HAI Convention News 02-27-14

HAI

FEB. 27, 2014

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Helicopter ops are now on NTSB’s ‘Most Wanted’ list

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

session here at Heli-Expo.

One of the NTSB’s “10 Most Wanted” safety recommendations for 2014 is to address the unique factors of helicopter operations, to promote industry safety. Hersman thanked

Anaheim

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

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

Continued on page 21 u

BARRY AMBROSE

THURSDAY

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

AgustaWestland unveils 109 Trekker

BARRY AMBROSE

by Curt Epstein

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

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

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

Tiltrotor flies

Industry

Engines

China Rising

Prototype on show

Demo flights in the AW609

Leaders convene at ‘Town Hall’

RR nearly ready for Scott’s-Bell 47

A decade of ‘skies opening’

Marenco brings SKYe SHO9

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

The rotorcraft industry–like all of general aviation–faces its share of challenges, particularly on the legislative front.

However, industry leaders from all sectors are optimistic about the future of GA and are standing together. Page 20

The RR300 light turboshaft needs only minor alterations before the engine maker ships it to Scott’s-Bell 47 for installation on the company’s light utility helicopter.

The first flight-test engine is scheduled to be sent by June. Page 4

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Robinson realized that our system

AW109 family in roles ranging from corporate transport to law enforcement.

The manufacturer also received a pair of single-ship orders for the AW139 from Japan’s Yamagata and Tottori Prefecture Firefighting and Disaster Prevention Agencies and said it will lease a pair of the intermediate twins to Atlas Air Taxi.

They will be delivered next month in Brazil and join the fleet of approximately 30 AW139s already in service there in the oil and gas transport fleet.

AgustaWestland also delivered the first of six previously ordered EMSconfigured AW119Kxs to Minneapolisbased Life Link III. Training and After-sales Support

Middle East operator Gulf Helicopters has ordered an EASA level-C fullflight simulator for the AW189 in support of the Qatar-based company’s recent purchase of 15 of the midsize twins. Rotorsim, a joint venture between the OEM and Canadian training provider CAE, announced it will purchase the world’s first full-flight simulator for the AW169.

It will deploy that simulator at its training offered significant advantages over competing tracking solutions,” Hannes Geiger, North American communications spokesman for Spidertracks, told AIN. All new Robinson aircraft will include a prewired power lead for the Spider S5, allowing the component to be quickly mounted atop the instrument cluster at the customer’s request. At less than half a pound and smaller than a home garage door opener, the Spider S5 is marketed as a portable electronic device, so STC approval is not required for installation on civil aircraft.

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

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

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

Like the EC135 device, the S-92 simulator will be equipped with FlightSafety’s Vital 1100 visual system, which depicts mission-specific imagery with improved scene content, environmental effects, dynamic shadowing and enhanced shading. In addition, the S-92 simulator has a Crewview glass mirror optical system, which enhances visual clarity and brightness while eliminating image degradation and distortion in the boundary areas inherent in traditional display systems. This enhances imagery of near-ground operations and provides increased fields of view–up to 310 degrees horizontally.

–C.T.

MARIANO ROSALES

by Curt Epstein

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

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

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

Lastly, the Italian manufacturer launched its new “Leonardo” customer portal featuring a newly designed account home page that allows customers to create online profiles of all users from the same company, to access documents and manuals, to generate service requests and to monitor progress of warranty claims.

“We will continue to further enhance the portal and we are already working on a number of additional functionalities that will be introduced in 2014, with specific focus on e-commerce solutions for online ordering of spare parts and training services,” said John Ponsonby, the manufacturer’s senior vice president for customer training and support. o

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

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

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

–M.T.

Helitech courts U.S. participation Europe had the highest market share of commercial helicopters in 2013, and more growth is expected this year in offshore oil and gas, EMS and SAR services.

HeliTech (Booth No. 4123) has picked up a new and powerful partner to help promote participation in its USA Pavilion during the European Helicopter Association’s Helitech International show, taking place from October 14 to 16 in Amsterdam.

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

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

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

–A.L.

