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THURSDAY AINONLINE.COM ORLANDO

HAIConvention News ®

MARCH 5, 2015

Sikorsky S-76D demo whets appetite for flight by R. Randall Padfield

With the S-76D certified by the FAA on October 12 last year and by EASA just five days ago, Sikorsky is busily giving demonstration flights in this latest evolution of the popular S-76 at Heli-Expo 2015 this week in Orlando, Fla. AIN was fortunate to have a videographer and this writer–a rated helicopter pilot–on the last flight of 13 sorties on Tuesday.

Raymond Altieri, vice president, COO and one of the founders of Associated Aircraft Group (AAG) of Wappingers Falls, N.Y. flew the demonstration flights. Sikorsky Air-craft bought AAG–which provides

charter, aircraft maintenance and fractional ownership–12 years ago, and Altieri has been an employee of Sikorsky since then. With thousands of hours in all S-76 models, the S-92 and Black Hawk, he is also an FAA-designated examiner and provides flight reviews for Sikorsky test pilots.

Customers told Sikorsky they wanted better performance, a qui-eter aircraft and a better cockpit (less cluttered, more glass) compared with the S-76C++. The company obliged with new Pratt & Whitney Can-ada PW210S turboshafts providing Heli-Expo scores big

on return to Orlandoby James Wynbrandt

With a full day to go, Heli-Expo 2015 appears on track to establish new benchmarks for exhibitor count, aircraft on display and attendance. As of midday yesterday, the 17,774 registered attendees far eclipsed the total count of just over 16,000 reached when the show was last in Orlando, in 2011.

The 735 exhibitors, more than 312,000 sq ft of display area and 57 aircraft on display also convincingly exceed totals from that record-set-ting year.

“From my perspective, the show is going great,” said Matt Zuccaro, president and CEO of show organizer Helicopter Associa-tion International, which organizes the annual show. “People are upbeat and excited, and early reports indicate that a lot of business is being done on the show floor.”

More than $2 billion in transactions and orders

are usually booked during Heli-Expo, and this year’s edition appears on track to keep that trend moving upward, a perception bolstered by com-ments from numerous exhibitors.

“An outstanding show, with a lot of traffic and buzz,” said Kristopher Burson at Lord Cor-poration. Guillaume Faury, president and CEO of Airbus Helicopters, pronounced his team “proud and excited” at attendees’ response to the new H160 medium helicopter and customer service initiatives the company unveiled here. Suzanne Steiner at first-time exhibitor HeliTrak said attendee reaction has been “beyond our wildest dreams.”

Off the floor, conference and meeting rooms are hosting a full schedule of symposiums, forums and technical briefings, while the num-ber of safety programs has been increased for this year’s show. o

Continued on page 22 u

Everything you need at Heli Expo 15 in the palm of your hand.Available for all your mobile devices ainonline.com/mobile

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Sikorsky brought its S-76D to the show and is giving demo flghts to prospective clients and members of the media.

Organizers say this year’s show has been busy with a lot of foot traffic and buzz.

ADVOCACY AVIONICS RETROFITS MAINTENANCE TRAINING

GA LEADERS TAKE THE STAGETop executive from a wide swath of general aviation advocacy groups took the stage to air their most compelling concerns. And in one case, to cite a unique opportunity. Page 6

ASPEN CELEBRATES A MILESTONEWith more than 500 of its Evolution glass panels installed in helicopters, Aspen Avionics has a special guest to help celebrate. There is also a new series of STCs to crow about. Page 13

VECTOR UPGRADES AS350sAS350BA operators who want to soup up to B2 performance standards can turn to Vector Aerospace for an upgrade. The added power boosts max takeoff weight and adds hover performance. Page 10

JSSI EYES MSP OPPORTUNITIESAs one of the most recognized leaders in maintenance service plans (MSPs), Chicago-based JSSI is here at Heli-Expo seeking to reaffirm its commitment to the rotorcraft industry. Page 16

FSI PLUNGES DEEPER INTO MARKETFlightSafety International has dipped into the deep end of the rotorcraft training market, adding 40 percent more simulators to meet anticipated training needs in the near term. Page 18

MD logs new orders, looks to future growthby R. Randall Padfield

For helicopter industry vet-erans, Wall Street the SEC and many former and present employees, it might be hard to believe that MD Helicopters has been a Lynn Tilton com-pany for 10 years. But it is a fact, and this was the theme of the Mesa, Ariz. company’s press conference on Tuesday here at Heli-Expo 2015.

“MD Helicopters was born at the intersection of innova-tion, technology, design and manufacturing. The ‘House that Howard Hughes built’ changed the world’s rotorcraft industry by delivering beauti-fully simple engineered mas-terpieces,” said Tilton, CEO of MD Helicopters.

“When I acquired the com-pany in 2005, I don’t think anyone believed this iconic American brand could rise again, yet we stand today stronger and better prepared than we have ever been for a future of innovation, expan-sion and growth.”

Among main achievements Tilton mentioned was the com-pany’s re-entry into the defense market. Sales include training and armed helicopters in ser-vice with the Afghan Air Force,

Saudi Arabian National Guard, El Salvador Army, Costa Rica Police, Royal Jordanian Air Force, Mexican Air Force, South Korean Air Force and others, according to the company.

“We are continually improving supply chain perfor-mance, delivering responsive global customer service and support to a growing installed base, and we have returned to our historic legacy: providing high-performance, safe, reli-able armed scout helicopters to the U.S. Army and our allies. With these steps, we are well positioned to take on the chal-lenges of our next decade and beyond,” Tilton said.

MD 902 ImprovementsTilton also announced that

MD Helicopters plans to build a new version of its twin-en-gine MD 902, which suffers from the high cost of parts and their frequent unavail-ability because of outside part suppliers, she said. Tilton her-self owns a 902, which is the one on display at Heli-Expo.

“We are redesigning the aircraft, so that we can man-ufacture a lot of the parts in-house. And we’ll begin to

control a lot of our supply chain on the 902. This has allowed us to be successful on the single-engine line.”

Asked if the recent potential SEC enforcement action over the mismanagement of risky corporate loans made by Til-ton’s private-equity firm, Patri-arch Partners, which also owns MD Helicopters, was having an effect on MD Helicopters, Tilton responded, “I own 75 businesses…If you think this is the first time that I’ve ever had an investigation by a regula-tory body, then you’re naïve. It is not affecting MD or any of my companies. It is not affect-ing MD or any of my compa-nies. It is something I disclosed to the world that there is a potential regulatory issue in my life. And it is business as usual, or I wouldn’t be standing here. There is absolutely zero effect on MD Helicopters or any of my other portfolio companies.”

According to Bloomberg Business, Patriarch sent a letter

to investors in the loan obliga-tions it had created advising them of the SEC’s action and that it had hired an investment banker to begin talks with investors about restructuring the loans.

Yesterday, the company announced a contract to man-ufacture and deliver a new MD 520N helicopter to the Volusia County Mosquito Control in Florida. The sin-gle-engine 520N will join the unit’s two MD 500Es to expand the department’s abil-ity to inspect and treat the region’s wet and drylands not serviceable by trucks or other ground methods.

It also announced a con-tract to manufacture and deliver a new helicopter for the Mesa Police Department Aviation Unit. Acquisition of the new MD 530F was approved by the Mesa City Council as an addition to the department’s existing fleet of two MD 500Es. o

2 HAI Convention News • March 5, 2015 • www.ainonline.com

MD Helicopters CEO Lynn Tilton outlines her plans for the company for the next decade, a plan that includes in-house manufacture of key components.

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BRISTOW, AGUSTAWESTLAND SEAL AGREEMENT

Correction: Bristow Group CEO Jonathan Baliff (left) signed a platform development agree-ment MoU with Finmeccanica CEO Mauro Moretti (right), accompanied by AgustaWestland CEO Daniele Romiti (standing behind Mr. Moretti). Mr. Moretti was incorrectly identified in yesterday’s issue of HAI Convention News.� n

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Meet the editors

www.ainonline.com • March 5, 2015 • HAI Convention News 3

HNZ GROUP TO ADD FRASCA AS350 FTD

Montreal, Canada-headquartered HNZ Group (Booth 2218), a multinational helicopter transportation and support group of compa-nies, announced on Tuesday that it purchased an Airbus Helicopters AS350 B2/B3E level 7 flight training device (FTD) through an agree-ment with Frasca International (Booth 5031). “Canadian Helicopters’ plan to incorporate the FTD into its program will enhance training and improve safety,” said Frasca International president John Frasca (right).

“Synthetic training is recognized by Transport Canada and our major customers as an effective tool, and this FTD represents the leading edge of technology in simulated flight. This acquisition offers us both safety and economic benefits,” said Don Wall, president and CEO of HNZ (center).

The AS350 FTD will include detailed graphics of Edmonton, Alberta, and several other Canadian locations where HNZ companies typically perform complicated maneuvers with their combined force of more than 60 AS350s. It will simulate three different AS350 versions: the AS350B2 analog, AS350B2 VEMD and the AS350B3e. “We plan to design swappable panels and power/controls to create effective simu-lations,” noted Frasca/HNZ project manager Bob Summers (left). –A.L.

ENSTROM INKS DEALS FOR TH180

Enstrom Helicopters of Menominee, Mich. announced launch customers for its new TH180 two-seat piston heli-copter at Heli-Expo 2015. The customers are Indiana Helicopters; DSA Aviation Company, Czech Republic; Sharkeys Helicopter, N.H.; and Safomar, South Africa.

