HAI Convention News 03_08_11

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MD gears up to deliver on pending orders

INSIDE...

• Grand Canyon tours face flight restrictions The National Park service is proposing new rules to cap the number of flights, restrict flight corridors and altitudes and mandate the use of “quiet-technology” helicopters. Page 4

by James Wynbrandt MD Helicopters (MDH) CEO Lynn Tilton said at HeliExpo 2011 that the Mesa, Ariz.-based company is on the verge of finalizing several deals that could keep its production line at capacity for the next four years.

The largest potential order is a long-term contract with Boeing to build airframes for the Boeing AH-6i light attack/ reconnaissance helicopter for the U.S. Army, a production run that “could be more than 200 aircraft over the next four years,” with initial orders

• Phoenix Heliparts gives old helos new life The Phoenix MRO, which has been cleared to have its Part 145 certificate restored, recently upgraded a 30-yearold MD500D. Page 9

• New civil helicopters ‘affordable’ for Bell

• Unmanned K-Max to deploy to Afghanistan Two of the unmanned aerial trucks are being prepared for delivery this summer to meet the resupply requirements of the U.S. Marine Corps. Page 17

MD Helicopters CEO Lynn Tilton said pending orders could keep the company busy for several years.

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With its military business thriving and its commercial business “on the rebound,” the company could easily fund a new clean-sheet design, said Bell’s CEO. Page 10

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MARCH 8, 2011 already in hand, Tilton said.

MDH will build the entire airframe with the exception of the front nose section and pedestal, and workshare details are being finalized.

Also pending is a contract with a six-nation EMS program in the Middle East to provide 50 to 75 twin-engine MD902 helicopters and support over 10 years. Production of aircraft covered under that contract would begin sometime in June, Tilton said.

A contract with the National Guard of Saudi Arabia for MD530Fs is also close to signing, she said, and sales to other foreign military operators are moving forward.

After several years of “selling one aircraft at a time,” Tilton said, the company is gearing up to meet the anticipated demand. “We’ve been faced with some very major long-term contracts, and in facing that you also have to be able to deliver.”

Tilton, who oversees 74 companies in her Patriarch

Continued on page 19 u

Sikorsky predicts heli market rebound

by Nigel Moll Buoyed by steady and solid U.S. government and international work, Sikorsky is demonstrating strong hover performance in challenging economic conditions, and president Jeff Pino’s press conference yesterday morning was one of the more information-rich sessions here at Heli-Expo.

Topics off the usual beaten path of financial and delivery figures included the future of the swashplate; electric tail rotors; the surprising scalability of the X2’s technology; job prospects for “optional pilots”; and some convincing analogies to convey just how powerful the

Continued on page 19 u

Rolls-Royce forecasts $140B in orders by ’20

• Russia’s UTair Buys 15 EC175s Three years after signing a letter of intent for 15 EC175s, the Russian firm signed a firm order for the utility rotorcraft for oil and gas ops. Page 18

• Military AW139 makes its debut AgustaWestland is offering a customized military version of its multi-role AW139, designated the AW139M. Page 28

Engine maker Rolls-Royce released its annual turbine helicopter sales forecast at Heli-Expo 2011. The company predicts 16,900 new turbine helicopters will be delivered between now and 2020 with a value of $140 billion.

Of this total, 6,070 will be military with an estimated airframe value of $106 billion and an associated engine value of $7.8 billion. Rolls-Royce also predicts that the civil market will experience “modest” growth, especially at the entry level. Demand over the period in this market is forecast to be 10,900 airframes with an approximate value of $34 billion and an associated engine value of $4.8 billion. Most of the growth will occur between 2011 and 2015.

“While the market has not returned as quickly as the industry desired,” said Patricia O’Connell, Rolls-Royce business sector president, “basic indicators

Continued on page 19 u

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by Mark Huber

Heli-Expo 2011 Looks to be a success The convention center was buzzing with activity yesterday, as attendees filled the south hall to check out the helicopters on display and meet with potential customers. There were plenty of deals made. It wasn’t all business, however, as some took the opportunity to remind themselves of the magic of flight, or to introduce it to a new generation.

Navigate your way to Bell Helicopter during HELI-EXPO® 2011. See the new 407GX featuring the exclusive Garmin G1000H™ glass cockpit. Try out the Garmin simulator and touch-screen interactive media displays.

Discover how the robust technology of our new 407GX is the right choice for parapublic and military applications.

We’re on a mission to show you what you’ve never seen before. Visit us at booth #237. On a Mission.

©2011 Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. All rights reserved.

Call 800-FLY-BELL or visit www.bellhelicopter.com to find the solution that’s best for your mission-specific needs.

Park Service regs would threaten Canyon flights

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Convention News An independent publication solely owned by the Convention News Co., Inc., Midland Park, N.J.

by Mark Huber The National Park Service (NPS) is proposing new rules to cap the number of air tour flights over the Grand Canyon, further restrict flight corridors and altitudes adjacent to it and mandate the use of “quiet technology” helicopters flying tours there.

While helicopter tour operators have been voluntarily adding more modern and quieter helicopters, such as the Eurocopter EC130B4 “EcoStar,” to their fleets in recent years, they appear united in their opposition to a hard cap on the number of flights they can conduct.

The new rules would set a daily hard cap of 364 flights and an annual cap of 65,000 flights, about 12 percent less than the current level, for operators who in many cases are experiencing double-digit growth demand for these flights. Native American tribes would continue to be exempt from the restrictions.

In February the NPS released a “Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), Special Flight Rules in the Vicinity of Grand Canyon National Park.” The DEIS was drafted to restore “natural quiet” to the park, which

®

FOUNDED IN 1972 James Holahan, Founding Editor Wilson S. Leach, Managing Director

the NPS defines as no aircraft audible noise in 50 percent or more of the park 75 to 100 percent of the day. The NPS noted that the park’s “natural soundscape” is “essential and vital to its remote and wild character.”

The public comment period for the new rules ends June 6 and operators are moving quickly to express their concerns to the NPS. A spokesman for Maverick Helicopters, which operates an

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With a nod to environmental concerns, Grand Canyon helicopter operators are flying quieter models, such as the Eurocopter EC130B4 “EcoStar” (above), in lieu of traditional types, such as the Bell LongRanger (left). But they are united in opposing Park Service plans to cap the number of flights they can conduct, as well as other proposed restrictions.

all-EcoStar fleet of more than 30 helicopters on Grand Canyon flights, said his company understands the need for quiet technology helicopters, but opposes the flight cap. Bryan Kroten, director of sales and marketing, said the cap would hurt the Grand

STAT MedEvac adds five eurocopters American Eurocopter (Booth No. 4637) received orders from Stat MedEvac for five more twin-engine helicopters–three EC135s and two EC145s. The acquisition is part of the West Mifflin, Pa.based air medical service provider’s ongoing strategy to upgrade its fleet. Deliveries of the latest order are scheduled in the first half of next year.

Stat MedEvac operates a fleet of 14 EC135s and seven EC145s.

“We value the strong, ongoing relationship we have developed with Stat MedEvac over more than two-and-a-half decades,” said American Eurocopter president and CEO Marc Paganini. “[Those helicopters] are currently the best products for our missions,” said Stat MedEvac president and CEO Doug Garretson. “We have standardized on the EC135 and EC145 platforms because they are the products that best meet our needs and the additional efficiencies we have been able to establish.”

–K.J.H.

Canyon air tour business immediately. “Most of our guests are international. When Americans go to China they want to see the Great Wall. Foreign visitors to the U.S. want to see the Grand Canyon, and limiting the amount of aircraft is going to reduce the number of people who get to visit it,” Kroten said. “Any sort of restriction on tourism in Arizona and Nevada is not a good thing.”

He said Maverick flies more than 100 flights a day there, either by flying primarily Europeans to the Canyon from Las Vegas in the EcoStars or shuttling them to forwardbased helicopters in the company’s fleet of three Beechcraft 1900D turboprops. Kroten said Maverick is enjoying double-digit growth thanks to foreign demand. “Europeans drive the helicopter market in Las Vegas,” he said, estimating that 60 to 70 percent of all air tours are comprised of international visitors.

Other provisions of the DEIS include the implementation of new short- and longloop air tour routes, moving routes away from various “sensitive” areas, increased minimum altitude near the North Rim, increasing free flight zone altitude ceiling to 17,999 feet msl, a reduction of routes in

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the Marble Canyon and a ban on most non-air tour air operations inside the Park. It would also restrict short tours from flying over the Dragon and Zuni Point corridors near the southeast end of the Canyon.

Operators would be required to fully convert to quiet technology helicopters within 10 years.

Maverick operates the only entirely EcoStar fleet flying the Canyon, but other air tour operators–most notably Papillon and Sundance–are aggressively adding EcoStars to their fleets. However, an estimated 60 to 70 percent of the Grand Canyon air tour helicopter fleet is not currently quiet technology compliant.

Steve Bassett, president of the U.S. Air Tour Association, said that a number of air tour companies cannot afford to make the switch.

Between now and the expiration of the comment period, the NPS will hold several public meetings throughout Arizona, Nevada and Utah to offer explanations and solicit public input. o

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Trusted to deliver excellence

by Nigel Moll Anyone who has flown aboard a helicopter in support of oil and gas exploration knows that this form of flying ranks among the more exhilarating ways of traveling to work.

At its best, this airborne “commute” happens in an environment of well-practiced, well-regulated and predictable routine. All too often in the real

world, it is also an environment ripe with opportunity for things to go wrong in the form of weather, hostile regional politics or mechanical surprises in complex flying machines. The very nature of their unusual abilities puts helicopters in harm’s way as a matter of course, so the challenges of shooting for perfection are arguably more daunting here

Bristow, Grey Owl Launch Human Factors Training Bristow Academy (Booth No. 4246) and Grey Owl Aviation Consultants of Onanole, Manitoba, have joined forces to bring human factors training to the helicopter industry.

Bristow is expanding its training schedule beginning in May 2011, and Grey Owl will facilitate a series of workshops at Bristow Academy’s domestic locations. The workshops will be open to the public and will be advertised on both the Bristow and Grey Owl Web sites.

The partnership will also offer client workshops in which Bristow and Grey Owl will provide a customized human factors training experience for ­individual client organizations. These workshops will be held at the client’s ­location and can be tailored to meet the needs of the organization.

Grey Owl has also developed additional one-day recurrent human factors workshops, which further explore various aspects of error prevention ­strategies in aviation. –K.J.H.

than anywhere else in commercial aviation.

Against this backdrop, Bristow Group (Booth No. 4246) continues to promote and polish its now three-pronged Target Zero campaign, which strives for zero accidents, zero downtime and zero complaints.

Bristow already lays claim to being the safest helicopter transportation provider in the world but, as president and CEO William Chiles noted at a cocktail reception for customers, suppliers and competitors alike here on Sunday evening, safety is something no operator feels comfortable crowing about.

