a variety of helicopter and fixed-wing airplanes, about 40 total, including pop-ular models made by Airbus Helicopters, Bell Heli-copter, Robinson Helicopter and MD Helicopters. Gyronimo also offers the Fleet Control online data-base, which allows crews to send data to company headquarters, such as crew status, risk-management information, flight numbers, maintenance informa-tion, etc., and then update the company with flight hours, position reports, fuel consumption and more. Most of the helicopter Performance Pad apps cost $29.99, although some models and Pro versions of the app sell for $39.99 (EC120B), $59.99 (R66 Pro) and $179.99 (EC155B and B1).

The Fleet Control system and the Performance Pad app can be customized for any operation. For example, Gyronimo developed a custom solution for the Maryland State Police AW139 fleet with weights and locations of medical and other equipment, so that pilots can quickly produce accurate weight-and- balance manifests. For ExecuJet Europe, Gyronimo added more than 30 computations for IFR CAT A flights into the app for the operator’s EC155B1.

The Performance Pad app displays a clear load-ing diagram that includes longitudinal and lateral center of gravity (CG) limits graphs. Any element on the diagram can be adjusted with sliders, and the graphs show whether the load is within weight and CG limits. The fuel load includes a max endurance number, and the user can adjust desired fuel remain-ing on landing.

Another feature in the app is an E6B section, where the user can evaluate the effect of winds on ground speed and flight time. The app also includes charts that show the performance available given the particular parameters on the load manifest. For example, if the payload or fuel is reduced, then the rate of climb chart automatically shows the new, higher rate of climb. Performance charts include power check, rate of climb, hover ceiling IGE and OGE, service ceiling, distance to clear a 50-foot obstacle and more. The settings section allows the user to change defaults for the particular aircraf–climb, fuel reserve warning, threshold warnings and basic operating weight and moments. o

Gyronimo’s Performance Pad app combines weight-and-balance and performance calculations. It is available for about 40 different helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft.

Page 19: HAI Convention News 02-27-14

www.ainonline.com • February 27, 2014 • HAI Convention News 19

getting here was the whole battle

Wings and Rotors Air Museum, the Murietta, Calif. haven for res-toration of military aircraft, could not afford the $5 million required for public liabilty insurance that would have allowed it to fly this helicop-ter to the show, so its UH-1B Huey was trucked into Heli-Expo using the much lower-cost transport-by-road alternative. � n

FlyIt adds R66, Bell 407 to standard sim config

Last year at Heli-Expo, sim-ulator manufacturer FlyIt Sim-ulators (Booth No. 2433) enlightened attendees about the advantages of flight simulation for helicopter training and pro-ficiency. The display of FlyIt’s “advanced flight motion sys-tem,” which replicates the feel of flying in a nonmoving device, was a success, and deliveries began in July 2013, with simulators going to Russia, China, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Guatemala and Angola.

This year, Robinson R66 and Bell 407 flight models have been added to the FlyIt simu-lator so a standard-configured simulator now comes with nine different flight models. Engine and airframe vibration are also

standard on all FlyIt simulators, such that you can feel the skids touch down. For complexity of mission the company now offers dense traffic scenarios, as well.

The FlyIt simulators are FAA-approved for VFR and IFR train-ing. Included with each simulator are super accurate detail, navaids and scenery of the operator’s air-port or training center. The FlyIt devices come with a five-year warranty and fit inside a self-con-tained trailer for easy transport of the training operation.

Heli-Expo attendees who want to try the simulator can visit the FlyIt booth and fly one of the few items on the Heli-Expo exhibit hall floor that you can actually fly in the building. –A.L.

Mid-Continent reCeives battery, standby attitude approvals

Mid-Continent Instruments and Avionics (Booth No. 3636) has received FAA and EASA approval for its new True Blue Power TB17 lithium-ion engine start and main ship battery. The TB17 is the first lithium-ion battery to receive certification for general aviation appli-cations. The 16-pound battery is designed for light turbine and piston aircraft and weighs up to 45 percent less than lead-acid or nicad bat-teries. The company says the TB17 is designed for less maintenance, lower cost and longer life than traditional batteries.