The first flight of the TH180 prototype was made on Feb-ruary 6 and this aircraft is on display at Heli-Expo (Booth 1828). Price of the TH180 is planned to be less than $400,000, said an Enstrom spokesman. � n

BRISTOW TAPS GE AVIATION FOR LONG-TERM CT7-8A MAINTENANCE PROGRAM

Bristow Group (Booth 5031) signed a 10-year agreement with GE Aviation (Booth 5271) for an hourly cost maintenance program covering Bristow’s GE CT7-8A turboshaft engines powering its fleet of more than 50 Sikorsky S-92s. The agreement, signed yesterday at Heli-Expo 2015 with executives from both companies in attendance, continues a longstanding relationship between the two companies by combining several short-term hourly cost maintenance programs into a single, long-term agreement that will provide Bristow with predictable engine maintenance costs. In October, Bristow Norway became the first helicopter operator using the GE CT7-8A engine to surpass 15,000 flight hours without a shop visit. –C.T.

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Jeff Roberts, right, will take over the CEO role at Erickson from Udo Rieder, who is retiring.

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A new CEO for Ericksonby Mark Huber

Aviation industry veteran Jeff Roberts is replacing Udo Rie-der as CEO of Erickson, Inc. (Booth No. 1528) effective April 1, the company announced here at Heli-Expo on Tuesday. Rieder is retiring after seven years as CEO. During that time he took the company’s stock public, acquired the assets of Evergreen Helicopters and Air Amazonia, diversified the company’s port-folio of services and its business base including moving into the oil and gas market, and more than doubled its employment.

Roberts began his career as a pilot and most recently was group president of aviation training company CAE and pre-viously served as CEO of Simu-Flite. “The group, assets, and focus Udo put together for us is the right focus for Erickson as we go forward,” said Roberts. “Joining a market leader with a global footprint and a diver-sified portfolio of business is a tremendous and exciting oppor-tunity. I look forward to leading the team at Erickson to its next phase of growth.” o

407HP finds first customerEagle Copters president

Mike O’Reilly was beaming yes-terday when he introduced the launch customer–Air Resources Helicopters (ARH)–for his company’s newly certified 1,020-shp Honeywell HTS900D-2-powered 407HP conversion. The helicopter services com-pany is buying two 407HPs and is considering the purchase of one more. Eagle Copters’ news comes after a 3.5-year certifica-tion program with partners Bell Helicopter and Honeywell, cul-minating with U.S. and Cana-dian approvals in December.

California-based ARH founder Chuck McFarland said he’d flown the stock Bell 407 loaded with skiers up to 14,000

feet agl and found the Rolls-Royce-powered helicopter to be a little out of its element. “The 407HP has the horsepower for hot-and-high operations. We flew our [stock] helicopter for fire-fighting with a 270-gallon tank. With the two helicopters we are purchasing, we’ll be able to fill it all the way up,” he continued.

The Honeywell-powered 407HP has a 19-percent higher payload capacity at 10,000 feet agl over a stock Bell 407, and it can do that burning 17 percent less fuel, according to Eagle Cop-ters (Booth 1512). Sean Reid, CEO of ARH, said his company is still trying to figure out what kind of Bambi Bucket to pur-chase for the new machines. o

Eagle Copters president Mike O’Reilly, left, and Air Resources CEO Sean Reid sign letters of intent for two copies of the Eagle Copters 407HP conversion.

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BELL MODs sTC’d

Aeronautical Accesso-ries, a brand of Textron’s Bell Helicopter (Booth 337) has received STCs for several aftermarket modifications for the Bell 407/429. The Bell 429 offerings included an emer-gency egress lighting sys-tem; a left-hand pilot seat removal kit; a FLIR Systems Star Saphire 380-HD system installation kit; a flight-data monitoring system; a retract-able hard-point kit and a tail-rotor pedal removal kit. The Bell 407 offering is a portable hoist designed for engine and transmission replacement.� n

Test pilots say AW609 is easy to fly by Mark Huber

AgustaWestland AW609 test pilots Dan Wells and Paul Edwards insist that the civil tiltrotor is “easy to fly” for those transitioning from either heli-copters or fixed-wing aircraft. The duo brought AW609 test ship number one to Heli-Expo from the manufacturer’s 609 test facility in Arlington, Texas. Along the way they flew up to 23,000 feet and saw average fuel burns of 1,000 pph.

Wells joined the program three and a half years ago after serving as a U.S. Army test pilot and being seconded to the Air

Force to fly its version of the mil-itary V-22 tiltrotor, the CV-22, test flying avionics packages. After serving in the Army for 26 years, he joined Bell Helicop-ter and then AgustaWestland when Bell sold its share of the 609 program to the Italian man-ufacturer. Wells has logged 650 hours in tiltrotors.

Edwards flew rotorcraft as a test pilot for the UK Royal Navy and was seconded to the U.S. Navy as a rotary wing test pilot. He has both rotary-wing and fixed-wing aircraft experi-ence. He joined the 609 program

in 2013 and has 300 hours in the tiltrotor.

Edwards said the hardest thing about flying the 609 is to keep in the proper mindset given the aircraft’s profile. “It changes from a fixed-wing aircraft to a helicopter in about 30 seconds. So you have to fly it like a fixed-wing when it is fixed-wing and then get ready to fly it like a heli-copter. It sounds trite, but that is what it is like.

“The fly-by-wire sys-tem makes it very easy to fly,” Edwards added. “Dan and I also are both instructor pilots.

When you transition from heli-copter to fixed-wing you do have to increase alpha a little to get wing lift. A helicopter is designed for zero alpha. When you roll on the bank in the heli-copter you increase a little col-lective. In an airplane when you roll on the bank you increase a little bit of alpha and that is exactly what you do with this,” Edwards said. “You just have to remember that when you roll into the turn unless you are in conversion mode, when you have to do a little bit of both.”

Edwards said development of the fly-by-wire system on the aircraft is largely done. “We’re down to the minutiae,” he told AIN. “It flies beautifully.”

Flying an approach from fixed-wing configuration at full speed to a vertical land-ing is a busy event, but the fly-by-wire control system helps lessen the pilot work-load. “You pull the power off at 250 knots and it slows down at about 10 knots per second,” Edwards explained. “Once you are below 200 knots, you make the first click on the thumb-wheel. That speeds the propro-tors up to 100 percent. They’re

at 84 percent in level cruise for noise abatement and effi-ciency. That slows you down some more and in a couple of seconds you’re below 180 knots. One more click and the rotors come back off the stops to 50-percent nacelle. Another click and in five seconds you’re doing 80 knots at 75-percent nacelle turning onto final. You can go from 240 knots to 80 knots in about a minute. On short final you’re at 82-percent nacelle and about 40 knots. Bring the nacelles back to 95 percent and that will stop you really quickly. You can be on the helipad a minute after you were on the downwind at 240 knots.”

Wells said the 609 really shines on steep approaches. “When you tilt the nacelles back to 95 percent, the fuselage is going to be at about minus seven or eight degrees. You can see exactly where you are going. You can see any obsta-cles. It is totally different than a helicopter. You’ll feel yourself hanging in the shoulder belts. If you are going into an austere environment, that is an amaz-ing ability.” o

4 HAI Convention News • March 5, 2015 • www.ainonline.com

AAR AIRLIFT SIGNS FOR

TWO SAR AW189s

AAR Airlift Group of Wood Dale, Ill., signed an order yesterday at Heli-Expo 2015 for two new-production AgustaWestland AW189s that will work under a contract for the UK Ministry of Defense. The helicop-ters will be delivered to AAR in October and November and enter ser-vice in the Falkland Islands by April 1, 2016. Although search and rescue was once exclusively a government/military function, AAR developed a commercial search-and-rescue program that meets CAA requirements.

Technical requirements of the search-and-rescue mission in the Falk-lands included all-weather search-and-rescue, helicopter emergency medical service, rescue hoist, night-vision imaging systems and passen-ger and cargo transfers.

The Falklands Islands program will also include Sikorsky S-61 heli-copters for support, flight operations, maintenance, logistics and facil-ities support.

Shown at the order signing are (left) David Storch, chairman and CEO, AAR and Daniele Romiti, CEO, AgustaWestland. –R.R.P.

AVPRO NOTCHES PRE-OWNED SALES AT HELI-EXPO 2015

Aircraft brokerage firm Avpro (Booth 1867) has had a busy week here in Orlando at Heli-Expo 2015. The Washington, D.C.-area company sold a Bell 429 on behalf of its client Saereos, the Bell distributor in Ecuador, on day one and followed that up with a separate transaction for the sale of a pair of Airbus Helicopters EC135T2+s, one EMS-configured and the other with a corporate interior, owned by Kocoglu Group to Inaer Babcock Mission Critical Services. “The agreements ratified during this week’s Heli-Expo, so far, underline Avpro’s commitment to the helicopter market,” said company managing partner Bob Rabbitt. –C.E.

L to r: Emmanuel Dupuy, head of the helicopter division at Avpro, celebrates deals closed at this week’s Heli-Expo with Turkish client Ugur Kocoglu, buyer Frederic Goig of France’s Inaer, and Candas Ozdogu of Kocoglu Group.

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Pilots of the AgustaWestland AW609 tiltrotor say the hardest thing about flying the aircraft is keeping in the proper mindset given the aircraft’s profile.

Whatever your mission, THE SIKORSKY S-76D™ HAS YOU COVERED

Sikorsky’s worldwide service and support team will be with you 24/7. Safe and reliable performance, wherever your mission takes you.

For additional information please contact your Sikorsky representative or visit us at sikorsky.com.

FLY OUT. FLY BACK. FLY SAFE.™

sikorsky.com | 6788 (02/15)

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6 HAI Convention News • March 5, 2015 • www.ainonline.com

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R-R joins forces with Composite Helicopters

With the swish of pens on March 4 at Heli-Expo 2015, Rolls-Royce senior vice presi-dent Jason Propes and Com-posite Helicopters (Booth 3265) CEO Peter Maloney sealed a deal to explore the development of a turbine helicopter with an advanced composite fuselage. Built from Maloney’s trade-marked EvoStrength technol-ogy, the Composite Helicopters KC630 is one of three helicop-ter variants under development at the company. Each is con-structed from a full monoco-que fuselage fabricated entirely from rigid composite materials, promising excellent impact, cor-rosion and fatigue resistance.