Bristow does emphasize, however, that since it introduced its Target Zero culture of safety in 2007, its safety record has improved in the air and on the ground. Bristow’s air accident rate per 100,000 flight hours was 1.17 in FY 2006 and has been dropping since: 0.78 in both FY 2007 and FY 2008, zero in 2009, 0.53 last year and zero so far in FY 2011. Bristow’s fleet currently numbers nearly 400 helicopters (and about 500 when trainers are included).

Target Zero Downtime depends on the guaranteed availability of replacement aircraft and satphones in cockpits,

and Target Zero Complaints aims to keep the customer satisfied with everything else beyond safety and reliability.

According to its FY 3Q2011 report, released on February 3, Bristow has secured bank credit of $375 million ($175 million five-year revolver and $200 million five-year-term loan with

to its last five legacy airframes that can be rebuilt and is transitioning to completely new-build helicopter production. He said the move to all new production would not be difficult as Erickson already fabricates 60 to 70 percent of the airframe on its remanufactured helicopters. “It will not be a big leap for us.”

He did not expect the move to

increase production costs significantly. Concurrent with the move to new production, Erickson is working on developing composite main rotor blades with Advanced Technologies (Booth No. 4162) for the Air-Crane. Rieder said he expects the blades to improve lift by 10 to 15 percent at altitude and reduce fuel consumption by 3 to 5 percent. –M.H.

a $100 million accordion feature). Term loan p ­ roceeds and revolver borrowings were used to repay $230 million in 6 1/8-percent senior notes due 2013 on December 23 last year. Total capitalization as of December 31 stood at $2.2 billion, comprising $1.5 billion equity and $726 million debt. o

5,000 Filters

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Bristow focuses on operational perfection

Donaldson Aerospace president Michael Scimone, right, presents a plaque to Bell’s Van Wilson at Heli-Expo on Monday. The plaque commemorates delivery of St. Louis-based Donaldson’s 5,000th inlet barrier filter system kit, which will be installed on a Bell 429.

Erickson Air-Crane (Booth No. 459) and a consortium of Chinese aviation companies have signed a deal for up to five S-64F Air-Cranes. The companies signed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) yesterday at Heli-Expo 2011.

Erickson president Udo Rieder said Erickson was approached by several state-owned Chinese entities late last year and that the final deal likely will include a full package of options for the helicopters, including Sagem avionics, grapples, fire tanks, buckets, baskets, portable patient transport units and a boom nozzle that fires 300 gallons of water per minute up to 200 feet. The latter is particularly well suited for fighting fires in high-rise buildings.

Rieder said the impetus for the Chinese interest is coming from the country’s central government, which is interested in developing better disasterresponse capabilities.

While details of a final deal remain to be worked out, Rieder

said that it likely would involve co-developing sales, manufacturing, MRO and general operations of the helicopters at the Kun Shan Aviation Industrial Park, a project being developed for China’s aviation industry in Dian Shan Lake Town near Shanghai.

Rieder said the initial deal would be a “proof of concept” and additional sales were possible.

Helicopter deliveries would begin in the first quarter of 2012 and initially would consist of remanufactured helicopters and lift from Erickson’s existing fleet. Those helicopters would be rotated out and replaced with new production helicopters over the course of approximately one year.

The consortium members that are part of the non-binding MOU include Kun Shan Dian Shan Lake Aviation Industrial, Avicopter, China Flying Dragon General Aviation and China Aviation Supplies. Rieder said he expected a detailed agreement to be finalized within six months.

Rieder said Erickson is down

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Erickson to provide heavy lifters for China

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Sitting from left, Erickson’s Steve Crowley, director of business development; Udo Rieder, president and CEO of Erickson Air-Crane; and Alen Zhou sign an agreement for five S-64s on the show floor on Monday. Zhou is the general manager of China’s Kun Shan Dian Shan Lake Aviation Industrial Company. To the right of Zhou is Wan Tony Chee, president of APAC Airplane Design Company.

Consider the Cutting-Edge.

Sharpened.

Introducing our newest innovation:

EC145 T2 Eurocopter Exhibit #4637

z Bell Delivers First 429s to Mideast, India Bell Helicopter delivered the first 429s to the Middle East and India last month. Kuwait City-based Strong Aviation will use its new helicopter for executive missions in the area, and the Indian example went to Span Air, an air charter operator headquartered in New Delhi.

Both operators cited the 429’s performance as being well suited to the demanding climates and geography in which they will operate.

z Aviation Specialties Installs 500th NVG Mod Aviation Specialties Unlimited (Booth No. 3033) has passed a major milestone, having made more than 500 night-vision-goggle cockpit modifications.

ASU’s first modifications were to two Eurocopter EC135s, one for Collier County Emergency Medical Services of Naples, Fla., and one for St. Vincent Healthcare of Billings, Mont.

Boise, Idaho-based ASU accomplished its 500th modification on an Air Methods EC130, the first of its kind on this model.

z SRT Trains LA Hospital for Disaster Relief SRT Helicopters (Booth No. 5723), a training organization specializing in disaster relief operations and planning for military, law enforcement and public services agencies in the U.S. and abroad, has completed a year-long disaster response training program at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, Calif.

With SRT’s help, Good Samaritan designed and implemented a comprehensive disaster response plan and trained key personnel in National Incident Management System procedures, as well as incident command, hazardous material first response and hazardous material medical management.

z URS Installs Garmin G500H into Bell 407 United Rotorcraft Solutions (URS) of Decatur, Texas, has completed a Bell 407 avionics upgrade with installation of a Garmin G500H glass cockpit for DS Aviation of Dallas. URS (Booth No. 1655) did a customized panel update in early 2010 but the operator brought it back recently for the helicopter-specific G500H electronic displays. URS stripped the standard instruments, fabricated a new panel and installed the G500H, all in less than two weeks.

z Accord Wins GPS Production OK Accord Technology of Phoenix has received FAA production approval for its GPS-SBAS (satellite-based augmentation system) sensor circuit card assembly, which Accord Technology claims to be the only GPS sensor with FAA TSO-C145c approval. Accord (Booth No. 1710) bills the sensor as the heart of its NexNav mini GPS Waas Class Beta-1 navigation system, which it calls “an affordable breakthrough that will lead to worldwide adoption of ADS-B on all civil platforms.”

The NexNav mini module, which is DO-229D-compliant, can be embedded into host avionics or in an Accord NexNav LRU. It is designed for compatibility with international satnav systems including Egnos (Europe), MTSAT (Japan) and Gagan (India).

Hal Adams, Accord’s chief operating officer, stated, “This is another big step for us and we are thrilled to have the FAA clear us for the NexNav mini production. We are off to the races now and will begin delivering the units immediately while continuing our work to finalize the NexNav Max GPS Waas Class Beta-1, -2, -3 authorization in the next few months.”

China helo show gains momentum Event organizer BCI Aerospace (Booth No. 503) of France is the lead in putting the China Helicopter Exposition together, along with partners China Aviation Industry Corp. (AVIC), AVIC subsidiary Avicopter, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and the Tianjin government.

Speaking yesterday at HeliExpo 2011, Alain Ngoie, BCI Aerospace area manager, said it is the first aviation exposition in China dedicated exclusively to the helicopter industry and that more than 2,000 visitors are expected along with more than 100 Chinese exhibitors and another 100 exhibitors from outside China.

Major manufacturers are already signed up for the show, he added, including such helicopter industry stalwarts as AgustaWestland and Eurocopter.

In addition to the exhibitor center, located at AVIC facilities in Tianjin, the exposition will also have a helicopter static display and feature aerial demonstrations.

The importance of the China Helicopter Exposition is underscored by growing helicopter

MARIANO ROSALES

news clips

usage milestone reached for s-92 Bristow is the first operator to exceed 10,000 hours on a Sikorsky S-92. L to R, Brian Young, Sikorsky’s director of commercial programs presented the award to Bristow execs, Richard Burman, senior v-p, operations; Mark Duncan senior v-p, commercial; and Bill Chiles, president and CEO. Ed Beyer (r), v-p for Sikorsky Global Helicopters, joined in on the occasion.

operations in that vast country.

Over the next decade, said Ngoie, China will need 1,500 helicopters.

He also pointed out that Tianjin, already a major seaport, is expected to develop into an

Bell and Van Horn sign deal for tail blades Bell Helicopter and Van Horn Aviation (Booth No. 1521) of Tempe, Ariz., yesterday at Heli-Expo 2011 put the official stamp on an agreement that allows Bell to distribute Van Horn’s composite tail rotor blades for Bell 206 models.

The Van Horn rotor blade kit, approved under an FAA supplemental type certificate (STC), is being distributed exclusively through Bell’s Aeronautical Accessories division. The

8aaHAI Convention News • March 8, 2011 • www.ainonline.com

MARIANO ROSALES

z Quality Instruments Notches USCG Contract Quality Aviation Instruments (Booth No. 428) has been awarded a five-year contract by the U.S. Coast Guard to repair new- and older-generation hover lights.

“It’s a great honor for our company to support the aircraft that are so important to our nation’s security,” said Quality Instruments president Robert Sieber. “In some small part, this contract allows us to also contribute to that daily mission.”

Initial stages of work on the new contract have already begun.

This involves repair of both older-generation lights as well as installation of new infrared lights. The McKeesport, Pa.-based manufacturer has been providing support to both rotorcraft and fixed-wing aircraft for 14 years.

aerospace industry and technology hub rivaling Shanghai. The city is just 60 miles from Beijing and connected by a high-speed train that makes the run in well under an hour. –K.J.H.

Bell Helicopter’s Danny Maldonado, senior v-p, customer support (left) announced distribution agreement for Van Horn composite tail rotor blades with Jennifer Lunceford, manufacturing and field manager for Bell’s Aeronautical Accessories, and Jim Van Horn, president of Van Horn Aviation.

STC covers installation of the Van Horn composite tail rotor blades on Bell 206Bs and 206Ls. The blades are identifiable by three highvisibility stripes and their own part number.

The composite tail rotor blades provide corrosion resistance, a reduction in tail-rotor noise, greater tail-rotor authority, flight at higher density altitudes and a 5,000-hour service life. The blades come with a three-year, 1,500-hour, non-prorated warranty, “This STC allows us to provide our customers with a product that not only adds value to their mission,” said Danny Maldonado, Bell Helicopter senior vice president, “but also meets Bell Helicopter’s rigorous engineering standards.” –H.W.

A 30-year-old MD500D has been significantly upgraded by Phoenix Heliparts.

The company customized the helicopter with an ‘E’ nose, air-conditioning and a complete Aero Dynamix NVG package. Phoenix Heliparts (Booth No. 1006) used the occasion of Heli-Expo to return the updated rotorcraft to its owner Wayne McCall.“Knowing that a 30-year-old helicopter can look, feel and function like new is really impressive,” McCall said. “It is also impressive to know it has only 698.2 hours total time since new. This machine is indistinguishable from new.” The helicopter is believed to have the lowest total time of any MD500.