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

Rolls-Royce signs contract for Scott’s-Bell 47 RR300s

by Rob Finfrock building the lighter end of its product range. Another step toward that mission, also announced during Heli-Expo, is the recent consolidation of the company’s civil helicopter engine support operation with the Rolls-Royce Defense

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Russian fleet to gain 600 helicopters by ’18

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

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

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

BARRY AMBROSE

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

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

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

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

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

Operations Center in Indianapolis.

Fedele emphasized the advantages of having fleet support for the M250 and RR300 under one roof, with support personnel able to benefit from direct interaction with their counterparts in other markets.

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

fully 400 of those coming from the light and medium categories, predicted Alexander Kalachev, chairman of the Russian Helicopter Industry Association.

Kalachev said the light helicopter market is particularly robust, growing 123 percent since 2009, from 234 to 523 ships in country, while the medium and large sectors grew at a much slower rate during the period, by 4 and 3.2 percent, respectively.

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

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

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

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

is significantly delayed behind the fleet,” he said.

Alexander Mikheev, general director of Russian Helicopters, said the industry in his country is open to continuing to forge new partnerships with Western airframe and component makers, pointing to ongoing cooperation with companies including AgustaWestland and engine makers Turbomeca and Pratt & Whitney, to augment production of domestic models.

“We are always happy to find new partners,” he said. o

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

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Clarification: Columbia Helicopters

Secretary – Jennifer L. English

MARIANO ROSALES

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

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

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Enjoy your Flight www.airbushelicoptersinc.com Visit us at Heli-Expo 2014 February 25 - 27, 2014 Booth 523

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DEPARTURE TIME: 00:00:01 DEPARTURE DATE: 01/01/2014 DEPARTURE TIME: 00:00:01

DEPARTURE DATE: 01/01/2014

DESTINATION: AIRBUS HELICOPTERS

DESTINATION: AIRBUS HELICOPTERS

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

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

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

z Twirly Birds Give Lifetime Award To Marine Aviator and HAI Board Member

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

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

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

VHA quality manager and FAA-authorized designated manufacturing inspection representative Marie Dwyer will oversee VHR’s operations.

z SkyTrac Partners with DAC SkyTrac Systems (Booth No. 5822) has partnered with DAC International. Under the agreement DAC will become a regional distributor for SkyTrac’s fleet management and flight-data services. DAC will now distribute the SkyTrac ISAT-200A transceiver and fleet management services including business support, flight tracking and flight-data monitoring across a territory that includes Latin America, Oceania and Asia.

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

AgustaWestland adopts ‘ThinkCustomer’ strategy

by James Wynbrandt AgustaWestland (AW) unveiled its new vision and strategy for continued growth at its annual Heli-Expo press dinner. Under a new “ThinkCustomer” banner, the company will streamline and simplify its operating model, diversify and grow its product offerings and increase its focus on customer satisfaction to respond to “a new market environment,” company

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

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

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

The Garmin GTR 225B is now the standard com radio on all models. The company points out that it satisfies the new kHz channel-spacing regulations.

The GMA 350H audio panel is now standard for dual com installations.

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

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

MARIANO ROSALES

Though their mission is camaraderie among helicopter pilots, the Twirly Birds do more than just flock together once a year to swap stories. This year the organization took advantage of its annual gathering at Heli-Expo to honor Roy Simmons with its Les Morris Award for lifetime achievement.

Simmons, who has been flying helicopters for more than 50 years, was a Marine Corps aviator who went on to a career with Columbia Helicopters, where he rose to become president of the company.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

touchscreen navigators and another GTR 225B com, and the Aspen Avionics PFD and MFD. To accommodate the new glass options, Robinson replaced its seven-, nine- and ten-hole instrument panels with six- and eighthole panels; the six-hole panel

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

Sergei Sikorsky honors SAR crews

by Amy Laboda Sometimes it’s the personal touch that makes the difference. Sergei Sikorsky, retired vice president of special products for Sikorsky (Booth No. 2822) and son of the company’s

namesake, Igor Sikorsky, presented an informative history of the search-and-rescue pedigree of vertical lift aircraft during Heli-Expo 2014.