“This is the first time we are showing the helicopters in a

professional environment, and we are seeing that the helicop-ter community is ready for us. We are moving into high-tech composite construction, which creates a strong, robust air-frame with a design TBO. The response is overwhelming–56 signed declarations of interest, and we expect 30 deposits in hand this week [at Heli-Expo]. We are targeting type certifica-tion by the end of 2017,” Malo-ney told AIN. “Rolls-Royce has been very supportive throughout our development program, and we are looking forward to a long and productive relationship with the company,” he continued.

Echoing Maloney, Rolls-Royce’s Propes said, “The Rolls-Royce RR300 is an ideal choice

for the KC630, with the right mix of power, reliability and economi-cal operation. We, too, are looking forward to continued discussions and the progression of the KC630 through the type certification pro-cess.” The RR300 engine was developed out of the legacy of the Rolls-Royce M250 engine line, which has more than 235 million flight hours across 31,000 engines powering more than 100 different types of aircraft.

The Composite Helicopters agreement was one of several Rolls-Royce (Booth 3228) made during Heli-Expo 2015. The com-pany also agreed to extend its fleet operator agreement with Canada-based helicopter touring company Alpine Helicopters for support of the company’s M250-powered fleet of helicopters. –A.L.

Jason Propes, left, Rolls-Royce senior vice president, helicopters, and Peter Maloney, CEO, Composite Helicopters, sign an MoU to place the RR300 turbine engine with the in-development Composite Helicopters KC630.

Diverse GA groups discuss their shared concerns by Amy Laboda

Key leaders from seven general aviation associations met during Heli-Expo 2015 to debate critical issues affecting their members. The panel, moderated by Heli-copter Association International president Matt Zuccaro included: Melissa Rudinger, senior vice president, government affairs, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Asso-ciation; Jack Pelton, CEO, Exper-imental Aircraft Association; Peter Bunce, President, General Aviation Manufacturers Asso-ciation; Greg Principato, pres-ident, National Association of State Aviation Officials; Thomas Hendricks, president and CEO

National Air Transportation Association; and Ed Bolen, presi-dent, National Business Aviation Association.

Top IssuesThe diverse group was united

onstage in each leader’s concern for how the FAA reauthoriza-tion will shake out this year.

“Privacy has been a big issue with NBAA and within the community for a long time,” said Bolen. “Historically the BARR [block aircraft registration request] program preserved privacy. We fought to keep it, and ultimately

Congress stepped in and recog-nized the right to privacy in the air. We are moving to ADS-B now, and NBAA has been sup-portive, but we’ve consistently registered concern about pro-tecting privacy under ADS-B,” he continued.

On the same tack, Prin-cipato of NASAO reflected his concern that fuel taxes are not being used for air-port improvements. “We know there is political pressure up the food chain from people who might want that money spent elsewhere. We want to prevent that from happening.”

Meanwhile, GAMA’s Bunce reflected on how changes to Part 27 and 29–regarding rotorcraft certification–could open the way for new production. “Just as recently as Monday we had a meeting with manufactur-ers, and the FAA representa-tives told us we have a unique opportunity to apply the Part 23 [rewrite] process to Part 27 and Part 29. My concern is that the rotorcraft manufacturers have not traditionally worked together. We need to break down those barriers so that they see and seize this opportunity and make change,” he said. o

TECHNICIAN SHORTAGE

A group of maintenance professionals from compa-nies including Bell Helicop-ter, Vector Aerospace and Trace Worldwide held a sym-posium here at Heli-Expo yes-terday to address the current and anticipated shortage of helicopter maintenance tech-nicians. Hosted by Turbomeca USA (Booth 2620) and moder-ated by Fred Polak, president of Global Avionics Training Specialists, the more than one dozen attendees offered ideas on issues at the core of the problem: how to encourage young people to consider becoming helicopter mainte-nance technicians; how to pro-mote helicopter maintenance as a professional career; and what the industry can do to be more competitive against other industries seeking to hire available qualified employees.

Jean-Louis Mostajo of Turbomeca Training said per-ception of the job needs updat-ing. “‘Mechanic’ is the past,” he said, suggesting the digi-tal aspects of today’s mainte-nance could interest prospects. Ray Lomas of Bell Helicopter recommended promoting the adventure and global opportu-nities available.

Polak said, “I refer to them as helicopter maintenance professionals,” but added that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Sta-tistics ranks helicopter main-tenance as a blue-collar job, “the same as a car mechanic. That’s insane, and you can quote me,” he said. –J.W.

CEOs and leaders from seven aviation associations discussed critical general aviation issues yesterday.

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L-3 deals SkyWatch TCAS to support specialist Extant

Melbourne, Fla.-based Extant Com-ponents last week reached an agree-ment to acquire the SkyWatch TCAS line from L-3 Avionics Systems. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Extant offers licensing, obsolescence manage-ment and sustainment services for aging avionics products.

The deal includes the SkyWatch 497 traffic advisory system (TAS) and the SkyWatch HP system, which can be installed as either a TAS or TCAS I with a conforming display and antenna. Since being introduced in 1996, more than

15,000 SkyWatch systems have been installed in aircraft ranging from piston singles to helicopters to turboprops to light business jets.

“We are grateful for the opportu-nity to expand our partnership with L-3 Avionics Systems and add the iconic SkyWatch line to the Extant family of products,” said Extant CEO Jim Ger-wien. “We look forward to support-ing SkyWatch customers with our wide array of in-house electronics manufac-turing, engineering, test and repair capa-bilities for many years to come.” –C.T.

8 HAI Convention News • March 5, 2015 • www.ainonline.com

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HAMILTON T1 VENTILATOR MOUNT RECEIVES CERTIFICATION

Lincoln, Neb.-based Hillaero Modification Center (Booth 5408) brought its newly cer-tified Med-mount for the Hamilton T1 ventilator, which is used by medical air-evacua-tion services nationwide. With the new mount the ventilator can be rotated 360 degrees, allowing technicians and flight medics to precisely position the equipment. It also allows for safe operation of the equipment during all phases of flight.

In addition, installation and removal of the ventilator using the new mount is accom-plished with a one-pin release system. The mount is being used by Stanford University, Vir-ginia Commonwealth University, Riverside, Cox Health and Airlife Denver. –A.L.

CONVERSATION STARTER

There’s one thing about Heli-Expo: you always have something to talk about. Whether you’re a seasoned rotorcrafter or new to the game, everyone has something for you to share.

Semco is now blended into the Harco brand

Turbine engine component maker Harco (Booth 5900) and Semco, which supplies electronic equipment for tur-bine engine and airframe OEMs, have completed the integration of their businesses in the wake of merging in October 2014. The union is intended to create “the pre-eminent solutions provider for sensors and customer

interconnect solutions,” said Rick Hoyt, Harco marketing manager, improving the company’s ability to ser-vice customers while offering a broad-ened engineering and manufacturing capability.

Branford, Conn.-based Har-co’s executive management team has assumed responsibility for the inte-grated business, which will operate under the Harco name, and a new president, Patrick Murphy, has been named. “I am excited to join a com-pany clearly on the rise,” said Murphy, “to help leverage the existing strengths of Harco and Semco into a better cus-tomer experience.” –J.W.

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Older AS350 models get upgrade at Vectorby Curt Epstein

MRO specialist Vector Aero-space has received approval to upgrade the AS350BA model to the AS350B2 standard. Since the beginning of the year, the company has completed two of the conversions, and according to president and CEO Declan O’Shea, it expects to perform another 10 by the end of the year and similar numbers annu-ally for the next four years. Vec-tor Aerospace is wholly owned by Airbus Helicopters.

Depending on the age of the helicopter, the conver-sion kit costs approximately $800,000 split between the cost of the new Turbomeca Arriel 1D1 engine and modi-fications to the airframe, sys-tems and instrumentation. The Canadian company can either perform the upgrade at its British Columbia facility, or it can dispatch the kit along

with a crew to any operator’s location worldwide.

The process will take six to eight weeks depending on vari-ables such as age of the helicop-ter. Aircraft built before 1987 will require more modifica-tions, such as a main rotor mast upgrade, and any other recom-mended modifications the cus-tomer chooses.

Performance Boost“We believe that with the new

engine installed, with these mod-ifications the increase to the max takeoff weight and the boost to in- and out-of-ground effect hover, it actually adds more than the cost of the modifications,” O’Shea told AIN. “It depends on the year of manufacture but if you think about the hours that people intend to run a 350 and amortize the $800,000, it adds more than 10 years to it.”

Here at Heli-Expo, Vector Aerospace (Booth 3212) is dis-playing its new direct primary fuel tank replacement for the AS350, developed in cooperation with Robertson Fuel Systems. In addition to incorporating the latest safety improvements, the aftermarket tank’s capacity is increased to 150 from 146 gallons.

As part of its full aircraft coverage commitment for the AS350, the company has earned FAA and Transport Can-ada authorization to conduct 12-year inspections on the type and recently completed three such examinations including two for Reno, Nev.-based Air Meth-ods affiliate CareFlight. Another is scheduled for this month. Vec-tor just announced an agreement with Air Methods itself, which will make it the primary supplier for all the aeromedical transport provider’s AS350 and EC130 dynamic components.

Not limited to servicing Air-bus Helicopter products, the MRO provider announced it has signed a five-year agreement with the Orange County Sher-iff’s Department for the upkeep of its fleet of not only AS350s, but UH-1Hs. In continuance of its four-year relationship with the Royal Thai Navy, Vector will begin its third complete air-frame refurbishment of one of its S-76Bs. A separate multi-year agreement will see the Canadian company provide maintenance support for the Colombian air force’s Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6T and JT15D engines. o

10 HAI Convention News • March 5, 2015 • www.ainonline.com

NEWS CLIPSz Aerosafe Helps Operators With Risk Management

When the National Transportation Safety Board declared in 2006 that aeromedical operators needed to implement programs that support systematic evaluation of flight risks, Aerosafe Risk Management (Booth 5059) had already been advising helicopter pilots on risk management around the world for nine years. The company, founded by Kimberley Turner, developed a risk-management program for the Royal Australian Air Force and Royal Australian Navy, British Airways, Shell Aircraft and ICAO.