Mid-Continent also announced that it has received FAA Part 23 approved model list STC approval for its MD302 standby atti-tude module (SAM). The compact two-inch, 1.6-pound, solid-state SAM provides attitude, altitude, airspeed and slip information on a two-screen display in the event of primary instrument failure and has selectable horizontal or vertical orientation. The unit is designed to interface with most primary avionics systems and can synchronize data, including barometric pressure, from standard Arinc outputs. It has a list price of $10,812 including a two-year warranty. � n

Sikorsky picks Summit for support by Curt Epstein

Sikorsky Aircraft yesterday named Greenwich AeroGroup subsidiary Summit Aviation an authorized customer support center for its legacy S-76 helicop-ters. Since the type’s introduction in 1979, Sikorsky has delivered more than 800 S-76s, which con-tinue to add to the type’s six mil-lion-plus flight hours.

Summit will offer aftermar-ket support for scheduled main-tenance on the medium twin, including maintenance manage-ment, inspections and spare parts procurement. “We have a long-standing relationship with Sum-mit Aviation and are very pleased that the company has recently been approved as a qualified ser-vice center,” said John Johnson, president of Sikorsky subsidiary Helicopter Support. “Its ample hangar space, Sikorsky-certified mechanics and a mobile field

team will provide comprehensive support to our legacy operators.”

Summit provides aircraft and engine service for products from all the major rotorcraft manu-facturers, including Bell, Airbus Helicopters and MD Helicopters as well as for many fixed-wing aircraft manufacturers such as Beechcraft, Pilatus and Cessna.

Afghanistan MissionHere at the show, Sikorsky rec-

ognized AAR Airlift’s use of the S-92 helicopter in support of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The oper-ator’s two large-cabin rotorcraft achieved a record 3,800 com-bined block flight hours in 2013, an increase of 1,000 hours over 2012, and tallied a maintenance readiness rate greater than 90 percent. “AAR’s experience vali-dates the cargo and troop trans-port capabilities in the harshest

of environments, and we’re grate-ful for our relationship with AAR and the trust they continue to show in the aircraft,” said Carey Bond, president of Sikorsky Commercial Systems & Services. The UTC subsidiary supports an off-site stocking warehouse in Bagram, Afghanistan to help contribute to the large-cabin heli-copter’s availability.

AAR’s daily S-92 missions include ferrying passengers and cargo, as well as carrying sling loads at high altitudes in a wide range of temperatures. “Assets like the S-92 are critical in sup-porting the warfighters’ ability to execute their missions safely,” said AAR Airlift president Randy Martinez. The U.S. Transporta-tion Command recently awarded AAR another option year based on the company’s performance and fleet capability. o

China rises in the ranks of global helicopter ops

Call it the decade of “skies opening” in greater China, or, if you are a helicopter OEM, call it the decade of sales opportu-nities. If you are involved with helicopters in greater China today the excitement is palpable.

Last year the entire fleet of 465 helicopters (424 based in mainland China) grew by 20 percent, according to the Asian Sky Group Greater China Civil Helicopter Fleet Report, released during Heli-Expo 2014. The Group’s projec-tion for growth this year is also 20 percent, based on actual orders placed for helicopters in the region, bringing the total

number of civil helicopters to more than 550 by year-end.

The largest user of civil heli-copters in country is the oil and gas industry. Helicopters service the Bohai Bay, East China Sea and South China Sea oil plat-forms on a daily basis, and ana-lysts see demand for helicopters such as the Sikorsky S-92 and Airbus EC225 in the future.

In Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong helicopters are being used as part of ministry of trans-portation and government fly-ing services, supporting police, EMS and SAR in those regions. As more areas such as Heilongji-ang province in North China are

opened for private helicopter and training operations it is expected that civil demand will grow.

China World Helicopter Asso-ciation’s director general Luo You Zhen brought to Heli-Expo 2014 a plan for commercial heli-copter routes linking Chinese cities in the Ring Bohai region, starting with Tienjin and Dalian (380 km); Dalian and Qing-dao (320 km); Tienjin and Qin-gdao (430 km). Expected fares in an AW139 or equal 15-passen-ger helicopter are estimated to be around $350 (U.S.) one-way, according to Lou.

The timeline for the proj-ect is keyed to correspond with the opening of more airspace for helicopters in 2016. Mean-while, the China World Helicop-ter Association is soliciting input on the plan here at Heli-Expo, according to Luo. –A.L.

The civilian helicopter industry in greater China grew by 20 percent in 2013 alone.