Working out of its 40,000 sq-ft Mesa, Ariz., facility, Phoenix Heliparts is expecting

Phoenix Heliparts president Tina Cannon presents the keys to a 1981 MD500 to Wayne McCall and his sons Heath, sitting, and Carson, right, in the midst of a busy Heli-Expo exhibit hall.

FAA STC approval shortly for the installation of five MD 500 products: engine compressor plenums, auto reignition system, fuel cap rain gutters, avionics/ battery trays and cargo pods. These products have already been installed under FAA designated airworthiness and engineering representative approvals. Phoenix Heliparts also has received FAA Parts Manufacturer Approval for cargo handles,

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Phoenix Heliparts breathes new life into old helicopters

fresh air pull cables and wiring. The engine compressor plenums for the 369, 500 and 600 series will allow inspection of the Rolls-Royce 250 compressor from the inside of the aircraft. The auto reignition system will allow owners of the 369C and 369D series to replace damaged systems with a more modern version much like those installed in new 369E and 369FF models.

“The approval of these parts by FAA designated airworthiness and engineering representatives is evidence of our continued commitment to exceeding quality and safety standards to deliver service excellence to our customers,” said Phoenix Heliparts president Tina Cannon.

Cannon also announced the appointment of Conrad Moreno as quality assurance manager and Marcus Landry as manager of business development. Moreno comes to Phoenix Heliparts with a background in quality management on MD500s, Eurocopters and Bell UH-1s at Pacific Helicopters, Canadian Helicopter and ­ Columbia Helicopters.

Landry previously worked for Timken, Bristow Helicopters and Aviall and will focus on marketing, advertising and promotion planning. –D.A.L.

CAE, CHC wrap Acquisition, Training Agreement On the eve of Heli-Expo 2011, training provider CAE (Booth No. 1253) announced both the completion of its acquisition of CHC Helicopter’s flight training operations and a partnership agreement to provide flight training for CHC Helicopter personnel.

Montreal-based CAE manufactures simulators and develops modeling technologies and integrated training solutions and maintains the world’s largest installed base of full-motion simulators for civilian and military aircraft. CHC Helicopter, based in Vancouver, B.C., provides helicopter transportation for the oil and gas industry and operates some 250 helicopters based in 30 countries.

Under the agreement, CAE will train 2,000 of CHC’s helicopter pilots and maintenance engineers, as well as provide other training support for CHC personnel.

Said William Amelio, CHC’s president and CEO, “Training is a critical part of our business and it is very specialized.” A ­ melio called the agreement “one of the most significant developments in ­helicopter training in a decade. CHC Helicopter’s partnership with CAE offers us flexibility, scalability, access to leadingedge simulation equipment, accredited trainers and curriculum developers, but still allows us to maintain complete control over our training.”

–J.W.

www.ainonline.com • March 8, 2011 • HAI Convention Newsaa9

news clips z Aeromaritime, ITP Team at Expo Aeromaritime, a Rolls-Royce authorized maintenance, repair and overhaul center, is sharing space in Booth No. 320 with parent company Industria de Turbo Propulsores (ITP), which acquired the Aeromaritime group in 2008. ITP plans to extend its repair and overhaul business in the U.S. Aeromaritime, with facilities in the U.S. and Europe, has worked closely with ITP to develop capabilities for servicing Pratt & Whitney Canada 200 series engines. In addition to Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney Canada, ITP is an authorized service center for Honeywell, GE, Pratt & Whitney, Snecma, Turbomeca, MTR, Eurojet and Europrop engines.

Becker Avionics is displaying its latest wireless intercom and audio panels for helicopters at Booth No. 1652.

These include a digital audio and intercom system, the DVCS6100, with features optimized for EMS and SAR operators. It is one among a series of Becker intercom and audio control systems for airborne military, law enforcement and special-mission platforms, including both analog and digital system architectures. The DVCS6100 manages all transceivers, receivers and audio warning sources in one central system and provides simulcast capabilities on eight channels. The system’s audio controls are NVG-compatible.

Early this month, Becker and Axnes Aviation signed a teaming agreement for marketing the Axnes Polycon wireless intercom system. Becker will offer the product to military and civil markets in North and South America, while providing service and repair on both continents. The Polycon system can wirelessly link crewmembers in the aircraft and on the ground, and to ground support crews.

z Eurocopter AS350 Full-Flight Simulator Approved American Eurocopter (AEC) has received FAA Level B and night-vision goggle (NVG) training certification for its AS350 full flight simulator in Grand Prairie, Texas. And yesterday, AEC announced that it signed a simulator training contract with the Texas Department of Public Safety, covering dry lease of the AS350 simulator. This will allow the department’s instructors to train DPS pilots.

Level B approval allows Part 135 operators to incorporate the device into their training programs and log training credits. The sim can provide highly realistic training for a variety of missions, including EMS, law enforcement (note the Bushmaster rifle aimed from the rear of the sim’s full cabin in the photo, part of the tactical officer suite useful for practicing law enforcement scenarios), business aviation, offshore and utility work.

The simulator, manufactured by Indra Systems, is equipped with a full-motion platform and expansive visual system and is convertible from AS350B2 to -B3 models. “We have already had customers from Canada and Botswana complete training, and we have had discussions with Eurocopter customers from as far away as South Korea and Russia,” noted AEC president and CEO Marc Paganini.

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z Becker Shows Helo Audio Panels

Showroom shopping One of the benefits of attending Heli-Expo is the chance to easily compare and contrast the different types of helicopters on display. Here a group of young attendees point out the features of a Eurocopter AS350 ­belonging to Texas-based Copters in Agriculture.

New civil programs “affordable” for Bell

by Mark Huber Despite relatively flat yearover-year commercial sales, Bell Helicopter CEO John Garrison said the company could easily fund a new, clean-sheet-of-paper commercial helicopter program.

“Capital-wise we have the ability to invest in new platform development. That is not a constraint. We just have to pick and choose,” Garrison said, declining to identify the market sectors Bell was considering. “The business has the ability to fund it.” However, Garrison said that Bell would continue to work with “strong partners,” such as Boeing (its partner on the military V-22 Osprey tiltrotor), on future defense programs. “You are going to see more and more of that,” he said.

Last year Bell (Booth No. 237) posted sales of $3.2 billion, of which $1.5 billion came from military sales and $1.07 billion from product support, areas that both posted growth.

Revenues from the sale of civil helicopters fell to $667 million, down from $672 million in 2009.

Bell sold 131 civil helicopters last year, including 22 Model 429 light twins. He said the 429 had been demonstrated to more

10aaHAI Convention News • March 8, 2011 • www.ainonline.com

than 2,400 prospective customers worldwide and was the only civil helicopter that could fly a 9-degree wide area augmentation system (Waas) GPS approach at 45 knots.

He said the company’s commercial business was “on the rebound” and that he expected Bell’s military business to continue to thrive. “Helicopters are at the center of the need for the military warfighter,” not only in the U. S. but around the world.

Bell is continuing to work with AgustaWestland on development of the BA609 civil tiltrotor, Garrison said, adding that additional test aircraft were not under construction. Currently, two test aircraft are in the program. Bell is in “very active negotiations” with AgustaWestland over the future of the program, he said, though for the moment, it appears stalled.

“I’ve got a team going over there on Saturday. We’re working together and trying to find a way” to move the program forward, he said. “We are continuing to find a way to bring it to commercial certification and it will take a partnership to get there.”

Garrison admitted that the

BA609’s lengthy gestation, now in its 15th year, posed a risk.

“Speed to market is a critical factor.” But he noted that the 609 is still faster than the compound helicopters currently fielded by Eurocopter and Sikorsky.

Garrison said Bell is accelerating research and development spending by 50 percent over the next five years, including new products and primary components such as rotor blades and transmissions. But he offered few details. “We’re not going to show you what we’re going to do, we’re going to show you what we’ve done.” o

AT THE BOOTHS BAE Systems of Phoenix (Booth No. 5731) is at Heli-Expo 2011 and featuring its mission adaptable crew seat, S5000 crew and passenger energy-absorbing seat and S3000 crashworthy utility seat.

BAE Systems has been producing seating systems since 1975, most recently for the UH-60 Black Hawk, the C-17 Globemaster, the UH-72A Lakota and even the seating for the U.S. presidential helicopters. BAE also provides executive/VIP seats for corporate aircraft. v

Argus Int’l signs deals for audits, partnerships

MD500 Series Panels Get The Big Picture Twenty-first century technology meets a 20th century helicopter this week at the MD Helicopters booth (No. 1618), where Sagem’s ICDS-8 integrated cockpit display system is on view in an MD530 panel.

Designed for an MD500 series modernization program, the twotube array from Sagem, of Grand Prairie, Texas, replaces original equipment electromechanical instrumentation, providing increased functionality, as well as an 18-pound weight reduction.

Flat-panel full-color 8.4-inch screens present customary flight director and horizontal situation indicator information on a primary flight display, while the corresponding multifunction display can be made to show just about anything that can be turned into video.

The integrated display system was designed and installed by United Rotorcraft Solutions, Decatur, Texas.

A variety of Sagem helicopter cockpit systems is on display a few feet away at Booth No. 1637. Larry Alexandre, Sagem A ­ vionics president and CEO, said, “Working with MD Helicopters on the ­ MD500 modernization program has addressed the need of a large global customer base.”

–H.W.

ANTOINE DAUGNY

Just keep your eye on the horizon

Flight simulators prove to be popular attractions at Heli-Expo. Here show attendee Juan Heriberto maneuvers under the watchful gaze of Eurocopter’s Erick King at the company’s booth on Sunday.

CORRECTION The National Park Service’s proposed hard cap of 364 air tour flights per day over the Grand Canyon (as mentioned in HAI Convention News March 8, page 4) is 12 percent more than the current level, n not 12 percent less.

Argus International (Booth No. 3106), the Cincinnatibased safety auditing company, announced at Heli-Expo 2011 that two of its subsidiaries recently signed agreements.

Argus Pros, which provides auditing services, has been awarded a two-year operational safety audit contract by medical transport provider Ornge, based in Ontario, Canada.

Ornge operates 14 helicopters and six Pilatus PC-12 airplanes and has access to more than 50 additional medical aircraft. It performs more than 20,000 hospital admissions annually and last year its flight operations covered more than 7 million miles.

Argus Pros has developed its own audit standard for air charter operators and holds authorizations from both the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the International Business Aviation Council and is one of five endorsed training organizations accredited by IATA to train auditors.

In the second agreement announced by Argus, Prism, which provides safety management system (SMS) solutions, has established a partnership with MissionMode Solutions, which offers web-based emergency response plan communications, an important component of a comprehensive SMS. “MissionMode’s unique incident management and emergency response notification systems complement our Prism SMS program perfectly,” said Bill Yantiss, Prism executive vice president.