Today Aerosafe has served more than 350 clients in 16 countries worldwide, encompassing the defense, aviation, regulatory and transport sectors. The company’s work lead to it launching the Aviation Safety Network (ASN) in 2005, which allowed operators in Australia, the U.S. and Canada to address the NTSB’s concerns about air-ambulance and emergency medical service safety.

The ASN offers a common risk management program that members can tailor to their specific needs. Elements include a venture risk-planning module, corporate governance and oversight model, an enterprise risk-management framework, operational risk-management tools and practices and an online incident-reporting system with trend-analysis capability. Education is also a key component of ASN member offerings.

z Machida Videoscope Illuminates Engine ConditionHere at Heli-Expo 2015, Machida (Booth 4455) is debuting

a portable light source with its approved FBA-4B-100P 4-mm fiberscope. In addition attendees can get hands-on experience with the company’s DPU 7-7070 high-definition digital processing unit attached to a 3-mm videoscope (VSC-3-140-NL) on Pratt & Whitney Canada, Turbomeca and Rolls-Royce helicopter engines.

The unit includes a 10-inch monitor in a stout Pelican case for easy transport to field maintenance locations. Staff are available at the booth to provide tricks and tips that make using the equipment simpler and more efficient.

z Staco Aims Small in Helicopter MarketStaco Systems (Booth 5263) is displaying a variety of

cockpit solutions tailored to the helicopter market at Heli-Expo. The company manufactures a variety of illuminated panels, subsystems, switches and data-entry solutions. Here at the show, Staco is featuring its “online switch configurator,” which can automatically design a switch, create a part number and generate a price quote.

Helicopter applications for Staco products currently include keyboards for airborne law enforcement, subsystems for night vision and cameras and autopilot switches. Staco’s illuminated panels use a unique polymer over acrylic paint, which prevents light leakage, and its S200 and S300 switches are small and lightweight and therefore ideal for helicopter cockpits, according to company vice president Jeff Bowen.

“Rotorcraft operators have very specific application challenges and our products have unique characteristics that meet their needs. Visibility and durability especially matter in this hard-working sector.”

z Axnes Unveils Secure Digital Radio SystemNorway-based Axnes (Booth 5161) is well known for its

Polycon wireless intercom system extension, which it developed in cooperation with CHC, Bristow Helicopters and the UK Royal Air Force. Over the course of two decades the EASA Part 21- and Part 145-approved organization has equipped more than 750 aircraft with wireless intercom systems, and is an approved supplier to OEMs such as AgustaWestland, Airbus Helicopters, Bell Helicopter and Sikorsky.

At Heli-Expo 2015, Axnes unveiled its new PNG system, designed to replace Polycon. The full-duplex wireless system works inside and outside the aircraft with AES 128 and AES 256 encryption. It is dual-band and ruggedized and includes integrated distress-transmission capability.

ASTRONAUTICS DEMOS NEXT-GEN HELO AVIONICS

Astronautics (Booth 5306) is showcasing its next-generation avi-onics architecture for helicopters here at Heli-Expo 2015. Dubbed FAST–for flexible, adaptable, scal-able cockpit technology–the plat-form will include a fully integrated and certified helicopter terrain awareness and warning system (HTAWS) and synthetic vision sys-tem (SVS), in addition to display-ing primary flight information on the PFD and video from sensors on an MFD.

The new architecture will fea-ture large-format LCDs in an inte-grated cockpit that can interface with several existing avionics prod-ucts, including radios, cameras, mission systems and other sensors. FAST is still in development and is expected to be certified in about two to three years, according to Astro-nautics president Chad Cundiff.

“Our customers have told us that they want and need a cockpit that features equipment and capa-bilities designed for helicopters, not

just adapted from fixed-wing appli-cations,” said Astronautics displays product line manager Dan Barks. “FAST will include a next-genera-tion, helicopter-focused synthetic vision system with technology that will give flight crew a clear view

of obstacles that might be behind their aircraft, cockpit audio warn-ings and special cues to prevent pilots from backing into obstacles.”

The Milwaukee-based compa-ny’s SVS will also give pilots a vari-able field-of-view during normal flight operations. According to Barks, Astronautics’ synthetic vision

system uses a Jeppesen terrain database and should be certified in 18 to 24 months.

It is also displaying its Class 3 Nexis Helo electronic flight bag system, which encompasses the Nexis Server and one or more

handheld MFDs. The system is intended for “heavy duty” heli-copter operators that can use it to display ADS-B traffic, ter-rain and obstacles; acquire and manage FOQA and health usage and monitoring systems data; and securely retrieve digitally recorded flight data from the air-craft. It will also include en route moving maps, airport maps and an integrated HTAWS.

On March 3 at Heli-Expo, Astro-nautics announced that Latvia-based cargo, utility and firefighting helicopter operator GM Helicop-ters placed an order for Nexis Helo for its fleet of Mi-8s. Each installa-tion will include the Nexis Server and a pair of six-by-eight-inch multifunction color displays. –C.T.

Astronautics FAST

Vector Aerospace provides support for the Colombian air force’s PT6Ts and JT15Ds.

www.ainonline.com • March 5, 2015 • HAI Convention News 11

Bell Lifetime Achievement Award Lou Bartolotta is the recipi-

ent of this year’s Helicopter As-sociation International Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by Bell Helicopter. He has de-voted his entire adult life to the industry and participated in many historical rotorcraft milestones.

Bartolotta joined the U.S. Army in 1969 and flew more than 1,000 hours during his one-year tour in Vietnam from 1970 to 1971. In the mid-1970s, he joined Bris-tow Helicopters, first serving in Tehran in pre-revolution Iran as an instructor in Bristow’s training academy and then as chief pilot on a seismic support contract, flying Bell 205 and 212 helicop-ters. He transferred to Aberdeen, Scotland, where he flew Sikorsky S-61N and S-76A helicopters in support of North Sea oil explora-tion and production.

From 1983 to 1985, Bartolotta served as HAI vice president of operations in Washington, D.C. After his stint with HAI, he joined

Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm, the German company that later merged with France’s Aerospatia-le to form Eurocopter, now known as Airbus Helicopters.

In 1988, Italian manufacturer Agusta appointed Bartolotta vice president of marketing and opera-tions of its U.S. subsidiary in Phil-

adelphia. Agusta and Westland Helicopters of the UK merged in 2000 to form AgustaWestland, and Bartolotta served the com-pany for 26 years. During that time he oversaw numerous proj-ects, including the introduction of the BA609 (now the AW609) civil tiltrotor, eventually becoming se-nior advisor to the Commercial Business Unit.

Bartolotta retired from AgustaWestland last July but he continues to serve the helicopter industry through his consulting firm, L.P. Bartolotta & Associates of Philadelphia, which he estab-lished in September.

The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Barto-lotta at the Salute to Excellence ceremony. n

SAFE FLIGHT SHOWS ICING AND POWERLINE

DETECTORS

Safe Flight Instrument (Booth 4059) of White Plains, N.Y., is high-lighting its icing conditions and powerline detectors for helicop-ters this week at Heli-Expo 2015.

The icing conditions detector (ICD) provides an instantaneous warning when icing conditions are present, before ice accretion has begun to negatively affect aircraft performance and controllability, according to Safe Flight. The light-weight, low-drag ICD comprises a single line-replaceable unit.

Safe Flight’s FAA- and EASA-certified powerline detection system (PDS) detects 50/60Hz-frequency powerline emissions. Weighing less than two pounds, the passive PDS provides visual and aural alerts to pilots when approaching an energized power line. (It cannot detect unpowered lines.) As the aircraft flies closer to the power line, the aural tone becomes louder.

Skyhorse Aviation of Preto-ria, South Africa, has become the launch customer for the PDS. It plans to install them in its Airbus Helicopters AS350s. It operates eight AS350s and two Pilatus PC-6s.

The White Plains, N.Y. com-pany also announced that Aus-tralian Helicopters will install powerline detection systems in six AW139s operating as part of the Ambulance Victoria Emer-gency Medical Services. –R.R.P.

SALUTE TO EXCELLENCE Lou Bartolotta

WATCH OUR EXPERTSWORKSEE HOW IT’S

DONEIt’s day three of Heli-Expo and our expert technicians are in the home stretch of assembling a Rolls-Royce M250-C47 engine

right before your eyes. Why? To symbolize what we’re building for our customers – the world’s leading rotorcraft

engine support organization with OEM authorizations covering more than two-thirds of the world’s helicopters. Our global

repair network features state-of-the-art Centers of Excellence in Dallas, Texas; Portsmouth, UK; and Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Stop by Booth 3700 and watch our engine experts at work. DallasAirmotive.com | HSAviation.co.uk

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Cobham has its whole portfolio here by Amy Laboda

Cobham Aerospace (Booth 800) has brought four separate divisions and a phalanx of heli-copter avionics and satellite sim-ulation equipment to Heli-Expo. Represented in its booth are

Cobham Aerospace Commu-nications, Cobham AvComm (formerly Aeroflex), Cobham Antenna Systems and Cobham Life Support.

Cobham AvComm designs,

manufactures, and supports avionics test systems for mil-itary and commercial fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft. On display at Heli-Expo this year are the ALT-8000 radio

altimeter flight line test set and the GPSG-1000 portable satellite sim-ulator. According to the company, “We are set up to dem-onstrate how these simula-tors can help operators and installers verify

functions, such as TAWS, nor-mally reserved for test flights, saving time and money in the hangar.”