“In December 1938 Igor

Sikorsky presented the case to United Aircraft to develop the helicopter,” said Sikorsky.

“He told United that, when developed, the helicopter would prove to be a unique

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

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instrument for saving human lives,” he continued.

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

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

The final screen of his presentation was perhaps the most telling about Sikorsky’s personal involvement with his father’s dream. It showed Cdr. Frank Erickson flight testing the first helicopter rescue hoist. Dangling below the helicopter on the cable, being hoisted, is Airman Machinist Mate Sergei Sikorsky.

“It worked,” he smiled. o Airbus Helicopters achieves stablE 2013 financial performance Airbus Helicopters saw stable revenues and profit last year: €6.3 billion ($8.7 billion) and €397 million ($546 million), respectively, according to the financial results Airbus Group unveiled on Wednesday in Toulouse. The company delivered 497 helicopters and recorded orders for 422 more, compared with orders for 469 the previous year. However, the value of the orders increased year over year, by 7 percent, to €5.8 billion ($7.9 billion). The civil market accounted for 55 percent of revenues. The backlog, as of December 31, stood at 995 helicopters worth €12.4 billion ($17 billion). The manufacturer spent €306 million ($421 million) in research and development last year. –T.D.

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HeliAvionics_English_C32992.050_264x199_25Feb_AINConfNews_v1.indd 1 8 HAI Convention News • February 27, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

12/02/2014 13:13

The BRISTOW culTuRe: DemanD The BeST peRfORmance fROm OuR SeRvIceS.

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Essex tapped for Bell 525 controls

by Curt Epstein Component manufacturer Essex Industries (Booth No. 1430) announced it is a supplier for the Bell 525 helicopter program. The St. Louis-based company will design and manufacture the pilot and copilot cyclic and collective grip assemblies along with the complete control post assemblies for the midsize helicopter, which is currently under development.

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

Founded in 1947, the company provides platform controls, aircraft components and liquid oxygen systems for life support. It recently began

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

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

Here at Heli-Expo, the company is displaying its liquid oxygen systems as well as its selfcontained lightweight portable protective breathing device, which can provide up to an hour of protection from the effects of decompression, oxygen deprivation, carbon dioxide, smoke or other harmful gases. Guests to its booth can drop off a business card for a chance to win a Kindle Fire tablet computer. o

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

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

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

Microturbo inks support agreement

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Safran subsidiary Microturbo of Tou“Our main objective is to deliver best-in-class louse, France, and Houston’s Bristow Group support and services solutions to our customers, announced at Heli-Expo 2014 signing the first and to meet Bristow’s expectations in terms of support by the hour (SBH) dispatch reliability, customer product support agreement for Microturbo’s and services,” said Thierry Gourmanel, Microturbo’s commercial and cuse-APU60. The Microturbo e-APU provides auxiliary tomer support v-p. power for the AW189 helicopBristow has prior support ter, which Bristow operates. by the hour agreements that Under the five-year agreement cover Turbomeca engines.

Turbomeca, Safran’s helicop“SBH has proved successful in Microturbo’s APU60 keeping support costs aligned to ter engine specialist, will provide integrated support activity for flight activity and revenue,” said John the Microturbo e-APUs installed on 11 search- Cloggie, Bristow v-p and chief technology offiand-rescue helicopters and six operating in the cer. “This agreement will be the first time SBH oil and gas sector. Terms of the agreement were will cover an APU, and I look forward to seeing not disclosed. similar benefits.” o

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

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

CURT EPSTEIN

by James Wynbrandt

Blue Sky Network shows new HawkEye feature

by Rob Frinfrock Anyone familiar with GPSenabled, location-based services available on many smartphones will appreciate the benefits from the new geo-fencing condition capability, dubbed advanced variable response (AVR), offered

by Blue Sky Network on its HawkEye 7200 portable satellite tracking unit.

