HAI Convention News 03-07-17

HAI

MARCH 7, 2017

Convention News

®

TUESDAY

AINONLINE.COM ADVERTISEMENT

ANNOUNCEMENT:

New agreement between Aviall and Rolls-Royce makes it easier than ever to purchase new and used engines.

ADVERTISEMENT

DALLAS

New M250 and RR300 Engines.

Now from Aviall!

A new agreement between Aviall and Rolls-Royce now allows Aviall to offer new and used complete M250 and RR300 engines. Aviall will continue to offer surplus parts along with exchange spares and modules in the new deal. For nearly two decades, Aviall and Rolls-Royce have provided world-class service to thousands of helicopter customers and their fleets. With 40 global stocking locations, cutting-edge technology, and 85 years in aviation, it’s no wonder why Rolls-Royce and other leading OEMs rely on Aviall.

PROUDLY KEEPING THE WORLD IN FLIGHT

aviall.com www.rolls-royce.com

HAI

MARCH 7, 2017

Convention News

®

TUESDAY

AINONLINE.COM

DALLAS

$306M Milestone order boosts Airbus, Leonardo

Airbus Helicopters took advantage of calm weather and a soft sunset to capture this stunning photo of its H135 flying in for Heli-Expo 2017. In total, nearly 60 helicopters arrived in Dallas for this year’s annual confab.

by Mark Huber

AIRBUS/JAY MILLER

Milestone Aviation Group (Booth 7520) placed $306.5 million in orders during Heli-Expo for 35 new aircraft to be delivered between late 2017 and 2021. The orders are split between Airbus Helicopters and Leonardo and involve mostly light and medium twins.

The $211.418 million Airbus order covers 26 aircraft to be delivered between 2017 and 2021. It includes six H135s, 17 H145s and three H175s. The $95.15 million Leonardo Helicopters order covers six AW139s and three AW169s to be delivered in 2017 and 2018.

Milestone announced that two of the AW139s from its order book from Leonardo will be placed on lease with Norway’s Norsk Luftambulanse to support helicopter EMS operations there. In July Norway’s National Air Ambulance Service awarded Norsk Luftambulanse a six-year contract to operate all 12 HEMS bases in Norway.

Continued on page 45 u

Elbit’s Heli-ClearVision EFVS to debut on Leonardo models

by Charles Alcock Leonardo Helicopters and Elbit Systems signed an agreement to jointly market and install the Heli-ClearVision enhanced flight vision system (EFVS) on Leonardo’s family of commercial rotorcraft.

The agreement announced on Monday at the Heli-Expo show in Dallas marks the first commercial application for the HeliClearVision system, which is expected to achieve certification in early 2018.

The Heli-ClearVision system comprises a set of SkyLens and SkyVis wearable head-up displays, and an enhanced vision system (EVS) and synthetic vision system (SVS) that have been specifically adapted for helicopter operations.

According to Elbit (Booth 2200), the ClearVision EVS camera can support day and night operations in extreme weather and low-visibility conditions.

Situational awareness for helicopter pilots in limited-visibility conditions should be further enhanced by ClearVision’s combined vision system, which displays a panoramic image merging a real-world picture generated by the SVS view, based on a digital terrain model database, and infrared EVS imagery. The system also can detect lights such as those on oil rigs, helipads and runways.

“Our teaming with Elbit Systems strongly contributes to our commitment to enhancing the flight experience of pilots flying Leonardo helicopters,” said Leonardo Helicopters managing director Daniele Romiti. “By offering these cutting-edge systems and technologies

The Heli-ClearVision system includes a set of SkyLens and SkyVis wearable head-up displays that combine EVS and SVS imagery.

on our new-generation platforms, we position Leonardo Helicopters more and more as the most capable helicopter to perform any mission with high safety in all weather conditions.” o

Leasing

Avionics

OEMs

Training

Engines

Waypoint Orders 16 Airbus Helos

MD Helicopters Opts for Genesys

Bell 525 Readies To Resume Testing

Redbird VTO Trainer Makes Debut

Safran Works on Larger Engines

Lessor places order for 16 more Airbus Helicopers, including H135s, H145s and, for the first time, H175s. It is also breaking into the Chinese market. page 24

Three-screen Genesys avionics system selected for MD 902. New panel features H-TAWS and highway-in-the sky navigation. page 6

Company readies to resume flight testing, which was halted last July after the crash of FTV1. Certification is still planned in 2018, Bell says. page 26

New rotorcraft training device uses motion technology to provide realism for hovering, autorotation and other scenarios. page 14

New Safran engines in the 2,500 to 3,000 shp range are coming in the next decade.