Other products on view include Cobham’s audio and radio control display unit (ARCDU); Flexcomm tactical transceivers; digital audio con-trol system (DACS); and AA95-1000TSO controller audio panel. The ARCDU is a single point-of-control for all aircraft audio and radio systems, saves space and weight, is compati-ble with civil and military radios and offers intuitive and easily configurable menu pages.

The Flexcomm line of tac-tical communication radios is designed for unparalleled per-formance in special-mission airspace. Flexcomm transceiv-ers and control displays deliver maximum interoperability (29.7 to 960 MHz), P-25 on all voice bands and 10 watts of power across all bands for increased clarity and distance.

Cobham’s DACS manages as many as eight receivers and transceivers and is available in cockpit and cabin control con-figurations, while the AA95-1000TSO controller manages six transceivers, five receivers and six headphones. o

12 HAI Convention News • March 5, 2015 • www.ainonline.com

Heli-Expo visitors can see Cobham AvComm’s ALT-8000 test set on display.

AEROMETALS BUYS FDC/AEROFILTERS

California-based aircraft parts manufacturer Aeromet-als (Booth 4259) has com-pleted its purchase of all shares of FDC/aerofilters. It will thus incorporate the com-pany entirely under its name in a transition promised to be seamless, as the two compa-nies had previously displayed together at industry trade-shows for years. For custom-ers making filter purchases, the part numbers will remain the same and all operations, including manufacturing, will remain in El Dorado Hills, just outside Sacramento, accord-ing to the company. –C.E.

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www.ainonline.com • March 5, 2015 • HAI Convention News 13

Donaldson filters are gaining market shareby Curt Epstein

Donaldson Aerospace & Defense announced that its Donaldson Filtration Systems division has received FAA cer-tification for the inlet barrier fil-ter (IBF) system for the Airbus Helicopters EC130T2, the only such system currently available for the helicopter. The IBF helps prevent engine damage in any environment and is approved for year-round operations.

This most recent system fea-tures interchangeable filter ele-ments for mixed-fleet operators currently flying both the EC130 and the AS350B3e equipped with Donaldson filters. A key element is the sealed intake ple-num, which replaces inlet screens or less effective sand filters/par-ticle separators with minimal modification, according to the manufacturer. The design on dis-play at the company’s Heli-Expo booth (4600) also includes an aft-facing bypass system, which like the filter itself is flush with the upper surface of the cowling.

The company has been

manufacturing IBF systems for the past 12 years and includes kits for a wide variety of models from AgustaWestland, Bell, Air-bus Helicopters and MD Heli-copters. “It definitely keeps salt out of the inlet, so if you are an offshore operator or you’re any-where near salt water, it’s very effective, so any kind of particu-late, fine sand, ash, salt, it’s going to capture it,” said Bob Sten-berg, the company’s director of business development. “The big thing is it keeps the air going into the turbine engine clean, and tur-bine engines like clean air.” This latest offering, like those of its predecessors, has a simple cock-pit switch to indicate activation of the bypass system, as well as an integral filter-maintenance aid, which allows for on-condi-tion inspections between service intervals, eliminating unneces-sary filter service.

“[OEMs] don’t want develop [filtration systems] on their own, so they are looking more at working with manufacturers

like us,” said Stenberg, noting his company supplies kits exclu-sively to Bell for the 429 and will do the same on the 525 Relent-less and the 505.

While Donalson’s filters are currently comprised of oil- cotton or “wet” media, it believes

it could begin offering dry media filters as soon as this summer, debuting on the Bell 407.

With a mandate to nearly double its market to $180 mil-lion in gross sales revenue by 2021, Donaldson plans to roll out five additional products this year, including gaining Cana-dian certification for an IBF for the Sikorsky S-61, developed with Canadian operator Coul-son, which is also on display

here. The company has also begun work on a filter system for the Robinson R66. In addi-tion to several projects for the military, the Minneapolis-based company also has its sights set on the Russian Mil MI-8/17/171 family, which it believes will be able to utilize the same system as the S-61. The Super Puma and the Bell 412 are other plat-forms the company is interested in serving. o

RED BULL HEADLINER HELPS ASPEN CELEBRATE A SALES MILESTONE

Aspen Avionics has reached a record of 500 installations of its Evolution Flight Dis-play system for helicopters, through a combination of sales to OEMs and used aircraft panel refurbishments. The Aspen Evolution is modular and designed to fit into the round holes left by analog flight instruments, making for a simpler and lower cost way to upgrade to glass displays.

The displays are now a factory option on Robinson R22, R44 and R66 helicopters. The most recent FAA STCs include the R44, Airbus Helicopters EC120, MD Helicopters MD 369, 530F, 530FF, 520N and 500 and the Bell 206.

To celebrate the milestone Albuquerque, N.M.-based Aspen (Booth 3164) invited noted Red Bull helicopter pilot Chuck Aaron to its booth yesterday to meet and min-gle with Heli-Expo attendees. Aaron is the only helicopter pilot certified by the FAA for helicopter aerobatics in the U.S. He’s one of only three performing helicopter aer-obatic pilots worldwide.

Phoenix Heliparts (Booth 2059) now has an STC for installing the Evolution displays, including the Pilot, Pro 1000, Pro 1500 and Pro 2000 in various MD helicopter models including the 369, 530F, 530FF and 520N. The installed package includes an integral air data computer and an attitude heading reference system. –A.L. Aspen Evolution

Breeze-Eastern launches innovative smart rescue hoistby Rob Finfrock

Hoist and winch manufacturer Breeze-Eastern (Booth 4032) is unveiling its Mis-sionView situational awareness system at this year’s Heli-Expo. The upgraded res-cue hoist is equipped with an integrated camera and rangefinder, spotlight and a load-sensing, LED-illuminated hook to provide greater situational awareness to onsite aerial rescue crews.

“When you observe rescue operations, you see ground crews giving hand sig-nals to the hoist operator and the opera-tor radioing the pilot to hover ‘right three feet, back ten’ and such,” explained CEO Brad Pedersen. “Why in this day and age are we relying on the interpretation of hand signals and radio calls to perform this vital mission?”

Development of the MissionView sys-tem resulted from consultations with pilots and hoist operators about which features were most important. The package pro-vides onsite crews with wirelessly transmit-ted real-time mission video and relevant data, while post-mission senior personnel, flight crews and maintainers benefit from recorded video and loading data. “The crews we spoke with all pinpointed certain key items,” Pedersen added. “We took these suggestions and made the hook ‘smart’ so it could provide the complete picture.”

“This information is vital not just for situational awareness, but also for training purposes,” added Mike Stolarz, vice pres-ident of business development. “We can now go back and review lifecycles for the cable, hoist and hook to assist in long-term overall cost. That raises the buoyancy of how we look at this system. It’s not a com-modity, but an entire system architecture.”

In addition to a renewed focus on new products, Pedersen also emphasized the importance of maintaining the company’s legacy product lines and improving train-ing and support programs. To these ends, Breeze-Eastern is working to shorten parts order turnaround times and launched a new web portal for tracking order status. “Our intent is to get communications to flow as quickly as possible between cus-tomers and the company,” Stolarz added.

Breeze-Eastern also recently partnered with Priority 1 Air Rescue of Mesa, Ariz., to provide hoist-operator training on its systems. “Company-supported train-ing makes life easier for rescue crews and raises the quality of that training,” Peder-sen said. o

14 HAI Convention News • March 5, 2015 • www.ainonline.com

Breeze-Eastern’s new hoist incorporates “smart’”capabilities to transmit real-time mission video and data to pilots and hoist operators.

PAPILLON CELEBRATES GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY

Helicopter tour company Papillon Group is celebrating its 50th anniversary with the debut of a specially painted and outfitted Airbus Helicopters EC130T2 here at Heli-Expo. Toasting the arrival of the new aircraft are, left to right, Elling Halvorson, Papillon founder; Brenda Halvorson, Papillon CEO and president; Marc Paganini, Airbus Helicopters Inc. pres-ident and CEO; and Lon Halvorson, Papillon Group executive v-p.

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36 Month Bell 206/206L, OH-58 Straps also in stock.

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“We use Airwolf’s TT Straps and are glad that someone is helping keep our Bell helicopters flying while reducing costs.”— Alfonso Garcia, Great Slave Helicopters.

Phone: 440-632-1687 • www.airwolfaerospace.com

www.ainonline.com • March 5, 2015 • HAI Convention News 15

Airbus Helicopters Golden Hour AwardOn March 22, 2014 an unsta-

ble hill collapsed just east of Oso, Wash., setting off what has been called the deadliest landslide in U.S. history. By chance, the Sno-homish County Helicopter Res-cue Team (HRT) was conducting a training exercise just 25 miles south at the time.

This proximity enabled the mostly volunteer team to dispatch and reach the site within about an hour of the landslide. Their “Sno-Hawk 10” Bell UH-1H was the first to arrive, about 45 minutes ahead of a U.S. Navy helicopter from NAS Whidbey Island.

Over the next several hours, the two helicopters pulled about 14 people from the dirt, silt and sand that blanketed the ground below. The rescue team continued to support efforts at Oso in the en-suing days.

The landslide covered about a square mile, swallowing a small, rural group of homes, and more than 40 people lost their lives as a result. All but one of the people pulled out by the two helicopters the day of the landslide survived.

For the Snohomish County HRT, the Oso rescue was only one of about 80 calls it gets on average every year. The team’s rescues run the gamut, including missing children, lost Alzheimer’s patients, missing hikers and raf-ters, people trapped by floods and injured climbers and skiers. The rescues occur both in and out of the county, from urban areas to the most remote regions of the Cascade Mountains.