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GA leaders gather at Heli-Expo to discuss shared concernsby Rob Finfrock

Guarded optimism for the year ahead, despite a number of looming concerns on sev-eral fronts, was the dominant theme expressed by leaders of the major general aviation (GA) associations in a town hall forum discussion yesterday morning at Heli-Expo.

Helicopter Association Inter-national (HAI) president Matt Zuccaro noted that HAI con-tinues to enjoy robust member-ship and strong financial health, evidence of a surging rotorcraft community. That said, how-ever, he also expressed concern about restrictive policies target-ing helicopter operators.

“One issue that’s concern-ing us quite a bit is noise legis-lation,” Zuccaro noted, pointing to the recently mandated North Shore helicopter route over Long Island due to noise abatement concerns, and a similar debate now under way in Los Angeles.

“The FAA was, in fact, man-dated by legislative initiative to do something they didn’t really want to do. Some neighbor-hood people get together and call their elected officials, the elected officials lean onto the FAA to the point where the FAA is not left with much dis-cretion, and they’re forced to issue regulations.”

Support in WashingtonEd Bolen, president and

CEO of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), noted the strong support GA receives from congressional lawmakers through the House and Senate GA Caucuses, but expressed concern about the renewed debate in Washing-ton, D.C. over user fees and privatization of the national air transportation system, as

well as a recent editorial in the Wall Street Journal calling for extending the tax deprecia-tion schedule for GA aircraft, including helicopters.

“The business aviation com-munity is actually entering 2014 feeling about as optimistic as we’ve felt in a number of years,” he added. “[However], as I’ve said a couple of times before, in Washington D.C., it can be

really hard to kill a bad idea. A lot of these ideas are coming forward again.”

Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) president and CEO Mark Baker called attention to ongoing efforts by his organization and the Exper-imental Aircraft Association (EAA) to see the FAA enact the third-class medical exemption for private pilots.

“I think we’re going to see some movement from the FAA pretty soon,” Baker added. “It’s been exactly two years since the petition went in.” Baker also expressed hope about the ongo-ing battle to preserve GA oper-ations at Santa Monica Airport, following the recent “small vic-tory” in seeing the U.S. Dis-trict Court dismiss a city lawsuit questioning the government’s claim to airport land.

EAA chairman Jack Pelton

focused most of his presenta-tion on promoting enthusiasm for aviation and bringing young people into the industry. “There’s an ecosystem that involves all aspects of aviation. We believe that we have to work hard at EAA to make sure [aviation] is sustainable and inviting. “What we want to focus on is how to take young people and introduce them to that career path,” Pelton added, which should also alle-viate concerns about a lack of pilots and other qualified avia-tion personnel in the years ahead.

Jens Hennig, operations vice president of the General Avia-tion Manufacturers Association (GAMA), pointed to the slew of newly introduced and recently certified rotorcraft displayed on the show floor at Heli-Expo as a sign the industry is rebound-ing nicely despite ongoing eco-nomic and legislative concerns. “All segments are starting to turn the corner and deliver more air-craft,” he said. “We’re really try-ing to build ourselves out of this. Create demand, innovate new things, so that the operator com-munity–our customers–is eager to buy the next aircraft to meet the utility and needs they have for their operation.”

National Air Transportation Association (NATA) president Tom Hendricks emphasized that his organization, like HAI, is composed primarily of mem-bers from small businesses, and they continue to express uncer-tainty about the environment on Capitol Hill and the state of the economy. “We’re seeing some positive signs out there across our different lines of business, but people remain cau-tious,” Hendricks added. “Busi-ness owners are reluctant to take risks until we’ve addressed our fiscal condition as a nation.”

Following a panel and audi-ence question and answer ses-sion, Zuccaro closed the town hall session by calling attention to an empty chair onstage, accom-panied by a simple floral arrange-ment, in honor of National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) president and CEO Henry Ogrodzinski, who passed away in January. o

20 HAI Convention News • February 27, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

First-time HAi exHibitor scHeme Designers creAteD pAint scHeme For ForD’s bell 407

Sometimes there are convergences in the world. Kismet some call it. For first-time Heli-Expo exhibitor Scheme Designers (Booth No. 3608) Harrison Ford’s decision to fly his own Bell 407 into the Ana-heim Convention Center as one of the first helicopters to arrive for Heli-Expo 2014 was in fact a stroke of luck for Scheme Designers, the company that created the paint scheme for the actor.