MissionMode increases the speed and accuracy of communications during routine operations as well as in an emergency.

Flight departments can quickly mobilize teams using MissionMode’s online Situation Center. The secure command center serves as a central hub for sharing resources, monitoring tasks and managing communications, and can play an vital role in and ensuring the viability of an SMS during emergency situations. o

news clips z Esterline Touts TacView Display’s Versatility Esterline CMC Electronics (Booth No. 4233) is showcasing the features of its TacView portable mission display, with the emphasis on “portable.”

The size of a legal note pad, TacView, CMV says, can be handcarried on board, installed and removed in seconds. The unit provides access to moving maps, live weather, approach plates, checklists, flight and maintenance manuals, frequency and call sign lists, passenger and cargo manifests and customer-created Microsoft Windows-based applications.

The NVG-compatible TacView interfaces with most aircraft data networks and runs Microsoft XP-compliant software to offer a wide range of options and capabilities, according to CMC. The commercial off-the-shelf TacView has been selected

by Lockheed Martin to meet current and future C-130J mobile display system requirements. CMC has supplied the system to BAE Systems for the U.S. Navy C-130T.

z EC145 Delivered with Flight Display Select CMS Flight Display Systems (Booth No. 3723) has announced the successful installation and delivery of the first Eurocopter EC145 with Flight Display’s Select cabin management system (CMS).

The CMS package allows passengers to control XM radio, Bluray video, cabin lighting, air-conditioning and the Flight Display moving map from seated comfort.

The system also includes the following components for use in the EC145: 4.3-inch touchscreen control panels, 10.2-inch widescreen LCD display with ceiling mount and a six-genre music player.

Flight Display Systems, based in Alpharetta, Ga., offers more than 70 aircraft products with FAA-PMA approval, from cockpit and cabin LCD monitors to cockpit video cameras.

z Donaldson Delivers 5,000th Inlet Barrier Filter Donaldson Aerospace & Defense, a division of Donaldson (Booth No. 4428), has Heli-Expo 2011 as the stage for delivery of its 5,000th inlet barrier filtration system.

The kit, for a Bell 429, will be delivered this month and Donaldson and Bell marked the milestone here at the Donaldson exhibit yesterday with hors d’oeuvres and beverages.

It was in 2006 that Bell Helicopter selected the Donaldson inlet barrier filter to protect the engines of new Bell 429s. Donaldson has also provided inlet barrier filters for the Army’s OH-58D Kiowa Warrior.

The St. Louis-based company’s aerospace filtration systems division has developed 18 such systems that are either military airworthiness release/qualified or FAA commercial certified.

z East/West Industries Notches Mil Seat Orders East/West Industries (Booth No. 4713) is celebrating 42 years of saving aircrew lives this year. And at Heli-Expo it is highlighting its new crash-attenuating seats designed to meet FAA and military requirements.

East/West seats have recently been selected by Sikorsky for its new CH53K, by the U.S. Army for its CH47D/F, and by the U.S. Navy for the CH35D/E, according to the company.

East/West is also featuring a new portable floor crane designed for the maintenance community. The crane is towable, does not require external power equipment, can be rotated 360 degrees on vertical axis while under full load and can be “easily maneuvered and operated by one person.”

z USAIG Pays Out More Safety Bucks It pays to fly safe, literally.

USAIG’s Safety Bucks program pays operators enrolled in the insurance company’s Preferred Policyholder Program up to $30,000 per year for flight and maintenance training. The latest Safety Bucks recipient is John Bohr, a pilot for BP Capital.

Since instituting the program 14 years ago, USAIG (Booth No. 1911) has contributed more than $5,932,650 for ongoing training for pilots and mechanics, according to the New York City-based company. Offered in partnership with Bell Helicopter and several other helicopter manufacturers, currently about 50 helicopter operators and 175 helicopters are enrolled in the program.

www.ainonline.com • March 8, 2011 • HAI Convention Newsaa11

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Flyit hands over flight simulator pair at show

by James Wynbrandt

Flyit delivered a pair of its Standard Professional Helicopter Simulators on the show’s opening day. At right, Allen Burnett (left), director of operations for Memphis-based Hospital Wing, closed the deal with Flyit chairman Terry Simpkins. Below, Charles Alesi of Florida Coast To Coast Helicopters accepts delivery from Simpkins at the company’s booth.

MARIANO ROSALES

hours of initial flight training time–long enough to teach most students to hover–instead of the 2.5 hours of initial training that can be logged in a Level 1 simulator. Flyit expects that its simulators will be eligible to be certified as Level 7 simulators by the end of this year, subject to local FSDO approval, according to the company.

The prototype simulator was designed and developed under a Department of Defense (DOD) Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) contract for the U.S. Army’s aeromedical lab at Fort Rucker, Ala. The simulator was created for use on a shake table to measure head loads imposed on helicopter pilots by helmet-mounted optical sighting devices in turbulent flight conditions. SBIR contracts require companies to make efforts to commercialize the technology the DOD pays

AgustaWestland’s Japanese Representative Orders Eight AW139s AgustaWestland president Giuseppe Orsi and Yukihiro Tanaka, president of Mitsui Bussan Aerospace ­(AgustaWestland’s sole authorized representative in Japan), signed a deal for eight AW139 medium twins at Heli-Expo yesterday. The helicopters will be operated by the Japan Coast Guard and the Japanese Fire Fighting and Disaster Relief Organization. The deal will boost the number of AW139s ordered for the Japanese market to 30. Ten AW139s are already in service in Japan, by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, the Japan Coast Guard, Air Nippon Helicopter and Kansai TV.

PHOTOS: MARIANO ROSALES

Flyit Simulators of Carlsbad, Calif., (Static No. 9) delivered two helicopter simulators to customers at Heli-Expo on Sunday.

Florida Coast to Coast Helicopters of Pompano Beach took possession of a S ­tandard Professional Helicopter ­ Simulator, capable of simulating six different rotorcraft, and Memphis-based medical transport company Hospital Wing took delivery of a cockpit-specific simulator for a Eurocopter AS350B3.

Flyit’s standard simulators cost about $140,000 while customized or c­ ockpit-specific models are priced at about $150,000, including a trailer classroom for transporting and operating the simulator.

Though the simulators are technically Level 1 helicopter simulator devices, the FAA recognizes Flyit’s all-digital helicopter simulators as Level 3, allowing students to log 7.5

them to develop. In 2000 Flyit first attended Heli-Expo and garnered four orders. “Those orders made us leave the consulting business we’d been in, and there’s been no looking back since,” said Flyit chairman Terry Simpkins.

About 120 Flyit simulators, both helicopter and fixed wing, have been sold around the world. Last year 60 percent of sales were outside the U.S, Simpkins said.

The Standard model can be configured as a simulator for Robinson R22 and R44 models, Bell 206 JetRanger, Schweizer/Sikorsky S-300, Enstrom FX280 and MD Helicopters MD500. An interchangeable single-piece dual-pilot cyclic can be interchanged with the standard controls to mimic the Robinson-style cyclic.

A worldwide database is included with the simulator, enabling users to “fly around the world” in the simulator, with large screens in front and on either side of the full-sized cockpit displaying the company’s advanced ground reference out-the-window view. Flyit also supplies scenariobased training software, enabling trainees to practice missions such as EMS and SAR flights.

Flyit will reimburse prospective buyers who come to Carlsbad for a demonstration for their travel expenses, if they purchase a simulator, and the company provides free upgrades when the system software undergoes significant enhancements. o

14aaHAI Convention News • March 8, 2011 • www.ainonline.com

BBA family is brimming with news BBA Aviation Engine Repair and Overhaul companies are at Heli-Expo in force, with news of everything from live video streaming of a borescope inspection to receipt of EASA certification for a new Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6T test cell.

BBA company Dallas Airmotive recently demonstrated live video streaming of a borescope inspection from the field to its F1rst Support center in Grapevine, Texas. Dallas Airmotive engineers and technicians were able to evaluate the condition of the engine from the video and make a judgment on subsequent action.

F1rst Support was unveiled last year as a global technical operations center using integrated, satellite-based technologies to deliver ultra-fast and efficient response to AOG aircraft.

BBA company Premier Turbines has established a RollsRoyce center of excellence for its model 250 authorized maintenance repair and overhaul center in Neosho, Mo. In establishing the center, Premier has completely reconfigured the facility to a 60,000-sq-ft footprint designed to streamline

process and flow.

Further abroad, BBA company H+S Aviation, based in Portsmouth, England, received EASA certification of its PT6T turboprop test cell in January.

H+S is an authorized Pratt & Whitney Canada distributor and designated overhaul facility for the PT6T Twin-Pac. Addition of the approved test cell means H+S is now fully equipped to perform repair and overhaul on site, including engine testing.

“We are a global company and are growing our services to keep pace with an expanding worldwide demand for services,” said BBA Aviation president Hugh McElroy. –K.J.H.

AT THE BOOTHS Becker Avionics (Booth No. 1652) is exhibiting the radio products that Jamco will be selling and supporting in ­Japan under a recently concluded agreement. Jamco will be an authorized Becker service ­ ­ center to provide line repairs, bench work, warranty and ­ exchange services while marketing the Becker Avionics ­product lines. Markus Schmitz, president and general ­manager for Becker Avionics in the U.S., said, “The ability to offer our Japanese customers a local support structure is something we have sought for several years. In Jamco we have found an excellent partner.” v

AgustaWestland debuts AW139M

by Kirby J. Harrison AgustaWestland announced at Heli-Expo 2011 the debut of the AW139M, a customized military version of its successful multi-role AW139. Featured earlier this year at the AFA Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, it carries in it military technology required by the U.S. Air Force’s common vertical lift support program (CVLSP).

Manufactured at the company’s Philadelphia facility and tailored with U.S. military technology from suppliers across the country, the AW139M carries high-definition forward-looking infrared system, heavy-duty landing gear and self-protection equipment, including infrared detection and countermeasures. Making the AW139M particularly well suited to military use, it also features low thermal and acoustic signatures and is available with a full ice-protection system, allowing all-weather operations.

Dressed in military garb, the AW139M includes dedicated equipment such as armored

seats, self-sealing fuel tanks and external hard points for carrying gun pods, missiles and air-toground rockets.

The AW139M has a cruise speed of 165 knots and,

according to AgustaWestland, offers 30 percent greater cabin volume and carries 50 percent more payload than the legacy CVLSP platform but with a similar external footprint. o

The militarized version of AgustaWestland’s AW139 features modifications such as heavy-duty landing gear, armored seats, self-sealing fuel tanks and weapons hard points.

Upgrade for LAPD air unit radios The Los Angeles Police Department is continuing an intensive avionics upgrade campaign for its air operation with selection of an airborne radio package from Toronto-based Technisonic Industries (Booth No. 2356).