These will be the company’s largest turboshafts to date. page 38

Bell chief expects helo market rebound

HAI

Convention News

TM

by Mark Huber Bell Helicopter CEO Mitch Snyder changes made at Bell over the last year were said he is “cautiously optimistic” that designed to give him “better visibility” on the worldwide civil helicopter market Bell’s commercial division and to strengthen is rebounding from its recent its ability to smoothly run certilows and is encouraged by fication programs. market response to the compaBell posted revenues of $3.2 ny’s new 505 light single, with billion last year, 23 percent of good conversion rates of the parent company Textron’s 400 letters of intent in hand for $13.8 billion. Bell’s revenue the helicopter. mix continues to be highly “The world is seeing the 505 weighted toward defense proas their aircraft,” he said, with grams, which account for 64 diverse global demand for the percent of its business. Bell model. “If you have the right delivered 114 commercial airproduct, the customers still craft in 2016. respond even in a down marThe company is continuing ket,” he said of the 505. Of to work on new military and the larger commercial mar- Bell Helicopter CEO Mitch civil programs including the Snyder believes that the ket he said, “We may be at the market has hit the bottom. V-280 next generation milibottom. We’re trying to decide tary tiltrotor—which is 95 what is right for the commercial market,” percent complete and will make its first he added. “It’ll come back.” flight later this year—and unnamed civil Snyder said recent senior management research programs and concept aircraft.

Snyder would like to see further progress in engine and avionics technology, including “getting beyond turbines,” moving fly-by-wire flight controls into smaller aircraft and much swifter avionics development. “I challenged the team on how can we get avionics updates as fast as smartphones,” he said.

“Bell’s legacy is innovation. We’ve got lots of new things going on that we will share some time in the future—but not right now. At the same time we’re introducing new products we’re introducing the culture of innovation at Bell that wants to move things rapidly through the business,” he said. That included building and flying subscale unmanned versions of aircraft and developing hybrid propulsion and advanced sensing systems and materials. The end goal, Snyder said, is to build aircraft whose safety meets or exceeds commercial airline travel.

“We’ve got a lot of great milestones coming up in 2017,” he said. o

LIGHTSPEED AVIATION LAUNCHES ZULU 3 HEADSET AND ANR FOR HELMETS

At the same time, the ANR helmets are available from certified Lightspeed ANR installers. Some of these installers include FlightHelmet.com, Gibson & Barnes, Tiger Performance and SafeComm Products. The helmets offer the same Bluetooth capability, quick disconnect and Kevlar cables as the Zulu 3 and they also come with a three-year warranty.

—S.C.

Eagle Copters orders 10 more Honeywell engines The conversion provides the lowest fuel consumption and the highest power-to-weight ratio in its class, according to Eagle Copters. Rick Buchanan, Honeywell Aerospace senior director of retrofit, modifications and upgrades, said the conversion provides a 17 percent reduction in fuel consumption and a 22 percent increase in shaft horsepower compared to the standard engine.

It also yields an additional 500 pounds of payload, improved dash speed and 12 percent lower

EDITOR - DOMESTIC SHOW EDITIONS – Matt Thurber PRESS ROOM MANAGING EDITOR – Kerry Lynch THE EDITORIAL TEAM Curt Epstein Mark Huber Norval G. Kennedy R. Randall Padfield

Mark Phelps Ian Sheppard James Wynbrandt

GROUP PRODUCTION MANAGER – Tom Hurley PRODUCTION EDITOR – Martha Jercinovich THE PRODUCTION TEAM Mona L. Brown John A. Manfredo

Grzegorz Rzekos

PHOTOGRAPHER Mariano Rosales ONLINE EDITOR – Chad Trautvetter LEAD WEB DEVELOPER – Mike Giaimo WEB DEVELOPER – Evan Williams VIDEO PRODUCER – Ian Whelan GROUP PUBLISHER – David M. Leach PUBLISHER – Anthony T. Romano ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER – Nancy O’Brien ADVERTISING SALES – NORTH AMERICA Melissa Murphy – Midwest +1 830 608 9888 Nancy O’Brien – West +1 530 241 3534 Anthony T. Romano – East/International +1 203 798 2400 Joe Rosone – East/International/Middle East +1 301 834 5251 Victoria Tod – Great Lakes/UK +1 203 798 2400 ADVERTISING SALES – INTERNATIONAL – Daniel Solnica – Paris MARKETING MANAGER – Zach O’Brien AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT MANAGER – Jeff Hartford MANAGER OF ONSITE LOGISTICS – Philip Scarano III GROUP BRAND MANAGER – Jennifer Leach English ADVERTISING/SALES SECRETARY STAFF – Cindy Nesline