It turns out there is more to creating an aircraft paint scheme, and especially a helicopter paint scheme, than just tracing a few pencil strokes on a line drawing of the aircraft. Scheme Designers combines the skills of artists and engineers to create each custom-ized paint scheme for a range of fixed-wing and vertical-lift aircraft and provides paint mask templates or decal designs to the owner’s paint shop or applicator. The company serves OEMs and individu-als on a global scale.

According to Craig Barnett, CEO and founder of the company, the Bell 407 was one of several paint schemes the company worked on with Ford. “It was a pleasure to work with such a detail-oriented client,” said Barnett, referring to Ford. “That attention to detail makes our artist’s ability to render his vision that much simpler,” he said. –A.L.

Curtiss-Wright offers slew of rugged avionicsby R. Randall Padfield

Curtiss-Wright Controls, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C, is here at Heli-Expo 2014 with a wide range of prod-ucts for application in many of the civil and military helicop-ters on display. These include an LCD mission display, ethernet switches, an IP router, mission computers, a video management system, a network file server, a digital mapping system, an air data computer module, a data acquisition system and a multi-purpose flight recorder. Curtiss Wright occupies Booth No. 805.

The Defense Solutions division of Curtiss-Wright announced at the show the introduction of a new Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) switch system, the Parvus DuraNet 20-10, which delivers double the port count of the divi-sion’s previous GbE switches and reduces power consumption by about 50 percent. It is also about 26 percent smaller than previous switches by volume.

The Parvus DuraNet 20-10 is a “stand-out addition to our broad portfolio of standalone, rugged, network switch subsys-tems and provides our custom-ers with a new level of SWaP-C reduction for technology refresh and new platform designs,” said Lyn Bamford, senior v-p and general manager for the compa-ny’s defense solutions division.

Also announced by the divi-sion is the new Parvus SWI-22-10,

a 20-port GbE Switch PCI/104-Express card. With twice the number of ports previously pro-vided by earlier designs, this fully managed commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) GbE switch reduces slot count and adds advanced Layer 2 network man-agement features. According to the company, it is ideal for use in rugged, manned and unmanned mobile, tactical, airborne and vehicle platforms.

“Our new SWI-22-10 delivers significant SWaP-C advantages for system designers that require a module-based network build-ing block, or a fully integrated Parvus COTS small-form-fac-tor subsystem to connect IP-enabled devices,” said Bamford.

Finally, the defense division announced the start of shipping to customers of its new VPX3-716 3U OpenVPX graphics display card, which is the com-pany’s highest performance, embedded graphics module. It is also the first graphics display card based on the next-genera-tion AMD Embedded Radeon E8860 Adelaar GPU.

“This rugged, SWap-optimized board combines unmatched I/O and no-compro-mise graphics processing and delivers all the performance and features needed to quickly and cost-effectively integrate graphics display into airborne and ground platforms,” Bamford said. o

Mark Baker, president and CEO of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

Ed Bolen, president and CEO of the National Business Aviation Association

Matt Zuccaro, HAI president

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Cabri G2 makes its U.S. debutYesterday was a banner day for

French helicopter manufacturer Guim bal as it marked its entry to the U.S. heli-copter market, with the delivery of its first Cabri G2 light single to Newberg, Ore.-based operator and training pro-vider Precision Helicopters.

While the EASA-approved (2008) two-seat rotorcraft is now in operation in 22 countries, at the delivery presentation, company president and CEO Bruno Guim bal said entering the American market has long been a goal. “We would never be a real manufacturer until we supplied helicopters to the [U.S.], and it’s coming now,” he told the crowd gathered around the Precision booth (No. 7311) to see the first Cabri G2 in the country. The helicop-ter, which is powered by the same Lycom-ing engine as the Robinson R22, has not yet earned FAA approval. Certification is anticipated in the next few months, leav-ing Precision to ship it back to Oregon

after the show wraps up today. Though his Cabri includes personal

helicopter features such as a luggage com-partment, Guimbal expects that the heli-copter, like its R22 competitor, will find the vast bulk of its use as a trainer in the U.S. It features a three-bladed mainte-nance-free main rotor with semi-articu-lated composite blades, a shrouded tail rotor and a 44-gallon fuel tank

Guimbal told AIN that his company has delivered 64 approximately $400,000 G2s to 32 operators worldwide and cur-rently has a backlog of more than 100 rotorcraft. As the orders increase, he is striving to reduce order lead time to less than a year. Precision expects delivery of another G2 in June, with more to follow next year. The company is positioning itself as Guimbal’s West Coast distribu-tor and authorized service center.