The buy includes a TSOed audio system with capability to support seven transceivers in simulcast operation. The A711L system can be transferred to public address operation, leaving radio frequency settings undisturbed, and it remains audible in “the worst noise environments,” according to Technisonic.

A companion multi-band radio system, the TDFM-7300, also on display at Technisonic’s booth, can accommodate up to four digital P25-compliant transceivers. In addition, an analog VHF 30-50 MHz module is standard. The system can also provide frequency bands including VHF 136-174 MHz, UHF 380-470 MHz, UHF 450520 MHz and both the 700 MHz and 800 MHz band modules (764-870 MHz). –H.W. www.ainonline.com • March 8, 2011 • HAI Convention Newsaa15

Canadian research lab

boosts helo fly-by-wire IQ

by Nigel Moll The innate intelligence of fly-by-wire (FBW) flight controls makes them a natural for reducing the relatively high pilot workload that can come with rotary wings.

But to understand what sort of response the pilot expects from control inputs, a standard FBW system needs to be told what phase of flight or environment the helicopter is flying in, reimposing some workload that two research engineers with the Ottawa-based National Research Council Canada Institute for Aerospace Research (aka NRC Aerospace) aim to eliminate.

Bill Gubbels and Kris Ellis have been developing this technology for the past four years and they are excited about its possibilities. Said Stewart Baillie, director of the NRC Aerospace Flight Research Laboratory, “This new control system architecture gives pilots stability when they need it and agility when [with their primary flightcontrol inputs] they request it, all without making deliberate ‘mode-choice’ decisions on what the situation demands.” After flying the system in NRC’s technology demonstrator Bell 412, Baillie declared, “I would not want to fly any other way.”

The NRC’s technique blends rotorcraft control response types so that the frequency of the pilot’s input determines the control response applied. With this approach, a pilot making slow or deliberate inputs– for example, those typically used in poor visual conditions–commands the aircraft via translational rate control. A pilot using rapid control inputs, which are more common in an environment providing plenty of

visual cues, channels the control inputs to attitude and rate command control systems.

The NRC’s control structure combines the stability of a translational-rate-control system with the performance of a rate-command system without requiring discrete mode switching by the pilot.

“The beauty of the control system architecture is that if you move the stick

rapidly, the aircraft feels agile and nimble, yet predictable, but move the stick slowly and it’s stable. This gives the pilots the best of both worlds and lets them concentrate on flying the aircraft rather than managing the system,” noted engineer Ellis.

Added Gubbels, “This product is now available to potential licensees, and we believe it’s something that every new and retrofit fly-by-wire aircraft should have installed. The potential for this control architecture to improve operational effectiveness, particularly for military applications, is exponential.”

NRC Aerospace is seeking partners for the system and invites potential users to contact the department for further explanation of the interface’s applications. o

Oh Canada!

In a ceremony Sunday at Heli-Expo, Eurocopter celebrated the sale of six helicopters to Capitale Hélipro, a sightseeing operator in Quebec City. Present at the signing were (l-r) Capitale Hélicoptère president Danny Ricard, Capitale Hélipro president Stephane Huot, Eurocopter Canada president and CEO Guy Joannes and Richard Airlie, eastern Canada marketing manager for Eurocopter Canada. Included in the sale were three AS350B2s, two EC130B4s and one AS350B3.

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16aaHAI Convention News • March 8, 2011 • www.ainonline.com

StandardAero celebrates centennial

by Kirby J. Harrison StandardAero is kicking off its 100th birthday celebration at this year’s Heli-Expo, marking milestones and accomplishments over the past 100 years, as well as some more recent achievements.

Originally founded as Standard Machine Works in Winnipeg, Canada, in 1911, the company has grown into one of the world’s largest independent repair and overhaul specialists supporting the aerospace industry. The helicopter program was launched in 1967 when StandardAero gained authorization from Allison Engine to perform repair and overhaul of the Allison (now RollsRoyce) 250 turboshaft engine.

Adding a bit of cake to the celebration, in the past year, StandardAero has landed a number of key contracts to augment its growing maintenance, repair and overhaul service portfolio.

Among them was piece-parts MRO support for the U.S. Army TH-67 flying-hour program and, most recently, in March this year, a five-year contract for Rolls-Royce 250 support for the Nashville Metropolitan Police Department.

All work on engines for the seven-ship law enforcement fleet will be performed at StandardAero facilities in Winnipeg, Canada, and Concord, N.C. The engine models include the 250-C20B and 250-T63-A-720.

Also this month, StandardAero signed charter operator HeloAir of Richmond, Va., as an authorized support center. The agreement is for one year and includes optional one-year extensions at the end of each expiration date.

“We’re very excited to have Heli-Expo 2011 as the launch venue for our second 100 years,” said StandardAero v-p of helicopter programs Tom Roche. “Given our diversity and increasing momentum, our bicentennial should really be something,” he concluded. o

AT THE BOOTHS Pall Corporation, a specialist in filtration, separation and purification, is featuring its Centrisep engine advanced protection system here at Heli-Expo (Booth No. 433).

In addition, other product designs to support all major helicopter manufacturers are on display. The company is also hosting a technical seminar titled “Helicopter Engine Inlet Protection” yesterday. Shielding helicopter engine air inlets is a critical safety, performance and reliability issue, as well as important for preventing the ingestion of sand, water, ice, snow, salt and foreign objects. v

Unmanned K-Max deploying to Afghanistan this summer

by Harry Weisberger

helicopter OEM and major subcontractor to other aerospace firms. “Diversity is the key,” he said, explaining that the company seeks to balance OEM and contract work and civil and military business.

Kaman recently acquired an aerospace design firm near Boeing’s Seattle facilities, which adds 170 design and stress engineers. It has also acquired a composite fabrication and tooling facility in the UK, just opened a manufacturing center n Chihuahua, Mexico, and expanded its aerostructure production capabilities in Jacksonville, Fla. o

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The pilotless Aerial Truck has demonTwo Kaman K-Max Aerial Trucks configured for unmanned operations are strated a 150–nm radius of action carrybeing prepared for delivery this summer to ing one-ton loads. It can dispense four loads at four different locations, while burning 50 meet the urgent resupply requirements of U.S. Marine Corps troops in Afghanistan. percent less fuel than manned helicopters Developed by Kaman Helicopters with the same cargo-carrying capacity.

The K-Max, Bordonaro pointed and Lockheed Martin, the unmanned K-Max is expected to free widely dis- out, is the only helicopter that can lift persed and overextended aviation person- more than its own empty weight. With nel and equipment for other demanding an empty weight slightly more than 5,000 pounds, it can carry sling loads missions. Meanwhile, the pilotless up to 6,000 pounds. The K-Max can K-Max will reduce aircrew vulbe quickly shifted between piloted nerability to hostile action and and unmanned operations through exposure of supply operations to removal and replacement of remote roadside IED attacks. control equipment.

Sal Bordonaro, Kaman Heli“It will take some time” for copters division president, said the unmanned Aerial Truck to achievement of operational migrate into civil use, said Borunmanned helicopter flight fuldonaro, adding that he thinks fills a long-held goal of the late it will prove valuable in remote Charles Kaman. “Back in 1953 areas delivering humanitarian Charlie demonstrated pilotless Sal Bordonaro, aid, supporting energy explorahelicopter flight on the televidivision president of tion, in firefighting and in supsion show ‘You Asked For It.’ Kaman Helicopter port of offshore oil production.

His perseverance over the years Separately, Kaman serves U.S. heliinspired our progress on getting prepared copter forces by providing Hontek eroto achieve unmanned K-Max flight.”

Kaman Helicopters began working sion protection to the main and tail rotor toward unmanned Aerial Truck oper- blades of Army UH-60 Black Hawks ation in 1998. This led to a December deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, where 2010 contract to meet the U.S. Marine sand, dust and other airborne particulates Corps requirement for pilotless ship-to- pose a major threat to blade longevity.

Bare or taped blades may require shore resupply.

direct maintenance per flight hour of from $50 to $250 per hour, depending on the severity of the erosion environment, while blades with Kaman’s protective multi-layer coating generate maintenance costs from $11 to $20 per flight hour.

Kaman, the only U.S. company certified to apply the Hontek coatings, operates a blade coating facility as part of its HeliworX subcontracting unit in Bloomfield, Conn.

Bordonaro noted that Kaman continues to expand its subcontracting activities from the unique position of both a

PAC International shows refurbed Lion Aero Bell 230

Jet Ranger/ Long Ranger Operators

PMA’d TT Straps Technical superiority doesn’t have to cost more.

In fact, it can cost less. Thousands less.

by Kirby J. Harrison Corporate operator Lion Aero was looking for a good value in a light or intermediate twin-engine helicopter to meet its corporate transport needs. What the company found was a Bell 230 that had done extensive corporate service in India. It would need “substantial work,” to understate the challenge.

Enter MRO and refurbishment specialist PAC International. While the airframe fundamentals were there, the aircraft was not airworthy and additional work was needed to bring the helicopter to the standard required by Lion Aero’s corporate passengers.

Following its arrival at the Port of Baltimore, the helicopter was trucked to PAC International’s southwestern Pennsylvania facility. It began its next life with an inspection and review of what had to be done. Then

it progressed through modifications and repairs, upgrades to the drive, electrical and avionics systems, interior refurbishment and finally a flashy exterior paint job.

When it was done, Lion Aero took its new aircraft on an extended business trip to New York and then to Florida for evaluation as to suitability for its mission.

PAC director of maintenance Ed Wahl was sufficiently happy with the results that he appealed to Lion Aero to allow PAC to display the “new” helicopter at its Heli-Expo 2011 exhibit. Lion Aero, equally happy, agreed.

To get a look at “The ugly duckling that turned in to a lion,” visit the PAC International exhibit (Booth No. 1021).

Oooohs and ahhhhs are gratefully accepted. o

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www.ainonline.com • March 8, 2011 • HAI Convention Newsaa17

by James Wynbrandt Russia “hearts” h ­elicopters.

That was the message from the Moscow-based Helicopter Industry Association of Russia (HIAR) at its press conference at Heli-Expo 2011 yesterday.

Four of Russia’s leading ­helicopter operators–UTair, Vertical-T, Pahn Helicopters and Aviashelf–provided proof with a snapshot of their operations, opportunities and challenges.

Mamed Kasumov of UTair, Russia’s largest civilian helicopter operator with some 250 rotorcraft in its fleet, said, “Our message to HAI is that UTair Aviation will continue as a global operator and will be offering not only Russian-built but Westernbuilt helicopters.”

Indeed, the company already operates several Eurocopters and signed a contract at Heli-Expo to buy 15 EC175s. Kasumov said the company is in purchasing negotiations with AgustaWestland and Robinson Helicopter. UTair has subsidiaries in Europe, South

Africa, India and Peru and annual revenues in excess of $1.5 billion.