The team’s efforts were hon-ored as part of HAI’s 2015 Salute to Excellence awards, presented annually to individuals and organi-zations that “exemplify the best of the helicopter industry.” The team was selected as this year’s winner of the Airbus Helicopters Golden Hour Award, which recognizes “an individual, group, or organization that, through a particular activity or contributions over time, has ad-vanced the use of helicopters in the vital mission of air medical trans-port.” The award was presented during HAI’s Salute to Excellence celebration yesterday evening.

“Lost or injured hikers and climbers in Washington State’s rugged Cascade Mountains have no better friends than the Sno-homish County Helicopter Rescue Team,” HAI said in announcing the award.

The team is part of the Sno-homish County Volunteer Search and Rescue program, staffed by a small core of deputies but pri-marily comprising more than two dozen volunteers, including pilots,

flight medics, crew chiefs and res-cue volunteers. They pay for their own equipment and specialized training. The team notes the dedi-cation of the volunteers, saying they uphold the motto, “so that others may live.” The team does not charge for its rescues, rely-ing on a tight budget supported

by public funds and donations. It also operates a Hughes 500-P (a modified OH-6A).

In a year-end post, the team said of 2014: “It has been a year of hard work, from the Oso disas-ter to lost people to brush fires to collapsed bridges to hurt climbers and hikers. We have been at the ready and responded to the best of our abilities.” –K.L.

SALUTE TO EXCELLENCE

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JSSI eying helicopters for MSP subscriptionsby Chad Trautvetter

Hourly cost aircraft main-tenance program provider Jet Support Services (JSSI; Booth 2237) is recommitting to the helicopter space, company pres-ident and CEO Neil Book told AIN on Tuesday. As part of this effort, JSSI is attending its first Heli-Expo since Neil was tapped to head the Chicago-based company in late 2012,

and JSSI recently created a ded-icated helicopter program team led by 30-year industry veteran Ray Weiner.

JSSI, which celebrated its 25th anniversary last year, has always offered hourly mainte-nance programs for rotorcraft, and currently covers 70 heli-copter models with new ones being added as they enter

service. However, until now it has not made a big marketing push for the rotorcraft market, with helicopters accounting for only a “small fraction” of the more than 2,000 aircraft on JSSI hourly cost maintenance programs.

“We now see helicopters as an untapped market,” Book said. “And with fluctuating oil prices, these operators now more than ever need the budget stability that JSSI’s hourly maintenance programs offer.”

Under its programs, oper-ators can cover their engines, airframes or both. Book said that pricing for helicopter engine coverage is similar to that for fixed-wing aircraft, while pricing for helicopter airframes will be somewhat higher, though this depends on the model.

JSSI can cover a single air-craft or a whole fleet, Book noted. “For fleets, we offer one program, one program admin-istrator and the same technical services team, which simplifies things for operators.” Mainte-nance reserves are also transfer-rable, with aircraft owners having the option to sell it with the air-craft or keep them after the sale and applying them to their new airplane or helicopter. o

16 HAI Convention News • March 5, 2015 • www.ainonline.com

NEWS CLIPS

z Eastman Displays Its Rebranded Oil LineFor the first time since it acquired BP Turbo Oils, Eastman

Chemical (Booth 4004) is at Heli-Expo to display its rebranded line of Eastman Turbo Oils. While the name has changed, the products will still carry the same approvals, applications and proven performance customers have depended on, according to the company.

It is also highlighting two product milestones here at the show. Eastman Turbo Oil 2197 recently achieved more than 300 million engine/accessory hours of successful operation, while the company’s 2380 turbo oil has now been in service for 50 years.

z R-R Taps Marion Blakey For Leadership RoleAerospace Industries Association (AIA) chief executive

Marion Blakey has been appointed president and CEO of engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce North America (Booth 3228). The former FAA administrator will replace James Guyette, who is retiring in May. GE Aviation president and CEO David Joyce, who serves as AIA chairman, said the association is “quickly moving forward” to name a successor.

“We are extremely pleased to have Ms. Blakey leading the North American region because she brings deep industry perspective and is a well-respected voice in Washington,” said Rolls-Royce chief executive John Rishton. “These markets are critical to our aerospace and land and sea divisions, and I am delighted to have a person of her caliber join us in this role.” Rolls-Royce operates an advanced manufacturing and research facility near Petersburg, Va.; a jet engine test cell at the NASA Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and engine test and manufacturing facilities in Indianapolis.

In the helicopter market, Rolls-Royce produces the M250 turboshaft that powers the Bell 206, MD Helicopters MD500 and 520N, as well as the RR300 for the Robinson R66 and Scott’s Bell 47GT-6. In collaboration with Honeywell, Rolls-Royce has developed the CTS800 engine.

z Panalpina Packs Up Helos in AfghanistanPanalpina Heliship (Booth 2663) recently arranged for

13 medium and heavy civil helicopters to be shipped out of Afghanistan. In most cases, the helicopters were flown to Dubai aboard An-124 or Il-76 cargo aircraft and then either air-forwarded or ocean shipped to their final destinations. Models shipped by Panalpina included the Bell 212, Sikorsky S-61, Airbus AS330J and Columbia 234.

Once the helicopters arrived at their destination airport or port, Panalpina arranged for either trucking to a final destination or supported reassembly and fly-off from the port. Panalpina is displaying a slide show of the process at its booth here at Heli-Expo.

The company provides transportation and logistics services to international helicopter operators, OEMs and MROs worldwide through offices in Vancouver and New Orleans.

z Guardian Mobility Signs Precision Aviation Group Guardian Mobility (Booth 3759)–an Ottawa, Ontario-based

company that provides solutions for global tracking and voice and data communications to aircraft operators–announced just before Heli-Expo 2015 that it has a new dealer: Atlanta-based Precision Aviation Group (PAG).

With 235,000 sq ft of sales and service facilities in seven cities around the world, the company is set to represent Guardian’s G3, G5 and G7 products for automated flight following, handheld satellite-based messaging and flight data management and analysis solutions, respectively.

“PAG’s aggressive growth strategy paired with its commitment to excellence in customer service and product support is an ideal match for Guardian,” said Guardian COO Stephane Momy. “With its support as a dealer, we can accelerate our growth and increase our customer base,” she continued. Guardian is a Knowmadics company.

UK helicopter museum shifts to growth modeby Curt Epstein

As it celebrates its 25th anniversary, The Helicopter Museum (THM) at the UK’s Weston-super-Mare, the world’s largest dedicated rotorcraft museum, is about to embark on an expansion program. A gov-ernment Coastal Communities grant has allowed THM to buy an additional four acres of land adjoining its current location. The grant will also help fund the restoration of the airfield’s orig-inal 1935-vintage wooden con-trol tower and adjacent 1940s pilots block.

THM’s collection includes more than 100 helicop-ters from around the world, the latest on display being a

Gyrodyne QH-50D U.S. Navy drone from the 1960s, the ancestor of today’s Northrup Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout. The museum has thus faced a space crunch, according to THM Trustees chairman Elfan ap Rees. “We are rapidly run-ning out of under-cover space for the collection and the Coastal Communities grant will kick-start our expansion,” he said. “However, we desper-ately need additional hangar space and to replace our front-of-house facilities housed in a temporary prefabricated build-ing that was at least 30 years old when we moved on site 25 years ago.”

The museum hopes to raise an additional £2 million to match another government grant to fund further construc-tion. Those interested in find-ing out more information can speak with ap Rees at Booth 5207. o

THM Trustees chairman Elfan ap Rees is looking for more hangar space to store more than 100 rotorcraft.

SOUNDS BY SIKORSKY

The Rhythm Trail steel-drum band entertained Heli-Expo attendees with their percussive island melodies at the Sikorsky exhibit (Booth 4537).

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18 HAI Convention News • March 5, 2015 • www.ainonline.com

NEWS CLIPS

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z Hillsboro Aviation Set for Major ExpansionOregon-based helicopter operator, FBO and maintenance

provider Hillsboro Aviation (Booth 1031) has announced expansion plans including a new corporate headquarters and hangar at its base at Portland-Hillsboro Airport. Set to begin this summer, the 425,000-sq-ft construction project, which will accommodate the company’s growing business sectors, is expect to be completed next year.

“Our new facility reflects our position as a complete helicopter and airplane service operator and will fulfill any of our customers’ needs from aircraft and parts sales to overhaul services and international shipping logistics,” said Max Lyons, Hillsboro’s owner and president and vice chairman of HAI.

With environmental sensitivity a major consideration in its design, the new facility will include recycled materials while the roof will accommodate a photovoltaic energy system. Among the amenities planned for staff and customers will be a completely outfitted gym. “We face an unprecedented opportunity for growth and are eager to proceed with a modern and environmentally-friendly design,” said general manager Ryan McCartney.

z P&WC Has Fresh MRO Plans for Mature EnginesPratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC, Booth 4428) is highlighting

its new suite of maintenance solutions for mature helicopter engines offered under the P&WC Smart banner, “developed in direct response to customer demand,” according to the turboshaft OEM.

The solutions include a refresh program for PT6T-3 and T400 engines that offers a core exchange for a new PT6T-3B Twin-Pac, power section or gear box; a flat-rate overhaul for PT6B-36A/B engines; and capped costs for overhaul and hot section inspection on PT6B-37A engines. “This is an example of the company responding to the various in-field challenges that operators face,” said P&WC vice president of customer service John Di Bert.

Whatever their MRO needs, P&WC engine operators now have additional servicing locations and facilities available. The company recently appointed Dallas Airmotive and H+S Aviation of Abu Dhabi as designated overhaul facilities for turboshaft engines and for MRO services.

Dallas Airmotive provides support for P&WC’s PW206 and PW207 engine families and will add the PW210 series engines by year-end. In addition to the PW206 and PW207, H+S Aviation supports the PT6C-67 and will also add the PW210 family by year-end and PT6T engines next year.