U.S. EDITORIAL OFFICE: 214 Franklin Ave., Midland Park, NJ 07432 Tel: +1 201 444 5075 WASHINGTON, D.C. EDITORIAL OFFICE: Bill Carey (air transport and defense) bcarey@ainonline.com Tel: +1 202 560 5672; Mobile: +1 202 531 7566 Kerry Lynch (business aviation) klynch@ainonline.com Tel: +1 703 969 9155 EUROPEAN EDITORIAL OFFICE: Ian Sheppard Hangar 9, Redhill Aerodrome, Surrey RH1 5JY, UK Tel: +1 44 1 737 200948; Mobile: +1 44 775 945 5770 isheppard@ainonline.com U.S. ADVERTISING OFFICE: 81 Kenosia Ave., Danbury, CT 06810 Tel: +1 203 798 2400; Fax: +1 203 798 2104 EUROPEAN ADVERTISING OFFICE: Daniel Solnica 78, rue de Richelieu, 75002 Paris, France Tel: +33 1 42 46 95 71 dsolnica@solnica.net Italian Representative: Diana Scogna; dscogna@dsmedia.com.fr Tel: +33-6-62-52-25-47 RUSSIAN ADVERTISING OFFICE: Yuri Laskin, Gen. Dir., Laguk Co. Ltd. Russia, 115172, Moscow, Krasnokholmskaya Nab., 11/15 - 132 Tel: +7 05 912 1346, +7 911 2762; Fax: +7 095 912 1260 ylarm-lml@mtu-net.ru

by Mark Huber Eagle Copters (Booth 8540) has ordered 10 more HTS900 engines from Honeywell for its Eagle 407HP conversion and will deliver a second 407HP to Atlanta-based Helicopter Express here at Heli-Expo.

Helicopter Express plans to use the ship to support firefighting missions throughout the U.S. The delivery brings to eight the number of Bell 407s converted to the Eagle 407HP configuration by replacing the stock engine with the HTS900 turboshaft.

WILSON S. LEACH, MANAGING DIRECTOR EDITOR-IN-CHIEF – Charles Alcock

DIRECTOR OF FINANCE & HUMAN RESOURCES – Michele Hubert ACCOUNTING MANAGER – Marylou Moravec SALES ASSISTANT – Nadine Timpanaro ACCOUNTING/ADMINISTRATION STAFF – Mary Avella; Bobbie Bing

MARIANO ROSALES

Lightspeed Aviation (Booth 6711) recently launched the Zulu 3 active noise reduction (ANR) headset and also ANR for helmets. Featuring components of the Zulu and Zulu 2 that resonated with private and professional pilots around the world, the Zulu 3 increases comfort and durability, the company said. The Zulu 3 headset costs $850 and is available with dual GA, LEMO (panel-powered) and U-174 connectors. Meanwhile, the ANR helmets, which cost approximately $1,198, employ the same noise-reduction technology found in the headsets.

The Zulu 3 ANR headset is made almost entirely of stainless steel and magnesium and features Bluetooth connectivity, adjustable mic gain and ear seals that offer 50 percent more space inside the cup than the previous models. The headset also comes with a seven-year warranty. According to Lightspeed, the new cables built around a Kevlar core are more flexible than standard cables and are the same ones used for Lightspeed’s PFX and Tango headsets.

“We’ve taken an iconic product that is trusted by a large cross section of pilots around the world and made it even better,” said Lightspeed executive v-p of sales and marketing Teresa De Mers. “Zulu 3 is the most comfortable, most durable headset Lightspeed has ever made.”

FOUNDED IN 1972 JAMES HOLAHAN (1921-2015), FOUNDING EDITOR

THE CONVENTION NEWS COMPANY, INC. – AIN PUBLICATIONS

The Eagle 407HP conversion, which includes re-engining with a Honeywell HTS900 turboshaft, provides the highest power-to-weight ratio in its class.

maintenance costs compared to the original Bell 407.

New HTS900 technologies include a dual centrifugal compressor, cooled single-crystal turbine blades, effusion-cooled combustor liner and a dualchannel Fadec.