Here at the show, Guimbal notched its second U.S. customer, Heritage Heli-

copter Services, which expects its first delivery in March 2015. Accord-ing to chief pilot Curtis Spears, the Beaumont, Texas-based company will order up to six G2s, eventually changing over its fleet entirely to the French helicopter. –C.E.

www.ainonline.com • February 27, 2014 •HAI Convention News 21

Hersman also called attention to the Board’s participation at Heli-Expo, including NTSB vice chairman Christo-pher Hart’s participation Tuesday in the forum “NTSB: Lessons Learned from Helicopter Accidents.” Board member Robert Sumwalt will also give a keynote speech during the International Heli-copter Safety Symposium, which begins Thursday evening following the close of Heli-Expo 2014.

Hersman emphasized the Board’s

clarity of purpose, which is focused exclusively on determining methods to reduce accidents. “We are really, truly investigators,” she said. “We don’t have any other authority. We can’t force any-one to do anything–we can’t incentiv-ize anyone to do anything because we don’t have any grant-making authority or money.

“We do hope we can be a catalyst to improve safety,” she told attendees. “Many times our recommendations are implemented not because of a rule or regulation, but because people feel that they’re the right thing to do.” o

NTSB Using Social Media To Promote Accident Education

NTSB chairman Deborah Hersman spoke to AIN about the Board’s utilization of social media, particularly the decision to share investigation findings on platforms such as Twitter and Face-book following the July 2013 Asiana Airlines 214 landing accident at SFO, a practice that drew sharp criticism from some aviation stakeholders, including the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA).

“Over the years our communications strategy has been evolving,” she said. “We have always provided a lot of information in our accident brief-ings, but lately we’ve gotten a lot of attention because a lot more people are covering it. Asiana was the first major commercial aviation accident where people had a chance to look at what we’re doing, but in fact we’ve been [us-ing social media] for years.”

Hersman emphasized that, in keeping with the NTSB’s focus, the purpose of sharing such in-formation is to provide the opportunity to learn. “At the core of this, we’re doing what we’ve always done,” she added. “It’s not getting filtered by the reporters who happen to be in the room; we’re put-ting it up so everybody can see exactly what we’re doing.” –R.F.

10 Most WanteduContinued from page 1

Turbomeca focuses on growth, research, markets & support by James Wynbrandt

Helicopter engine manufacturer Turbomeca, a Safran company, deliv-ered 984 engines last year and repaired an additional 1,499, resulting in an 8-percent increase in revenues over 2012, chairman and CEO Olivier Andriès reported yes-terday at Heli-Expo. He singled out the agreement to supply Arrius 2R engines for Bell Helicopter’s 505 Jet Ranger X,

announced at last year’s Paris Air Show, as a milestone for both companies, and an indication of growth to come. “In 75 years of history, the two leading compa-nies the helicopter world had never, ever partnered before.”

Andriès said Turbomeca will focus on four “strategic axes” going for-ward: enlarging its portfolio of OEM

customers, continuing to develop new engines and variants, bolstering its posi-tion in emerging markets and developing customer loyalty through aftermarket support programs. The company’s pol-icy of investing 15 percent of revenues in R&D will also help it reach its goal, he said, noting 10 new engine projects are currently in progress, and Turbomeca will focus on wringing more power out of existing engine models while working to decrease fuel consumption and emis-sions and increasing reliability.

Meanwhile, the Arriel family of engines, in the 500- to 1,000-shp range, has now passed 40 million flight hours of operation. In the Ardiden 3

family, Turbomeca has delivered the first Ardiden 3G engines to Russian Helicopters for its Ka-62, and the new Arrano, designed for 1,000- to 2,000-shp applications, made its first bench run earlier this month.

Efforts to increase customer loyalty will include working on TBO extensions of 10 to 20 percent, tripling the number of certified service centers in the next decade, and introducing a new customer service portal, called Boost. Developed with IBM, the portal will enable custom-ers to keep electronic engine logbooks, have access to all engine documents elec-tronically and even configure their engines on the Web. o

Erickson and airbus HELicoPTErs EXPLorinG oPPorTuniTiEs

Sometimes an understanding means the potential for sales, and sometimes it is the begin-ning of something much, much broader. That was the case when Portland, Ore.-based Erickson and Airbus Helicopters came together yesterday at Heli-Expo 2014 to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore new opportunities between the two companies. This comes on the heels of two acquisitions in 2013 by Erickson, namely Evergreen Helicopters and Air Amazonia.