Vertical-T, based outside of Moscow, is also a global operator, and is currently targeting opportunities in Alaska, Australia, Indonesia and Latin America, according to deputy director Lyudmila Baraney. The company has a fleet of 25 rotorcraft, including an Mi-26, capable of lifting up to 20 tons.

Recently Vertical-T rescued a U.S. CH-47 Chinook and a Super Puma shot down in Afghanistan. “We got a personal thank you note from President Obama” after the Chinook rescue, Baraney said.

Viktor Aksyutin, general director of Aviashelf, formed in 1998 to support gas projects on Sakhalin Island on Russia’s east coast, today also provides transportation to remote areas and performs EMS, SAR and forest firefighting missions. Aksyutin spotlighted the company’s newest capability: aerial seeding,

Flat-panel display earns vibration qualification Universal Avionics’ new EFI-890R flat-panel display suite was recently tested and successfully qualified for several helicopter-specific vibration profiles covering 13 known models, signifying a new installation platform for the product.

The high-vibration environment in which rotorcraft operate presents a unique challenge to avionics manufacturers. Equipment proven rugged enough for installation in helicopters must

performed with seeding equipment designed by the company.

(The major shareholder in the company, which operates Mi8MTV-1 and Mi-8t helicopters, is the Bristow Group.)

Oleg Khudolenko, d ­eputy director general of Pahn Helicopters, based in southern Russia, noted the need for unified regulations, as well as better cooperation in adopting them, as recent experience with international standards made clear. “After the adoption of these documents, problems appeared,” he said. “Some provisions are of low quality, and these problems could be prevented if we had a dialog with [international] colleagues at the stage of adoption.”

Khudolenko also suggested that western helicopter manufacturers that want to sell aircraft in Russia would do well to set up maintenance and service centers in the country.

That message is not lost on Giuseppe Orsi, CEO of AgustaWestland (AW). At the press conference, Orsi was given HIAR’s annual medal

jewel, our 139, in Russia in a joint venture.”

Muscovite Michael Farikh provided a private pilot’s perspective on helicopter flying in Russia. “After the Soviet Union crashed, aerodromes were closed.

We have nine time zones and only 338 aerodromes,” he said, noting that leaves very few places for fixed-wing operations, “so I think the Russian market is wide open for helicopters.” o

MARIANO ROSALES

Russian helicopter operators lay plans for global expansion

for contributions to the Russian helicopter industry, for the joint-production facility the company established in Moscow with Oboronprom to build AW139 helicopters. The factory is scheduled to begin operations this summer. “We can be competitive and we can be collaborative,” Orsi said in accepting the award. “The Russian market is very important, and we decided to produce our crown

Arrow to outfit bell 412 Rubén Primak (second from left), director general of ­Argentina’s Gruppo Modena, poses with Arrow Aviation’s Mel Laite (l.), David Guidry and Cyril Guidry, after signing a deal to complete his ­company’s new 412 with the Cobham four-screen EFIS system.

meet RTCA/DO-160F standards, in particular, testing for vibration levels far exceeding those for fixed-wing aircraft.

Visitors to Heli-Expo 2011 may observe and operate the EFI-890R at the Universal exhibit (Booth No. 4650). The integrated flat-panel displays offer significant improvement in situational awareness and safety essential for the unique operational requirements of rotary-wing aircraft, including synthetic vision display. –K.J.H.

Bell Helicopter gave expectations a boost on the opening day of Heli-Expo 2011 by bagging 13 orders from five customers, followed by an additional 10 orders on day two of the show. “These orders signify the continuing involvement of the helicopter industry and the relevance of [Heli-Expo] as a venue to conduct commercial helicopter business,” said Larry Roberts, Bell senior v-p of commercial business.

The 13 orders came from: Urban Development Group of Panama, a 407GX; Alvac of Idaho, a 407GX; Helicopter Flight Services of New York City, a 407GX; PT SMAC of Indonesia, three 429s and six 412s; and Global Vectra of India, a Bell 412. The 10 more recent orders include a 429 for Helisul of Brazil, but the identities of the remaining nine buyers n weren’t revealed by Bell.

MARIANO ROSALES

Bell Helicopter Bags 23 Orders on First two Days of Show

18aaHAI Convention News • March 8, 2011 • www.ainonline.com

In a new york state of mind Against an air traffic display depicting the metro New York area, the FAA's Mary Ann Davis answers questions from Ken Johnson of Rockland County, N.Y. at the agency's booth on Sunday.

CY CYR

heavy-hitting CH-53K will be when it enters service.

The venerable helicopter manufacturer derived 57 percent of its $6.7 billion revenue in 2010 from building and selling aircraft. Seventy percent of that $6.7 billion was earned from U.S. defense contracts–a ratio that Sikorsky is delighted to have and needs to maintain in these hard times. But with the Obama administration tasking the Pentagon with cutting expenditures by $78 billion over the next five years, Sikorsky

Sikorsky president Jeff Pino

also sees the need to double its non-U.S. government work in the years ahead. Defense budget cuts notwithstanding, Sikorsky’s bread-and-butter defense programs, the Black Hawk and the CH-53K, continue to thrive unmolested, at least for now.

On the commercial side, sales of the S-76 and S-92 brought in some $900 million last year. This particular segment of Sikorsky’s accounting system will include revenues from Canada’s military

MD gears up for large orders uContinued from page 1 Partners investment portfolio, said she is taking a more handson approach at MDH to ensure it can fulfill the orders. “I have stepped back into the helm and full-time CEO role, four or five days every two weeks to rebuild each and every area of MD.” Tilton also highlighted recent product innovations the company is showcasing in the aircraft at its display (Booth No. 1618) at Heli-Expo 2011: a new composite blade for the MD500F developed by Van Horn Aviation; the Sagem ICGS display system currently undergoing certification for installation on MD500 series helicopters; the Garmin G500H dual-screen display certified for installation on the MD500E; and LED exterior

batteries will be good for only 15 minutes of flight time. As Pino pointed out yesterday, Igor Sikorsky’s early accomplishments (an endurance record of one hour, 15 minutes, for example) appeared to have limited practical application at the time: “Electric helicopter power is teaching us how to use electric power for the tail rotor instead of taking engine power to the tail, for example.”

Just how hefty is the 88,000pound CH-53K currently under development? Pilot Pino put it this way: “Its main rotor hub and transmission weigh 15,000 pounds–as much as an entire Black Hawk. It is exactly the same size as a CH-53E, but it will lift three to four times as much.

The tail rotor provides the same thrust as the S-76’s main rotor, and the main rotor provides as much thrust as six Black Hawks.”

While most recently the X2 has drawn much of the aviation media’s attention on new tech, Sikorsky is also proud of its system for detecting hostile fire, which will help Black Hawk crews in harm’s way

lighting from Emteq.

“We have a name that people recognize and great products, but what we didn’t do as well is innovate,” said Tilton, who bought MDH in 2005. “We continue to evolve, and I like to think this year we’ve made some headway.”

Tilton said the company’s next innovation will be a glass cockpit for the MD902, and she added that Garmin is among the companies working on the upgrade. MDH will also introduce a new aircraft, the MD540F, a hybrid of the MD530F and the MD600, which will occupy a sweet spot in power and performance between the two models and is expected to have more appeal in the marketplace.

The MD540F will be aimed at the foreign military market and at domestic EMS helicopter operators. “The cabin is perfect [for EMS] and it’s a little more easy to handle” than the MD600,

Tilton said. “It’s something we can do in the short term, because they’ll be made from pieces of our [current] aircraft.”

Looking back on the past year, Tilton reported that MDH sold 20 helicopters: one twinengine MD902 Explorer and the rest single-engine aircraft.

The company also continues its in-sourcing production efforts, and in the past year has brought some of the assembly work for the MD902, previously built in Turkey, back to its Mesa plant.

At last year’s Heli-Expo Tilton, combating rumors the company was near shutting down, said it then had $11 million in overdue payments to vendors outstanding. This year overdue payments “are zero,” Tilton said. “We are extremely excited about the future. We keep working on our processes so we can get better and better so we can deliver.” o

Sikorsky Coy on Eclipse Production Plans Sikorsky president Jeff Pino, himself the owner of an Eclipse 500, continues to decline to reveal how much Sikorsky paid when it invested in Eclipse Aerospace last year. On the prospects for restarting production of the small twinjet, Pino said: “If we can make a case for production, that’s something we do really well. And no, despite the rumors, we didn’t invest in Eclipse so I could get parts.” n

react effectively to ground fire aimed in their direction, and its advances in “optionally piloted” helicopters. But the X2’s progression from first flight to its target speed of 250 knots in just 17 flights, and at a total cost of just $50 million, has certainly caught the attention of the industry.

The S-97 Raider, a military application of the X2’s contrarotating rigid rotors and tailmounted propulsor announced last year, is expected to fly within four years. The single-turbine aircraft will have an mtow of between 9,000 and 10,000 pounds and will be designed from the outset to fly with none, one or two pilots.

Pino remains bullish on the prospects for the X2 technology, which he says is highly scalable– to the point that computer studies have taken the configuration

to as much as 250,000 pounds mtow. Whether or not there would be demand for such a large rotary-wing aircraft is another question, and Pino concedes that beyond a certain size it makes more sense to support a load with wings for long-haul transportation. But Pino is convinced that in the X2 Sikorsky has a better solution for combining VTOL with speed than any tiltrotor or tiltwing: “We never lose the attributes of a helicopter. It’s a helicopter that goes fast, not an airplane that lands and takes off like a helicopter.”

Sikorsky’s wind-tunnel experiments with leading-edge and trailing-edge flaps on main rotor blades are yielding results promising enough to prompt Pino to predict that they could even replace the swashplate someday as the primary means of controlling a helicopter. o

R-R forecasts $140B in sales

authorized service centers to support the engine. At Heli-Expo, the company announced the approval of 11 RR300 service centers in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the UK and the U.S. (Long Beach Helicopters).

The 475-shp RR500 remains under development and recently concluded initial test runs, including engine start and acceleration to partial power. Automated engine testing will begin later this year and Rolls-Royce expects engine certification in 2013. o

uContinued from page 1 are beginning to support a positive environment for civil rotorcraft.”

Rolls-Royce executives here at Heli-Expo said the company is continuing to work on two new civil engine programs, the RR300 and the RR500.

The certified RR300 currently is flying in the new Robinson R66 and Rolls-Royce (Booth No. 2528) is in the process of establishing

Turbine Powered Rotorcraft Forecast 2011-2020

Rotorcraft Units

uContinued from page 1

S-92s beginning later this year.

Interestingly, Pino sees the rise in the price of oil not from the perspective of $4 a gallon at the pump, but from the motivation it will exert on the oil and gas industry to search farther afield for the precious stuff, a process that relies ever more on large, sophisticated helicopters. “The price of oil is the best indicator of dollar growth in the helicopter industry,” he claimed.