“We are always looking for ways to enhance service delivery and make support easily within reach anywhere in the world,” said Di Bert.

z Spectro Jet-Care Joins HeliOffshore Safety Group Engine condition monitoring specialist Spectro Jet-Care

(Booth 2855) has become an alliance member of HeliOffshore, the global organization of major providers of offshore helicopter transportation, whose major focus is on safety.

“We are delighted to see the formation of HeliOffshore and had no hesitation in joining,” said Spectro Jet-Care sales and marketing manager Alan Baker.

The company also noted that engine OEM Turbomeca and Airbus Helicopters have given continuing approval of Spectro Jet-Care’s UK and Swiss laboratories for debris analysis using scanning electron microscopes. It has been providing fluid and debris analysis services to the offshore helicopter market for almost 40 years.

Spectro Jet-Care’s webECHO portal provides customers with online access to their latest sample results and trend reports. Designed to work on desktops and mobile devices, webECHO provides in one location all of a customer’s analysis and results regarding oil, hydraulic oil, fuel, debris and filter analysis. “For customers with fleets of aircraft, webECHO is particularly useful in managing their condition monitoring programs,” Baker said.

VROOM, WITH A VIEW

Bell’s developmental Model 505 Jet Ranger X promises to be not only an impressive performer, but also very well equipped in the cockpit. It features Garmin’s G1000H, with synthetic vision, among other features.

FSI plunging deeper into helicopter sim fieldby Mark Huber

Flight training provider FlightSafety International (Booth 3708) plans to increase its fleet of advanced Level D heli-copter simulators by more than 40 percent. It will be adding sim-ulators for the Bell 407GX and 412EPi models, as well as for the Airbus Helicopters AS350B3, EC130T2 and EC145 and the Sikorsky S-76C+/++, S-76D and S-92. FlightSafety plans to install the new simulators at its learning centers in Dallas, Den-ver and Singapore and another location to be determined by customer requirements.

The Denver center will be opening in 2016 in conjunction with emergency medical opera-tor Air Methods. The company recently signed a 10-year deal with FlightSafety International to install four full-motion Level D-qualified helicopter flight simulators in Denver.

The Airbus EC135 simula-tor currently being used by Air Methods at FlightSafety’s Dallas learning center will be installed first, with simulators for the Bell 407GX and Airbus AS350 B3 and Airbus EC130T2 to follow once FlightSafety completes the design, development and manu-facture of those simulators. The learning center will also offer classrooms and a full comple-ment of customer service areas. It will be expanded in the future to accommodate additional full flight simulators as required.

The four helicopter models represent the majority of the

400-plus-strong Air Methods helicopter fleet at both its air-medical and tourism divisions, company CEO Aaron Todd told AIN. Todd noted that last year “represented another year of safe operations” for the company. “We always count our blessings when our employees and patient pas-sengers get home safely and that is not by chance. We have invested heavily in training, technology and safety systems. We are encouraged by the con-tinuous improvement in our safety record and we continue to work hard and stay hum-ble,” he said.

FlightSafety has built more than 100 helicopter simulators and advanced training devices. The new helicopter simulators will feature the company’s Vital 1100 visual imaging system with fields of view up to 300 degrees horizontally, CrewView glass mirror display, electric motion control and cueing and an advanced instructor operat-ing station. o

LCI TO HANDLE HELICOPTERS FOR SQN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

SQN Capital Management has contracted leasing group LCI Heli-copters to manage a fleet of seven recently-acquired rotorcraft. LCI (Booth 4604) will handle asset management, insurance, rent collection, maintenance oversight, aircraft inspections and remarketing services for SQN, which supports and advises institutional investors on asset management.

The exact types of helicopter covered by the agreement have not been disclosed, but they are all twin-engine models. The aircraft will be operated by AAR Corp. and Erickson.

“LCI is a well-respected proven leader in aircraft asset management and we are pleased to place our assets in their capable hands to main-tain and enhance the value of our fleet,” SQN Capital executive vice president Michael Miroshnikov. LCI has 90 helicopters now under lease or due for delivery.

Separately, LCI has agreed to lease a second AgustaWestland AW139 to HeliService International, an offshore service provider in the North Sea and Baltic Sea. Under a deal signed today, the aircraft will be delivered during March, joining another AW139 that entered service in November 2014. –C.A.

FlightSafety International has plans to add a bevy of new Level D simulators.

www.ainonline.com • March 5, 2015 • HAI Convention News 19

AGUSTAWESTLAND DESIGNATES NEW AW139 TRAINING CENTERS

AgustaWestland has approved FlightSafety International’s facility in Lafayette, La. as a company-authorized training center with the addition of a level-D full-flight simulator for the new generation AW139. The manufacturer currently has orders for more than 840 of the medium-twin helicopters from approximately 220 customers.

Among its latest are eight from Australia’s Toll Group, which will be used for emergency medical services. As part of the agreement, Toll’s base in Bankstown near Sydney will also become an AgustaWestland authorized training center and home to the country’s first AW139 level D simulator. The Croatian police have also placed an order for a specially out-fitted AW139 to be used for border control operations.

AgustaWestland (Booth 5111) has been hard at work filling those orders, tallying recent deliveries of a trio of search-and-rescue-equipped AW139s to the Joint Aviation Command of the United Arab Emirates, one EMS-configured AW139 to Australian Helicopters (leased from LCI) and the completion of an order of eight of the helicopters in a dedicated UH-139C mission configuration to the Italian police.

The company also announced it is ramping up its Middle Eastern product support offer-ings through AgustaWestland Aviation Services, the joint venture formed with Abu Dhabi Aviation in 2011. Plans include the expansion of component maintenance, repair and over-haul services in the region by the second half of the year along with introduction of capabil-ities to support the OEM’s latest products such as the AW189 and AW169. –C.E.

Corridor Mobile Mechanic multi-platform app availableby David A. Lombardo

Continuum Applied Technology’s mobile application, Corridor Mobile Mechanic, is now available for multi-platform devices. A supplement to Con-tinuum’s Corridor Aviation Service Software, Corridor Mobile Mechanic facilitates wireless access to the Corri-dor system during maintenance activ-ities. Technicians and supervisors can wirelessly add, request or view labor, parts and services as well as perform inspections, signoffs and much more, in real-time.

“The maintenance hangar is a mobile environment, and the idea to create Corridor mobile applications was a no-brainer,” said Continuum founder and president Jack Demeis. “Our goal is to develop applications that directly tar-get a process or function that will benefit from the mobile nature of the technology, increasing the optimization provided by Corridor software.”

The Corridor Mobile Mechanic app

is device-independent, allowing users to run the application on virtually any net-work-connected tablet, phone or other handheld device running on a major plat-form (iOS, Android, Windows). Corridor Mobile Mechanic is available at no addi-tional charge to currently supported Cor-ridor customers running Version 11.

New features released with Version 11 of the Corridor software include the Tool Crib, for tracking tools and calibra-tion information; the Time & Attendance personnel management tool; and Plan-ning & Scheduling, which allows schedul-ing and monitoring of work progress via a graphical calendar view. Corridor also integrates with software for accounting, maintenance recordkeeping and flight operations.

Helicopter companies that use Cor-ridor software (Booth 4330) include Advanced Helicopter Services, Agusta-Westland, Eagle Copters, Timberline Helicopters and many others. o

From the Middle East, to Down Under in Australia, to the bayous of Louisiana, AgustaWestland is ramping up AW139 training.

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Universal Avionics provides ADS-B solutions at all levelsby Curt Epstein

With operators looking to meet the FAA’s mandate for ADS-B equipage by 2020, Universal Avionics points out that its SBAS-FMS flight management system qualifies as an approved Arinc A743A position source required for compliance.

It interfaces with all ADS-B tran-sponders including commonly used models such as the Honeywell RCZ-8XX series and Rockwell Collins TDR-94D.

“With the U.S. mandate less than five years away, now is the time to upgrade to have more flexibility and avoid the instal-lation traffic and increased downtime,” noted Dan Reida, Universal’s vice pres-ident of sales and marketing.

The Tucson, Ariz.-based company (Booth 4655) also announced that its

AHS-525 Attitude Heading Reference System is undergoing helicopter vibra-tion testing on its way to TSO approval. A single AHS-525 unit will replace mul-tiple line replaceable units found in a typical aircraft installation, offering a reduction in LRU footprint, weight, wiring and power requirements, which will help in retrofit situations, accord-ing to the manufacturer.

Finally, in partnership with How-ell Instruments, the company has completed the first round of data acqui-sition unit testing for use in the InSight Integrated Flight Deck, which was rolled out last October at NBAA 2014. Launch customer MD Helicopters will use the cockpit suite in its next-genera-tion Explorer. o

20 HAI Convention News • March 5, 2015 • www.ainonline.com

Universal Avionics has a full lineup of components designed to comply with 2020’s ADS-B deadline.

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ESTERLINE CMC TO PROVIDE NAVIGATION FOR NEW AIRBUS

Esterline CMC Electronics (Booth 4037) will provide the primary navigation systems for the new Airbus Helicopters H160 (formerly known as the X4). The new twin, will serve mul-tiple applications, including oil-and-gas exploration, search-and-rescue, public services and private operations.

The Canadian company will supply its CMA-9000 flight management system (FMS) and Interflight CMA-5024 GPS for the H160. The FMS provides flight management and multi-sensor navigation, radio management and specialized functions to reduce pilot workload during critical operations. The unit, which supports civil and military navigation modes, com-plies with the latest standards for required navigation performance (RNP) and satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) approaches.

The CMA-5024 meets the H160’s requirement for IFR flight using a civil-certified global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and provides Waas SBAS GPS capability from departure to a non-precision approach. Waas/SBAS augments GPS to support X4 operations from en route through a CAT-1 equivalent precision approach using GNSS and Waas/SBAS localizer performance with vertical guidance (LPV).� o

SO, THAT’S HOW IT WORKS!