Blue Sky (Booth No. 2609) business development vice president John Peterson said AVR allows operators to set certain responses when a helicopter equipped with the Hawkeye 7200 passes through specific locations. This provides flight department managers greater control by emphasizing the most pertinent flight data for given mission parameters and “ultimately makes fleet management easier, safer and less expensive.

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

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

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

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

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Sikorsky expects first flights of CH-53K & S-97 this year

by Curt Epstein

It’s a New DawN for operators

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

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

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

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

Maurer said Sikorsky remains cautiously optimistic about the chances for its contract for 112 Black Hawks to survive the budget process.

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

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

Metro Aviation gains FAA approval to offer Garmin GTN650/750s for single-pilot IFR in helicopters

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

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

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

–R.F.

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

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

The RR300 powers the Robinson R66 helicopter.

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

“At this point we are developing training courses and continuing to qualify and train technicians while working closely with Rolls-Royce to ensure

Meet

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

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

A second RR300 authorized MRO agreement is in process for StandardAero’s Singapore facility, which would become the first independent RR300authorized MRO in Asia. That agreement is expected to take effect and be operational this spring, according to sources at the company.

–A.L.

Marenco brings SKYE sh09 prototype to Heli-Expo

2-inch attitude, altitude, airspeed and slip.

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

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

–A.L.

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

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

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

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

–A.L.

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Kaman Aerospace (Booth No. 4922) is soliciting customer feedback here at Heli-Expo 2014 to help the company determine if it should resume production of the civil variant of the single-pilot K-Max The intermeshing, counter-rotating main rotors of the K-Max eliminate the need for external-lift helicopter, which was certified in 1994. a tail rotor, which means that all engine “We regularly receive inquiries from operators power is available to lift the helicopter. interested in buying new K-Max aircraft for a variety of missions across the world,” said Jim Larwood, president of Kaman Aerosystems. “There is clearly demand for new aircraft to support firefighting, logging or any industry requiring repetitive aerial-lift capabilities, and the K-Max is extremely well suited for all of these industrial applications.”

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

–M.H.

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Four airmed operators sign P&WC maintenance contracts

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

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

better dart heli-basket carries more load Dart Aerospace (Booth No. 6814) has improved on its quick-release heli-utility basket for the Airbus AS350 and AS355 helicopters. The new baskets can handle up to 100 pounds more load (332 pounds total) without any Vne restriction. The 96-inch or 56.8-inch-long baskets can be installed on either side of the aircraft by one person with no tools, in just one minute, and are equipped with lightweight fabric lids or, if the operator prefers, a heavy duty metal lid. The baskets are compatible with space pods and squirrel cheeks and sport integrated carrying handles. They cost just under $13,000 apiece.

A retrofit kit is also available for customers that own previous generations of the Dart heli-utility basket, as well.

–A.L.

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

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

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www.ainonline.com • February 27, 2014 • HAI Convention News 15

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

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

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

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

–A.L.

Rolls-Royce honors Helijet, signs multiple service deals

by Curt Epstein multi-year service agreements with four large fleet operators, encompassing operational support for more than 220 M250-engine powered rotorcraft.

Yesterday at the company’s booth, McGrath sealed a deal with Mike O’Reilly, president of Calgary-based Eagle Copters, which specializes in sales, leasing, MRO and STC manufacturing and owns 15 M250-powered helicopters, including the Bell 206B, 206L3 and 407.

The other three companies are Missouri-based Air Evac Lifeteam (with 125 Bell 206 and 407 air-medical transport helicopters); petroleum industry transport provider PHI (68 M250-powered rotorcraft); and Canadian operator Yellowhead Helicopters (16 206B, 206L3 and 407 models). o Below, here at Heli-Expo, Tim McGrath (left), Rolls-Royce v-p of customer business, honored Alistair MacLennan, Helijet chairman (center), and Brian Walker, Helijet director, on achieving 300,000 engine flight hours with their Sikorsky S-76A fleet.

Rolls-Royce also found Heli-Expo a fertile site for signing several agreements. Left, Rolls-Royce’s McGrath and Mike O’Riley, president of Eagle Copters sealed a pact that will enhance operational support for Eagle Copters’ Rolls-Royce M250powered helicopter fleet.