“And there’s talk by some people of it reaching $120 a barrel.”

Pino also noted that half the current helicopter fleet is more than 20 years old. “From our perspective, the market will begin to come back at the end of this year into mid-2012. By 2013, demand will outstrip supply.”

With nearly 800 S-76s delivered so far and 5.6 million hours in their collective logbook, the S-76D program continues to work toward certification by late this year. With new main- and tail-rotor blades, new engines and a new cockpit, it will have 600 pounds more OGE hover performance than the S-76C++ it replaces and meet all current and proposed ICAO noise regulations, said Pino.

There are now 132 Sikorsky S-92s operating in 22 countries, and a Bristow S-92 has logged its 10,000th hour.

Production of the S-434 is moving from Elmira, N.Y., to the Sikorsky facility in Coatesville, Pa., and Pino has high hopes for where the Firefly electric helicopter technology demonstrator could someday lead. As currently designed, the helicopter has a 200-hp electric motor, and its 1,100-pound complement of

Civil Rotorcraft Sales by Class Rotorcraft Sales (units)

Sikorsky rebound

www.ainonline.com • March 8, 2011 • HAI Convention Newsaa19

Sandel adds wire avoidance to HeliTaws Sandel Avionics is demonstrating the wire-strike prevention feature it is adding to its HeliTaws ST3400H terrainavoidance system. The Vista, Calif., displays manufacturer (Booth No. 3518) is showing comparison video from a helicopter flight over northern San Diego County with simultaneous side-by-side presentations of the Helitaws and another company’s terrain awareness warning system (Taws).

The video includes Sandel’s WireWatch feature depicting power transmission lines and towers along and adjacent to the helicopter flight path,

color-coded according to relative altitude and threat level.

The company is compiling a detailed list of transmission lines throughout the U.S. and plans to offer customized terrain databases containing wire hazards for specific operating areas. Sandel says it is the only helicopter Taws provider in the world to be adding wire avoidance to its terrain database.

The comparison video shows a competing Taws, which meets minimum operating performance standards terrain-avoidance criteria, generating and displaying a large number of nuisance alerts as the helicopter maneuvers over hilly terrain.

Sandel CEO Gerry Block, who was on the flight, said, “While both systems could, in theory, help to avoid CFIT [controlled flight into terrain], only HeliTaws could recognize a real hazard, display it properly and provide guidance without a constant barrage of nuisance alerts. It got so bad we had to turn the [other system’s] aural alert off.” –H.W.

Russia’s UTair buys 15 EC175s Russian helicopter operator UTair signed an agreement to purchase 15 Eurocopter EC175 medium utility rotorcraft at Heli-Expo yesterday, three years after signing a letter of intent at Heli-Expo 2008 when the aircraft was first introduced. Deliveries of the 16-passenger EC175 to UTair will commence in 2013 and the order will be completed in 2014.

“This is another important endorsement for the EC175,” said Dr. Lutz Bertling, Eurocopter president and CEO at the signing ceremony in front of a mockup

of the helicopter at the company’s display area (Booth No. 4637). “We are committed to justifying UTair’s trust in us.”

UTair has been operating Eurocopter helicopters since 2006. Its current fleet includes the AS350B3, AS355N and BO105, used in a range of missions, including oil and gas industry support, aeromedical, VIP transportation and humanitarian assistance.

“UTair will use the EC175s for further market expansion and in our development of the oil and gas segment,” said Andrey

Martirosov, general director of UTair Aviation. “The quality of Eurocopter products, along with its high level of technical support, gives us confidence in taking these new steps for our further strategic development.”

No terms of the agreement were disclosed, and Eurocopter declined to quote a price for the EC175. –J.W. Three years after the launch of the EC175, Russia’s UTair converted its letter of intent into a firm order for 15 of the new medium twin helicopters. The order is expected to be filled by 2014.

StandardAero Marks 100th With Donation to Copters for a Cause StandardAero marked the launch of its 100th anniversary year here with the donation of $1,750 to Denver-based non-profit Copters for a Cause. In a brief ceremony at the StandardAero booth (No. 1928) ­yesterday, Tom Roche, v-p of helicopter programs made the presentation to Copters for a Cause founder and chairman Cayce Batterson. n

Milestone Aviation Buys Five Sikorsky S-76C++ Helicopters To Offer for Lease Sikorsky Aircraft and Milestone Aviation Group of Dublin, I­reland, announced jointly yesterday Milestone’s order for five Sikorsky S-76C++ helicopters, for delivery to Milestone in the second half of this year. Milestone (Booth No. 4042) plans to offer the new helicopters for lease to helicopter operators anywhere in the world.

“The S-76C++ is a great helicopter and a workhorse of the o ­ ffshore oil and gas industry,” said Richard Santulli, chairman of ­Milestone Aviation.

Said Carey Bond, president of Sikorsky Global Helicopters, “By ­leasing out and providing 100 percent financing that ultimately allows end users to operate our aircraft, Milestone Aviation Group has quickly become an important customer for Sikorsky.”

Santulli was the founder and chairman of NetJets, the first and still the largest provider of fractional aircraft. He founded Milestone Aviation last August, after his resignation from NetJets in August 2009. n

MARIANO ROSALES

The Sandel ST3400H Helitaws high resolution display with the new WireWatch feature clearly depicts power transmission lines, color-coded to identify immediate hazards.

FAA drops case against Phoenix Heliparts The FAA has agreed to drop its decertification case against Phoenix Heliparts in return for the Mesa, Ariz., repair facility withdrawing its appeal to the NTSB of the FAA’s revocation of Phoenix Heliparts’ Part 145 repair station certificate last August.

The agreement allows Phoenix Heliparts to start the re-certification process immediately.

Tina Cannon, the company’s president, said, “The case is now closed; we look forward to working closely with the FAA Flight Standards District Office [FSDO] in Scottsdale in the recertification process.”

Cannon said the revocation was based on alleged paperwork discrepancies in 2008 under previous management, but not initiated by the FAA legal office

20aaHAI Convention News • March 8, 2011 • www.ainonline.com

until 2010, after the company had completed a move to its current location near Mesa Falcon Field Airport.

After the relocation the local FSDO re-issued Phoenix Heliparts’ Part 145 certificate under the new address following a thorough review of company operations and documentation.

Nevertheless, Cannon related, the FAA made an “emergency” revocation of the certificate.

“When the federal government exercises its emergency power, normal due process is thrown out the window. Small businesses such as Phoenix Heliparts are simply no match for the federal government,” she said.

Cannon said she expects no problem in regaining the company’s Part 145 repair station certificate because the application

will be based on material previously approved by the FAA. She expressed gratitude to “the many customers and colleagues who have stood by us and given encouragement during this difficult period.” –H.W.

AT THE BOOTHS Donaldson has delivered the first full-scale engine air particle protection system (EAPPS) to Sikorsky for the CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter destined to achieve initial operating capability (IOC) with the U.S. Marines in 2018. Qualification testing of the EAPPS will begin in May. Each of the helicopter’s three GE38-1B turboshafts will be equipped with the Donaldson filtration systems, which use “Strata-Tube” technology to provide a lightweight and low-maintenance means of protecting the engines from dust and sand. Donaldson says the EAPPS produces low airflow restriction while removing 97 ­ percent of coarse test sand. v

Eurocopter notes drop in orders; targets growth in Asia, China

by Thierry Dubois Eurocopter released figures for 2010 revenues and bookings early this year, revealing that while turnover increased, notably because of more deliveries in the medium-twin segment, orders dropped below a six-year average. The M ­ arignane, France-based manufacturer said it expects sustained activity or growth in the Asia market and in its service segment.

Total revenues grew by another 6 percent last year to €4.8 billion ($6.6 billion), while deliveries were down one unit– 527 versus 528 in 2009. “The crisis has impacted light helicopters but we handed over more medium twins and our service business grew as well,” CEO Lutz Bertling explained at the company’s annual press conference in Paris in late January.

Referring to the continuing downturn in the helicopter industry, Bertling said the 6-percent growth is “not a bad result in this environment.” Profit would be disclosed later by parent company EADS, he said, but Bertling added that Eurocopter’s number is in the black and above the EADS average.

Helicopter production accounted for 53 percent of revenues, while services amounted to 36 percent, he said, with the rest coming from other activities, such as Airbus door production. Services include training and logistics as well as maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO).

The report revealed that civil and parapublic activity represented 54 percent of the turnover. Bertling thus claimed a 49-percent market share in civil and parapublic helicopters, based on global deliveries.

Orders Down 25 Percent

The trend for orders was not as good as for deliveries Orders decreased to €4.3 billion–a 25-percent drop from 2009. Paradoxically, the difference in the number of net-ordered helicopters was positive–346 versus 344 in 2009. In fact, activity for 2009 included a high-value contract with Brazil for 50 EC725 Cougar medium twins. In 2010, the Super Puma/Cougar family was the best performer, Bertling said, as “the oil and gas market did very well.” Order cancellations during 2010 ranged from 35 to 50, up from the usual 30 to 35 per year.

In value, services accounted for 42 percent of orders, thus reflecting the increase Bertling is betting on. That segment is to be strengthened this year with the addition of flight simulators in the UK, France, Brazil and several Asian countries. The company also expects to make an external MRO acquisition this year.

In the future, system upgrade s­ ervices are expected to contribute, too, as new designs such as the X4 (a Dauphin replacement) will need hardware and software “waves of upgrades” every four to five years,” Bertling said.

The geographical allocation of business last year saw a significant reshuffle.

Asia was number one and Latin A ­ merica number two in helicopter sale value, at €811 million (€1.1 billion) and €497 ­million ($680 million), respectively. Asia currently is expected to keep the lead or, at least, to stay a major contributor to revenues. Focusing on China, Bertling said that, given the size of the country, the 200-or-so civil helicopters flying there are a tiny number compared with some 10,000 civil rotorcraft flying in the U.S. So, in an effort to spur helicopter growth in the region, Eurocopter is considering building a final assembly line there.

Europe (including the CIS) and North America are the two regions that so far had accounted for most sales. Yet, combined, they just equaled Asia’s share in 2010.

Olivier Lambert, senior v-p for sales and customer relations, told AIN that he hopes traditional markets for light helicopters will pick up again late this year or early in 2012.

Positive Outlook

Bertling said he expects unit deliveries to slip this year by 5 to 10 percent. But, thanks to increased sales in service and sales of the pricier medium twins, the decrease should not be reflected in value, he said. He predicted that the pace of orders will remain steady in units and grow in value.

In the company’s year-end report, Eurocopter CEO Lutz Bertling reported that the OEM experienced a drop in orders, but saw an upturn in medium-twin deliveries and an increase in service sector activity.

The Shape reorganization plan, which “is aimed at adapting the company to the new economic context, while maintaining sustainable growth and leadership in the market,” calls for an annual €200 million ($270 million) savings, and company officials estimate they achieved half of this target in 2010. The objective should be fully met this year, they stressed.