It can be confusing trying to wrap your brain around how a helicopter translates engine power into spinning rotors, front and rear. This transmis-sion system at the Heli-Mart booth (4028) helps explain.�

ASU’s OWLS sees day and nightby Amy Laboda

Aviation Specialties Unlimited (ASU) demonstrated live streaming from its ultra-lightweight observation, wide-area low-altitude sensor OWLS day/night gimbaled camera at Heli-Expo. The 1.2 pound microgimbal is designed as a low-altitude system, designed to “see” a man-sized object at a distance of 1,000 feet agl, according to Joe Estrera, chief tech-nology officer for ASU (Booth 3012). “OWLS is capable of both daylight

and night vision,” he said. The camera’s microelectronics can also digitally fuse, pixel by pixel, night-vision with infrared imagery, making it possible see through smoke and other atmospheric  obscu-rations. OWLS rotates 360 degrees and can be fully retracted inside an aircraft fuselage for high speed transit between photo sites.

“We are in transition to production with a target for the summer 2015 for low rate production,” said Estrera. Initial pro-duction is expected to be around 10 units per week.

The system will retail for around $50,000 per unit, according to ASU presi-dent Jim Winkel. “We see fixed-wing agri-culture business where nighttime spraying and nighttime production occurs, there is a market,” he said.

He also expects public-use, law-enforcement and firefighting agencies to want OWLS. “We are excited to see the [unmanned aircraft proposed rule], and we are carefully looking at how we think it applies to our technology. You can be sure we’ll give that feedback to the FAA,” he continued. o

Aviation Specialties Unlimited is showing live streaming from its observation, wide-area, low-altitude sensor (OWLS) here at Heli-Expo.

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1,120 shp for takeoff and redesigned main rotor blades, now all-composite and based on the S-92’s main rotor blades, and new tail rotor blades.

For a Category A takeoff on a ISA+15 day, the engines add about 600 pounds of performance lift, while the new main rotor blades add another 500 pounds, meaning one can take off the S-76D with a gross weight that is 1,100 pounds higher than what the C++ could lift. Sikorsky cites an improvement in cruise speed when considering fuel consump-tion; using this measure, the D model shows about 152 knots compared to the C++ with 134 knots. “This aircraft wants to get up and fly because of its power and the blades,” Altieri said.

The tailrotor blades have a one-inch longer chord, a higher life airfoil and a tapered blade tip, which allows the tail-rotor to rotate slower with the same

effectiveness. This slower rotation uses less power and this and the shape of the blades lowers noise by about two to three decibels. The addition of active vibration control provides more comfort for pas-sengers and crew.

Sikorsky chose Thales TopDeck for the S76-D’s all-glass cockpit, while Rockwell Collins provides Pro Line nav-com radios and Honeywell the enhanced ground-proximity warning system. Top-Deck has two cursor control devices (CCDs)–one for each pilot–that use track balls to move a cursor across the two 8-by-6-inch screens in front of each pilot. The CCDs are fixed on the center con-sole, within easy reach.

With less real estate needed for instru-mentation, Sikorsky was able to shave an inch from the bottom of the instrument panel, and trimmed the glare shield a bit as well. The combined effect increases the field of view for the pilots.

Sikorsky has some 60 orders for the S-76D and has delivered about two dozen to date.

Altieri obviously has much experi-ence flying with pilots of various expe-rience and skill, because he allowed me to lift the S-76D (N7621Y) into a hover, do a 180-deg pedal turn, take off toward the south and head along Interstate 4 at about 1,200 feet. He had me set torque at about 60 to 65 percent and then check airspeed (144 knots) and fuel burn (645 pph). The ride was very smooth, with only a slight roughness noticeable.

With five people in the cabin, a straight out-and-back trip along I-4 and oncom-ing darkness, aggressive in-flight maneu-vering, extensive hovering and practice instrument approaches were out of the question. Altieri had me do a 180 after about 10 minutes going south and then we headed back to the Orange County Convention Center. I did the descent and landing to a hover and then lowered the N7621Y to the ground.

As we waited for the engines to cool at idle, Altieri demonstrated several more functions of TopDeck: setting up fight plans and approaches and other such functions. With no previous familiarity with the system, my head was spinning. “TopDeck has so many functions that once a pilot learns how to fly the S-76D he probably doesn’t know more than 50 percent of what TopDeck can do,” Altieri said. This I easily understood.

While the flight was short, my imme-diate feeling was one of envy of the pro-fessional pilots who will get to fly this helicopter all the time doing whatever they are hired to do: corporate, offshore, search-and-rescue, law enforcement and so on. For myself, I’d just like a chance to fly the S-76D again and really get to know it a lot better.

Altieri’s unabashed enthusiasm for the D model is infectious. o

22 HAI Convention News • March 5, 2015 • www.ainonline.com

Sikorsky’s S-76D features a Thales TopDeck all-glass cockpit with Rockwell Collins Pro Line navcom radios and Honeywell enhanced ground proximity warning system.

Sikorsky S-76DuContinued from page 1

StandardAero highlights HMU for cooler enginesby James Wynbrandt

MRO provider StandardAero (Booth 3232) is showcasing here at Heli-Expo a custom-over-hauled hydromechanical unit (HMU) for operators of Rolls-Royce M250-C47 engines that lowers starting temperatures in warm conditions. The HMU was designed as part of Standard-Aero’s continuous improvement efforts on the M250-C47 engine.

Manny Atwal, vice president of StandardAero Helicopters, noted

that some M250 Series IV Fadec engines flown in hot/high condi-tions experience elevated starting temperatures, leading operators to resort to alternate starting pro-cedures. The custom-overhauled HMU solution, now in use on more than 20 helicopters, con-firms start-temperature reductions of more than 120 deg C on several HMUs with a history of warm-starting problems, according to data provided by operators.

The Scottsdale, Ariz.-head-quartered company is also expanding its helicopter engine rental pool, thanks to an agree-ment recently reached with Rolls-Royce for the purchase of additional rotorcraft powerplants. The pool is currently valued at $10 million and includes 25 engines and more than 70 mod-ules, as well as additional Rolls-Royce M250-C47B and RR300 engines purchased over the past year to serve Bell 407 and Robin-son R66 operators.

StandardAero, which serves customers through six authorized overhaul facilities, lays claim to owning the world’s largest lease and exchange pool of M250 engines. o

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PHOENIX HELIPARTS, TRUE BLUE TEAM ON BATTERY STCs

Phoenix Heliparts announced here at Heli-Expo a partnership with True Blue Power, a divi-sion of Mid-Continent Instruments and Avionics (Booth 712), to pursue FAA Part 27 STCs for installation of the True Blue TB17 lithium-ion battery into many of the airframes supported by Phoenix Heliparts (Booth 2059). The TB17 is a main ship battery providing significant weight savings over lead-acid and nicad batteries, and is designed to lower cost of ownership 50 to 90 percent through reduced scheduled maintenance, according to True Blue Power. The batteries are on display at both companies’ booths.

Mid-Continent Instruments and Avionics is also making news here, announcing that its MD302 Standby Attitude Module (SAM), on display at the company’s booth, has been selected as the standby display for the Bell 407GX, Enstrom 480B-G and MD900 Explorer. SAM is the first digital standby to provide attitude, altitude, airspeed, slip, vertical trend and interfaced heading information in a two-inch format. –C.E.

Mobile Video Downlink System Displayed

in Command Center Truck

Accelerated Media Technologies (AMT) of Auburn, Mass., manufac-turers of mission-specific, custom-built tactical communication vehi-cles, is featuring a multi-platform video downlink/mobile command center truck at its Heli-Expo booth (759). Designed to be deployed quickly and efficiently, the AMT platform, integrated in a Chevrolet Tahoe, is a mobile central receive site for helicopter video downlinks that the company says “offers ease of use, cutting-edge video technology, microwave interopera-bility and extended air-to-ground receive range.”

“Equipped with the latest microwave technology, this vehicle is in-teroperable with all DVB-T microwave transmitters,” according to AMT co-founder and vice president of business development Dudley Free-man. “The platform features a high gain 5x1 diversity receiver system mounted on an extendable 30-foot pneumatic mast to provide up to 30 miles of coverage” within an  emergency situation, police activity, me-dia event, rapidly unfolding conditions or for assessing manmade or natural fire and disaster damage.  “Full video/audio encryption ensures security of all received signals,” Freeman said. Air-to-ground radios can be tailored to an emergency department’s individual requirements. On-site event monitoring capability includes a 42-inch SunBrite HD moni-tor, as well as eight other video monitors. –G.G.

WAYPOINT APPOINTS CLARK MCGINN TO HEAD SALES TEAM

Independent helicopter leasing group Waypoint Leasing announced the appointment of Clark McGinn as its new senior vice president of sales. McGinn, who will join Waypoint during the second quarter of 2015, is currently managing director of CHC Leasing.

“Clark built the Dublin-based CHC Leasing team from the ground up, a team responsible for executing all aircraft financing and leasing transactions, and managing lessor, lender and OEM financing relationships,” said Waypoint Leasing CEO Ed Washecka. “We look forward to leveraging Clark’s expertise and management skills as we continue to grow Waypoint’s posi-tion as the leading independent global helicopter lessor.”

At the Heli-Expo show Waypoint Leasing (Booth 1812) signed a memorandum of under-standing for 20 Bell 525 Relentless helicopters. The Ireland-based group leases helicopters to various industry sectors, including oil and gas, emergency medical service, search-and-rescue and governmental support. –C.A.

YOU CAN MEET WITH OUR ROTORCRAFT MARKETING EXPERTS TODAY. CALL OR TEXT: 480.526. 2240 BDNAEROSPACE.COM

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SAY ELLO

Join us and say hello to thefi rst of the next generation atHAI Heli-Expo 2015, March 3-5Booth # 2437

fi rst of the next generation atHAI Heli-Expo 2015, March 3-5Booth # 2437

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