MARIANO ROSALES

MARIANO ROSALES

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

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

In related news, Rolls-Royce signed

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

More uniformity would benefit military future vertical lift

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

Following the presentation, Hirschberg spoke with AIN about future initiatives driving the next generation of rotorcraft. Noting that advances in the civilian rotorcraft segment are frequently driven by U.S. military research, Hirschberg said the global industry faces a conundrum as the Department of Defense struggles to perform more roles with less equipment.

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

“The more disparate set of requirements you try to meet, the more difficult it is,” Hirschberg added. “For example, the Army wants really long range; the Navy wants a really small aircraft.

Those are almost mutually exclusive.”

One development that Hirschberg strongly supports is the expansion of fly-by-wire (FBW) technology to the civilian sector, as seen in Bell’s 525 Relentless medium-lift helicopter.

“FBW should be used on all advanced rotorcraft,” he added. “It has many benefits to safety and performance.”

Human-powered Helicopter

One of AHS International’s most prominent efforts has been its sponsorship of the AHS/Igor I. Sikorsky Human-Powered Helicopter Competition, which after 33 years saw the AeroVelo team meet all award objectives during a flight last June, and winning a $250,000 prize. “It was a race to the finish,” Hirschberg recalled. “They did it with science.”

AHS International will host its 70th Annual Forum and Technology Display in Montreal this May. The event will feature approximately 300 technical presentations on factors influencing the development of helicopters and other rotorcraft.

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

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

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

–J.W.

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SALUTE TO EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Donald Shinnamon, Sr., wins MD Helicopters Law Enforcement Award

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

by R. Randall Padfield safety for a third Florida community.

Donald Shinnamon, Sr., the recipient of Shinnamon has been a member of the Airthe MD Helicopters Law Enforcement Award borne Law Enforcement Association since here at Heli-Expo 2014, credits his father with 1986. As member of the National Sheriffs his interest in both aviation and law enforceAssociation from 1994 to 2005, he founded that ment. Though not involved in aviation work, group’s aviation committee, too. during World War II his father was stationed at Shinnamon is one of a small group of police NAS Patuxent River in Maryland, home of the aviators who “have been consistently involved Naval Test Pilot School, where he acquired his on the national level of police aviation for a long enthusiasm for aviation. After the war, the elder period of time. and came together to form the Shinnamon became a police officer in the BaltiAirborne Law Enforcement Accreditation Commore County Police Department. mission in 2002. We knew we needed professional “When I was a division commander in that standards for police aviation, we talked about same police department,” Donald Shinnamon it for many years and we finally found some told AIN, “an officer in another patrol diviseed money to get to work on it,” he explained. sion donated a Cessna 150 to start an aviation “Most of us had experience with police department accreditation standards, we had a model to work from and we knew how the process generally works. It was the first set of industry standards, if you will, for police aviation that address everything from pilot requirements to maintenance training to the administrative structure.”

In 2008, Shinnamon was selected to serve on the first FAA rule-making committee charged with drafting regulatory language to integrate small, unmanned aircraft sysDonald Shinnamon ,Sr. tems into the national airspace system. More recently, Binprogram there. A few years later, I was transgen, Wash.-based Insitu, a Boeing subsidiary, ferred to this division as commander and took engaged him to help develop the civil market on the project of building up the aviation profor the company’s unmanned aircraft systems. gram, which was still only the 150. I wanted to “The missing piece of the UAV puzzle is add helicopters, but didn’t have the budget to sense-and-avoid technology on board the aircraft, buy new civil aircraft. So we started with three the purpose of which is to do the same thing a Army-surplus, Hughes TH-55s, from which we human pilot does now, which is to see and avoid put together one. We eventually replaced the other aircraft,” Shinnamon said. “In the near TH-55s with Bell OH-58s, replaced the 150 with future we will have this technology and then we a Maule and, using drug money, bought a Robwill see full integration of unmanned aircraft into inson R22 for narcotics surveillance. Today the the airspace system, but that’s still a few years off. department flies Eurocopter AS350Bs, with “Where I think the FAA is being overly great, state-of-the-art equipment.” restrictive is in its policy on very small Shinnamon, who had direct command of unmanned aircraft,” he continued. “These are the department’s aviation program from 1986 UAVs weighing four pounds or less that are to 1996, holds a commercial pilot certificate flown in visual line of sight of the operator, with ratings in single-engine airplanes and meaning they are constantly watching the airhelicopters and an advanced ground instruccraft, during the daytime and in good weather, tor certificate. “I got these as I was building so the operator can take care of avoiding other the aviation program,” he said. “As I started objects in the sky. There is a very cumbersome to find my way to the national scene for police process to get permission from the FAA to do aviation, I wanted credibility to speak on the this and I think this is overly restrictive. And it’s technical aspects of flying.” In 1989, he was keeping public safety organizations from using designated as a police aviator and regularly the benefits of this technology, which are great.” flew missions as a pilot. He retired from BaltiShinnamon believes that the same guidemore County Police Department in 1997 after lines established by the Academy of Model a 26-year career.