Specifically the MOU states that the two companies will explore Airbus Helicopters sup-porting the Erickson fleet; optimization of Airbus Helicopters aircraft within the Erickson fleet; expansion into new markets; and industrial partnerships that might include expansion of Erickson’s MRO, manufacturing and engineering capabilities such that they could support Airbus equipment.

“We currently have more than 20 Airbus Helicopters in our fleet, and more than 30 years’ experience flying them,” said Udo Rieder, president and CEO of Erickson. “We’re excited to be broadening our relationship with the world’s largest OEM.” –A.L.

Bell CEO X-plains Jet Ranger Bell Helicopter CEO John Garrison

said there was never any doubt what the company really planned to call its new light single, the 505 Jet Ranger X.

“There’s so much brand equity in the Jet Ranger. It’s phenomenal. It brings tears to people’s eyes. We knew we wanted Jet Ranger. X is the next genera-tion of Jet Ranger.”

Garrison said the decision to locate the 505 final assembly plant in Louisiana was a “competitive process” made across several states and several countries. “We have two smaller operations in the Lafay-ette [Louisiana] area now. We know them. It was the right decision for us.”

Garrison said the establishment of a new “green field” plant in Lafay-ette enables Bell to build cost-cutting

lean manufacturing processes into the plant’s design. While he declined to esti-mate plant production capacity, he said, “Hopefully we have a capacity con-straint” due to large demand.

Bell intends to meet the 505’s price point, estimated in the million-dollar range, by being “very rigorous to the requirements. No more and no less than the requirements. It’s designed for manu-facturability, and designed for assembly to that price point.”

Of the increased European content on Bell’s new civil models, including the 505, he said, “Clearly there is a tangential ben-efit that will help us in Europe. But the principal driving force was the right sup-plier and the right component for that application.” –M.H.

Guimbal has delivered 64 Cabri G2s to 32 operators worldwide, and now there’s a new one in the U.S., too.

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AW gives tiltrotor demo flights hereby James Wynbrandt

AgustaWestland (AW) per-formed customer demo flights aboard its prototype tiltrotor AW609 here at Heli-Expo in Anaheim, but with the aircraft still early in the certification

process, few potential custom-ers qualified to get on board. The FAA requires such passen-gers to be appropriately rated rotorcraft pilots, undergo simu-lator training in the company’s

AW609 simulator, conduct a familiarization flight in the air-craft and receive a second-in-command rating. Two lucky attendees went through the pro-cess beforehand and took demo

flights during the show, staged from Long Beach Airport.

AW was thrilled that any-one besides the test flight crew is now allowed to fly aboard the tiltrotor. “A couple of months ago we couldn’t imagine that would be allowed by the FAA,” said a company spokesper-son. “Now we can start to show potential customers the feeling of flying the 609. It’s a start, so maybe we’ll do more later.”

The prototype AW609 flew here from its base in Arlington, Texas in four legs. The last, from Mesa, Ariz., covered 320 nm and was flown at 20,000 feet with a true airspeed of 250 knots, according to the company. With a 20-knot headwind, the flight required one hour, 35 minutes.

The AW609 completed its flight envelope expansion trials in December 2013, which paved the way for the beginning of cer-tification testing. The two flight-test AW609s have logged nearly 1,000 hours, a third of those in the past two years.

AgustaWestland Tilt-Rotor Company took on the full pro-gram two years ago, after launching in partnership with Bell. Flight testing thus far has included expansion of the flight envelope to the maximum alti-tude of 25,000 feet and max cruise of 275 knots (both at max weight). During 2013 AW test pilots also performed slope landings, run-on landings, aero-elastic stability testing and high-altitude stability testing.

A third prototype AW609 is under construction at AW’s Vergiate facility, and this one is expected to fly this year, followed by a fourth prototype that will be used primarily for avionics test-ing. AW expects to receive certi-fication for the tiltrotor in 2017, with production commencing in 2018. No price has been set. o

22 HAI Convention News • February 27, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

Potential customers who are appropriately rated rotorcraft pilots and have undergone specialized training are now permitted to fly on demo flights on AgustaWestland’s AW609 tiltrotor.

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