According to CFO Dieter John, Eurocopter’s headcount has grown by 2,000 over the last two years but 700 to 800 temporary workers had to leave the factories. He anticipates the current workforce of 16,000 will be stable this year.

Two facilities will be overhauled. In the northern outskirts of Paris, the La Courneuve blade factory will be transferred to a still-to-be-built one in Dugny, by the end of 2013. In Germany, design

activities at the Ottobrunn site will be moved to Donauwörth, which already regroups production and flight-test facilities. The latter move is planned for 2012.

Bertling insisted Brazil is to become Eurocopter’s fourth home country (in addition to France, Germany and Spain). “In the 2020s, we will have a ­Brazilian design in our product range,” he said, clarifying European engineers will contribute, too.

As a first major step, Eurocopter will have EC725 Cougar military transports assembled in Itajubá, Brazil, from 2012.

The manufacturer plans to increase its research-and-development budget by another 20 percent this year. This should bring it to about €240 million ($330 million). Finally, Bertling announced that “a new helicopter version” will make its maiden flight this year. o

EADS Envisions Hybrid-engine Helo by 2020 Industry observers suggest it is possible that Eurocopter could ­exhibit a addition, the tail rotor’s electric drive allows designers to get rid of the tail hybrid helicopter, using both piston engines and electric motors like a h­ ybrid rotor shaft. Battery technology is also expected to improve in the future and car, by Heli-Expo 2020. Last year parent company EADS unveiled a ­helicopter thus ­provide lighter electric power storage. Jänker hopes the company will concept that could burn 50 percent less fuel than its traditional equivalent. achieve “reduced fuel consumption at competitive weight.”

Its subsidiary EADS Innovation Works is devising a way to combine diesel The helicopter’s fuel savings will come from several features, he said. ­engines, generators, batteries and electric motors. According to Peter J­ änker, Diesel engines could burn 30 percent less fuel than today’s turboshafts, he research team leader for electric power and responsible for the project, those explained. In addition, changes to aerodynamics and systems are expected technologies might be mature in “four to nine years.” to yield more fuel savings.

The concept is part of EADS’s eCO2avia ­effort Among those changes could be replacfor greener aircraft. J­änker’s team, with i­nput ing mechanical linkages with electric connecfrom Eurocopter, has worked on a three-mettions, which would allow the main rotor and ric-ton-class (6,600 pounds) h­elicopter. “The its electrical drive to be t­ilted forward during hybrid concept would be suitable for small or cruise avoiding the drag resulting from a noselarge ­airframes,” he said. The hybrid h­ elicopter down attitude. The tail rotor would have no meresearchers envision diesel engines that feed chanical linkage to the main rotor and its power batteries through electric generators. In turn, source and thus could be disengaged at higher electric motors drive the rotors. speeds, when the rudder provides enough yaw EADS engineers currently working to imcontrol. The resulting decrease in fuel burn would prove physical models are “intensively running also help reduce weight. “For a 600-plus-kilome­computer simulations,” Jänker said, adding that ter range [320 nm], we think a hybrid helicopter the results confirm the imminence of a serial In its quest to create greener aircraft, a team from EADS would consume 660 pounds of fuel, versus 1,230 Innovation Works is devising a way to combine diesel ­hybrid helicopter. pounds with today’s technology,” Jänker said.

Meanwhile, researchers are considering engines, generators, batteries and electric motors to The developers also hope the hybrid conpower a hybrid helicopter. the ­relative merits of two versus three engines. cept will reduce the helicopter’s noise footprint.

While two engines can be enough for redundancy, there are additional beneTakeoffs and landings should be possible on electric power alone, reducing fits to having three, he said. “On a twin, each engine must be able to provide perceived noise. maximum power. On a three-engine helicopter, two ­engines may combine to The next steps for the project are maturing electric motors and testing deliver maximum power,” Jänker said. Thus, he said, designers can avoid low-weight combustion engines, said Jänker. EADS is considering opposedoversizing the engine. piston, opposed-cylinder engines. He did suggest that certification could be The key challenge the project poses is weight. “For the engines, we are challenging because a large electric system would be replacing mechanical aiming for a power density of two kilowatts per kilogram. Right now we dynamics. However, Jänker insisted that redundancies, with three engines are at 1.6,” Jänker said. Weight can be pared through elimination of the and two segregated batteries–which can enable the pilot to fly for a few main gearbox, which will be unnecessary with a direct electric drive. In ­minutes with all engines out–will help demonstrate a high level of safety. –T.D.

www.ainonline.com • March 8, 2011 • HAI Convention Newsaa21

Heli world loses icon as Charles Kaman passes

by Mark Huber The helicopter world lost an icon when pioneer, inventor and philanthropist Charlie Kaman died January 31 at the age of 91.

Charles Huron Kaman earned an aeronautical engineering degree from Catholic University in 1940 and later was employed at United Aircraft’s Hamilton Standard division, where he worked with Igor Sikorsky.

In 1945, at age 26, he founded Kaman Aircraft in his mother’s garage, serving as its CEO until 1999 and chairman until 2001.

Today Kaman Aerospace has annual revenues of $1.2 billion.

Multitude of Inventions

Under Charles Kaman’s leadership, the company invented rotor blade servo flaps, intermeshing main rotors that eliminated the need for a tail rotor,

Charles H. Kaman

composite main rotor blades, the first single and twin gas-turbine powered helicopters and the first remotely piloted helicopter.

The company flew intermeshing rotor helicopters as early as 1947 with the Kaman K-125, then in 1951, it introduced the first gas turbine-powered

Kaman’s military legacy includes the SH-2G(A) Super Seasprite (above) and H-43 Husky.

helicopter–the K-225. Kaman’s legacy helicopters include the H-43 Husky, which flew more rescue missions during the Korean and Vietnam wars than any other helicopter, the SH-2 Seasprite and the K-Max “aerial truck.”

Charles Kaman also founded Ovation Instruments in 1966, producer of the iconic roundedback acoustic guitar that bears the company’s name, and a flatbodied model with active electronics called the Breadwinner.

Kaman incorporated aeronautical engineering principles, a unique semi-parabolic shape, patented composite materials and manufacturing techniques into his instruments. Ovation guitars became a staple of the 1960s and 1970s rock music scene and were played by artists including the Beatles’ John Lennon and Jimmy Page of the Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin.

Ovation later became the Kaman Music Corp. (KMC) and branched out beyond guitars into percussion, hardware and amplifiers. It was also the exclusive distributor of Sabian cymbals. KMC was sold to Fender Musical Instruments in 2007 for $117 million.

In 1960, Kaman and his wife Roberta created the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation to breed and train Bavarian German shepherds to act as guide dogs for the blind. Fidelco continues its work today, spending an average of $45,000 to breed, train, place and maintain each dog at no cost to the client. Recipients of Fidelco dogs today include

The K-Max, Kaman’s medium-lift “aerial truck,” has seen duty hoisting cargo, raising power line and construction materials, as well as in emergency response roles.

U.S. servicemen who have been blinded by roadside bombs in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Diversified Portfolio

During Charles Kaman’s tenure, Kaman Aerospace moved beyond helicopters and became a diversified aviation, defense, industrial and research corporation. Its portfolio of products includes aircraft bearings and components; complex metallic and composite aerostructures for fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft; and safe-and-arm devices for missile and bomb systems.

Charles Kaman was the recipient of the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal, the National Medal

Hopes high for reopening D.C. heliport to civil ops The manager of Washington, D.C.’s South Capitol Street Heliport (09W) said he is optimistic that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will approve a plan that complies with security requirements to permit the reopening of the facility to corporate traffic. Heliport manager Don Scimonelli said an interagency group is “working on a good solution” that would let security-cleared aircraft back in to 09W but that the development was “still brand new.”

The heliport is located on the Anacostia River one mile northeast of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and is home base to D.C. Metro Police’s aviation unit and select transient medevac and military flights. The facility opened in 1988 and at its apex had 41 regular corporate operators. After 9/11 and until 2005, limited commercial operations were allowed at 09W provided they complied with FAA Notams and TSA requirements; however, since then they have been prohibited because

of security concerns.

Scimonelli credited the intervention of D.C. congressional delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton for moving the TSA to reexamine its civil traffic ban on the heliport. Last November, Norton, a senior member of both the House Aviation Subcommittee and Homeland Security Committee, sent a letter to TSA Administrator John Pistole that urged a reconsideration. Norton said the government’s action amounted to “takeover of a private facility without compensation” despite “the willingness of the heliport to submit to whatever structures and regulations the government chose to impose on them.”

Her objection was echoed in an earlier, and unsuccessful, lawsuit brought against the federal government by Air Pegasus, the heliport’s operator between 1992 and 2002.

The U.S. Court of Claims dismissed the lawsuit that, in effect, charged the government with a de facto unlawful taking of property via regulation. The U.S.

22aaHAI Convention News • March 8, 2011 • www.ainonline.com

Court of Appeals upheld that ruling, noting that it is the government’s right to control airspace, and that a private party’s property rights do not extend to said airspace. The Appeals Court noted that while the FAA action may have adversely impacted Air Pegasus, “there was not a taking of any cognizable property interest of Air Pegasus.”

Mirror DCA Security

Norton is recommending that 09W be reopened with security requirements for private aircraft that mirror those already in place at DCA, including nonstop flights only, designated gateway airports and heliports, and passenger and crew screening. She said continuing to deny civilian use of 09W is “a violation of due process” and “punitive” to the local economy.

At the time civil service to the heliport was suspended there were plans in the works to establish scheduled helicopter service between it, the Wall Street Heliport

of Technology and the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy.

He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame and the Naval Aviation Hall of Honor and was an Honorary Fellow of the American Helicopter Society and the Royal Aeronautical Society.

He also was awarded honorary degrees from the University of Connecticut, the University of Hartford and the University of Colorado.

“He led a remarkable life as an inventor, entrepreneur, musician, humanitarian and visionary,” said current Kaman CEO Neal Keating. “His career was, in many ways, the epitome of the American dream.” o

in New York City and commercial airports in Washington, D.C., and New York.

Scimonelli said the heliport sees an average of two to three operations per day, but that some 15 corporate operators have expressed an interest in resuming flights there. If these flights do resume, he said he expected they initially would amount to no more than one to two additional operations per day. “They will not be coming in droves,” he said.

For now, Scimonelli said the volume of military and medevac flights using the heliport is increasing. Medevac flights landing at 09W primarily are transporting patients to Washington’s George Washington or Children’s hospitals or the John Hopkins hospital in Baltimore. Occasionally, medevac helicopters are forced to remain overnight due to winter weather concerns. Scimonelli said those flights typically are cleared to the heliport under special VFR. Work on an instrument approach to 09W was suspended in 2005, he said, because the heliport owner “did not have the money to complete it. Our growth has been stunted.” –M.H.

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