Aeronautics (www.modelaircraft.org/files/105.

While still with the department, Shinnamon pdf), which are followed by people flying radiohad attended the annual conference of the controlled model aircraft and fit on one sheet International Association of Chiefs of Police of paper, should be sufficient. “But this is not (IACP) in 1992 and heard a discussion that a the position of the FAA,” he lamented. committee was needed to speak to aviationAlthough retired from official police work, related issues. “So I went to the meeting of Shinnamon continues to provide consulting serabout six of us from around the country,” he vices to his clients and to serve aviation in other said. After the meeting he offered his help to ways, including volunteering as unmanned airthe organizer, who told Shinnamon that he craft coordinator for HAI. n

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

SALUTE TO EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Instructor award goes to Universal’s Dr. Gordon Jiroux

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gyronimo’s app makes planning easy

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

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

by Matt Thurber

Luck Turns to Passion In 1982, Dr. Jiroux started his first flight school in Arizona with Robinson’s help. In 1983, he became a Robinson dealer, as well as a pilot examiner in the R22. “So I had a very storybook start to my career,” he said. “I was in the right place at the right time and with the right attitude. Can you imagine having Mr. Robinson and Tim Tucker as your two mentors starting in the aviation business? How could you be any luckier than that?”

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

Dr. Jiroux said his original goal as a helicopter pilot was to fly offshore over the Gulf of Mexico. But he knew he needed turbine time to get a job there, and more important, he found he enjoyed working with Frank Robinson and that he really loved flight training.

“I realized that training was, and still is, my passion,” he said.

As his operation grew, however, he added other work to the business, including air tours in the Grand Canyon with Bell JetRangers, photo flights, movies and herding cattle.

After some 20 years in the business, Dr. Jiroux decided to focus strictly on flight training.

“In the last nine or ten years, I stopped doing everything but flight training, and mostly with college-degree programs,” he explained. And he considered the lessons he had learned over those years.

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

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

The second lesson is “micromanaging each

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

Dr. Gordon Jiroux

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

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

The third most important lesson Dr. Jiroux said he has learned is “you can’t make any decision based on economics or convenience.”

For example, “I know I could bring in more students, if I hired some additional instructors whom I didn’t train. That would be convenient. That’s a red flag to me.”

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

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

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

Gyronimo’s Performance Pad iPad app combines weight-and-balance and performance calculations to help pilots quickly and accurately plan flights without any tedious paperwork.

Gyronimo (Booth No. 1537) has developed Performance Pad apps for a variety of helicopter and fixed-wing airplanes, about 40 total, including popular models made by Airbus Helicopters, Bell Helicopter, Robinson Helicopter and MD Helicopters.

Gyronimo also offers the Fleet Control online database, which allows crews to send data to company headquarters, such as crew status, risk-management information, flight numbers, maintenance information, etc., and then update the company with flight hours, position reports, fuel consumption and more.

Most of the helicopter Performance Pad apps cost $29.99, although some models and Pro versions of the app sell for $39.99 (EC120B), $59.99 (R66 Pro) and $179.99 (EC155B and B1).

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

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

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

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

Sikorsky picks Summit for support

by Curt Epstein

BARRY AMBROSE

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

Summit will offer aftermarket support for scheduled maintenance on the medium twin, including maintenance management, inspections and spare parts procurement. “We have a longstanding relationship with Summit Aviation and are very pleased that the company has recently been approved as a qualified service center,” said John Johnson, president of Sikorsky subsidiary Helicopter Support. “Its ample hangar space, Sikorsky-certified mechanics and a mobile field

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

FlyIt adds R66, Bell 407 to standard sim config standard on all FlyIt simulators, such that you can feel the skids touch down. For complexity of mission the company now offers dense traffic scenarios, as well.

The FlyIt simulators are FAAapproved for VFR and IFR training. Included with each simulator are super accurate detail, navaids and scenery of the operator’s airport or training center. The FlyIt devices come with a five-year warranty and fit inside a self-contained trailer for easy transport of the training operation.

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

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

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

Afghanistan Mission

Here at the show, Sikorsky recognized AAR Airlift’s use of the S-92 helicopter in support of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The operator’s two large-cabin rotorcraft achieved a record 3,800 combined block flight hours in 2013, an increase of 1,000 hours over 2012, and tallied a maintenance readiness rate greater than 90 ­percent. “AAR’s experience validates the cargo and troop transport capabilities in the harshest

of environments, and we’re grateful for our relationship with AAR and the trust they continue to show in the aircraft,” said Carey Bond, president of Sikorsky Commercial Systems & Services.

The UTC subsidiary supports an off-site stocking warehouse in Bagram, Afghanistan to help contribute to the large-cabin helicopter’s availability.

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

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

BARRY AMBROSE

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

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

team will provide comprehensive support to our legacy operators.”

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

China rises in the ranks of global helicopter ops Call it the decade of “skies opening” in greater China, or, if you are a helicopter OEM, call it the decade of sales opportunities. If you are involved with helicopters in greater China today the excitement is palpable.

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

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

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

In Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong helicopters are being used as part of ministry of transportation and government flying services, supporting police, EMS and SAR in those regions.

As more areas such as Heilongjiang province in North China are

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

China World Helicopter Association’s director general Luo You Zhen brought to Heli-Expo 2014 a plan for commercial helicopter routes linking Chinese cities in the Ring Bohai region, starting with Tienjin and Dalian (380 km); Dalian and Qingdao (320 km); Tienjin and Qingdao (430 km). Expected fares in an AW139 or equal 15-passenger ­ helicopter are ­ estimated to be around $350 (U.S.) one-way, according to Lou. The timeline for the project is keyed to correspond with the opening of more airspace for helicopters in 2016. Meanwhile, the China World Helicopter Association is soliciting input on the plan here at Heli-Expo, according to Luo. –A.L.

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

GA leaders gather at Heli-Expo to discuss shared concerns

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

Helicopter Association International (HAI) president Matt Zuccaro noted that HAI continues to enjoy robust membership and strong financial health, evidence of a surging rotorcraft community. That said, however, he also expressed concern about restrictive policies targeting helicopter operators.

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

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

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

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

Matt Zuccaro, HAI president

Support in Washington

PHOTOS: BARRY AMBROSE

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

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

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

really hard to kill a bad idea.

A lot of these ideas are coming forward again.”

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

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

EAA chairman Jack Pelton

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

Jens Hennig, operations vice president of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), pointed to the slew of newly introduced and recently certified rotorcraft displayed on the show floor at Heli-Expo as a sign the industry is rebounding nicely despite ongoing economic and legislative concerns.

“All segments are starting to turn the corner and deliver more aircraft,” he said. “We’re really trying to build ourselves out of this.

Create demand, innovate new things, so that the operator community–our customers–is eager to buy the next aircraft to meet the utility and needs they have for their operation.”

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

Following a panel and audience question and answer session, Zuccaro closed the town hall session by calling attention to an empty chair onstage, accompanied by a simple floral arrangement, in honor of National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) president and CEO Henry Ogrodzinski, who passed away in January. o

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

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

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

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

–A.L.

Curtiss-Wright offers slew of rugged avionics

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

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

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

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

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

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

Finally, the defense division announced the start of shipping to customers of its new VPX3716 3U OpenVPX graphics display card, which is the company’s highest performance, embedded graphics module. It is also the first graphics display card based on the next-generation AMD Embedded Radeon E8860 Adelaar GPU. “This rugged, SWapoptimized board combines unmatched I/O and no-compromise graphics processing and delivers all the performance and features needed to quickly and cost-effectively integrate graphics display into airborne and ground platforms,” Bamford said. o

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cabri G2 makes its U.S. debut

MARIANO ROSALES

Yesterday was a banner day for French helicopter manufacturer Guim bal as it marked its entry to the U.S. helicopter market, with the delivery of its first Cabri G2 light single to Newberg, Ore.-based operator and training provider Precision Helicopters.

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

after the show wraps up today.

Though his Cabri includes personal helicopter features such as a luggage compartment, Guimbal expects that the helicopter, like its R22 competitor, will find the vast bulk of its use as a trainer in the U.S. It features a three-bladed maintenance-free main rotor with semi-articulated composite blades, a shrouded tail rotor and a 44-gallon fuel tank Guimbal told AIN that his company has delivered 64 approximately $400,000 G2s to 32 operators worldwide and currently has a backlog of more than 100 rotorcraft. As the orders increase, he is striving to reduce order lead time to less than a year. Precision expects delivery of another G2 in June, with more to follow next year. The company is positioning itself as Guimbal’s West Coast distributor and authorized service center.

Here at the show, Guimbal notched its second U.S. customer, Heritage Helicopter Services, which expects its first delivery in March 2015. According to chief pilot Curtis Spears, the Beaumont, Texas-based company will order up to six G2s, eventually changing over its fleet entirely to the French helicopter. –C.E. Guimbal has delivered 64 Cabri G2s to 32 operators worldwide, and now there’s a new one in the U.S., too.

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

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

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

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

Bell CEO X-plains Jet Ranger Bell Helicopter CEO John Garrison said there was never any doubt what the company really planned to call its new light single, the 505 Jet Ranger X. “There’s so much brand equity in the Jet Ranger. It’s phenomenal. It brings tears to people’s eyes. We knew we wanted Jet Ranger. X is the next generation of Jet Ranger.”

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

It was the right decision for us.”

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

lean manufacturing processes into the plant’s design. While he declined to estimate plant production capacity, he said, “Hopefully we have a capacity constraint” due to large demand.

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

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

–M.H.

10 Most Wanted

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

“We do hope we can be a catalyst to improve safety,” she told attendees.

“Many times our recommendations are implemented not because of a rule or regulation, but because people feel that they’re the right thing to do.” o

uContinued from page 1

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

Hersman emphasized the Board’s

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

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

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

BARRY AMBROSE

Turbomeca focuses on growth, research, markets & support

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

AW gives tiltrotor demo flights here

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

process, few potential customers qualified to get on board.

The FAA requires such passengers to be appropriately rated rotorcraft pilots, undergo simulator training in the company’s

AW609 simulator, conduct a familiarization flight in the aircraft and receive a second-incommand rating. Two lucky attendees went through the process beforehand and took demo Potential customers who are appropriately rated rotorcraft pilots and have undergone specialized training are now permitted to fly on demo flights on AgustaWestland’s AW609 tiltrotor.

B R A N D I N G + S T R AT E G Y

DESIGN

M U LT I M E D I A

PR/ WRITING

flights during the show, staged from Long Beach Airport.

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

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

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

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

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

YOU KNOW WHAT REALLY WOWS SENIOR MANAGEMENT? A MARKETING PROGRAM THAT MAKES MORE THAN IT COSTS. ONE FIRM GETS RESULTS. BDN.

480.924.0690

bdnaerospace.com

22 BDN HAI Convention News • February 27, 2014 • www.ainonline.com AIN JT.indd 6

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