2 HAI Convention News • March 7, 2017 • www.ainonline.com

Honeywell provides the engine and configuration while Eagle Copters provides the aircraft, does the installation and handles the flight testing and certification. The conversion received FAA supplement type certificate approval in 2014. o

HAI Convention News is a publication of The Convention News Co., Inc., 214 Franklin Ave., Midland Park, NJ 07432; Tel.: +1 201 444 5075. Copyright © 2017. All rights ­reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part w ­ ithout permission of The Convention News Co., Inc. is strictly prohibited. The Convention News Co., Inc. also publishes Aviation International News, AINalerts, AIN Defense Perspective, AIN Air Transport Perspective, Business Jet Traveler, ABACE Convention News, EBACE Convention News, LABACE Convention News, MEBA Convention News, NBAA Convention News, Dubai Airshow News, Farnborough Airshow News, Paris Airshow News, and Singapore Airshow News.

Printed in Dallas by ColorDynamics Computer Services: ON SERVICES, a GES company

Mecaer lifts the curtain on Bell 505 VIP interior

by Mark Huber Mecaer Aviation Group is revealing more details about the premium “MAGnificent” interior it is developing for the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X light single, a helicopter that was recently certified by Transport Canada and in Australia.

The new interior will feature upscale materials and quick change four-five seat configurations with a removable rear center cabinet. Interior amenities include coat hooks, cup holders, stowage pockets and containers, leatherwrapped flight control boots, smart device holders, modified foam packages and trim pieces on the existing seat frames, and new interior panels, headliner, overhead passenger service unit and adjustable interior mood and reading lighting. Clients may choose to have company or personal logos

stitched into the headrests or engraved into the door thresholds.

Initial installation will take about a week and can be done at either Bell’s Mirabel, Quebec, production facility or at Mecaer’s Philadelphia or Italy completion centers.

Kits can also be shipped to a completion center of the customer’s choice including any factory or authorized Bell service center. Customers will have complete flexibility on available color and material choices.

Mecaer (Booth 11537) hopes to have the interior certified by the first quarter of 2018

by Transport Canada, the FAA and EASA, along with authorities in Brazil and Russia.

The baseline kit adds approximately 100 pounds to the weight of a stock 505; full up with cabinets about 130 pounds, a Mecaer spokesman said. While a firm price has yet to be set, it is expected to be in the $90,000

CHC turns 70, finalizes plan to exit bankruptcy

by Curt Epstein As CHC Helicopter celebrates its 70th anniversary this year, it traces its beginnings as a crop dusting operation in British Columbia to one of the world’s largest operators of offshore helicopter transport, search and rescue, utility and emergency medical services rotorcraft. Founded as Okanagan Air Services by three Canadian Air Force veterans in 1947, and later Okanagan Helicopters, its operations expanded north into the Arctic, east to Newfoundland and south into the U.S. until it became one of the industry’s most experienced rotorcraft operators. A merger in 1987 created Canadian Holding Company which later became CHC. In 2004 the company created two distinct divisions, Helicopter Services which focuses on global operations, and Heli-One, which is the world’s largest independent rotorcraft MRO. CHC, which is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, announced on March 5 that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas has signed a confirmation order approving the company’s reorganization plan. “The company expects to complete its financial restructuring process and emerge from Chapter 11 in the next few weeks, after the conditions of the plan are satisfied,”

according to CHC. “We are very pleased with the court’s approval of our plan, which is the final legal step in our financial restructuring process and a key mile-

The “MAGnificent” VIP interior for the Bell 505 includes cup holders, stowage pockets, leather-wrapped flight control boots, modified foam packages and trim pieces on the existing seat frames and new interior panels.

to $120,000 range. Armando Sassoli, co-general manager of Mecaer Aviation Group, said the company hopes to install the interior in about 20 percent of the 505s on order.

Chuck Evans, Bell’s director of marketing and sales support, said the majority of the initial 400 customer letters of intent are from owner/operators-owner/pilots who would find the Mecaer interior appealing. Sassoli said Mecaer will begin taking orders for the interior during Heli-Expo.

Grayson Barrows, Mecaer director of sales and marketing for cabin comfort

appreciates the various opportunities that have allowed us to become the global operators we are today,” explained Fessenden.

“We strive to reach beyond what our customers expect from us to deliver the highest levels of service and cost-efficiency in the industry. Our goal is to reach beyond our legacy, achievement, and current high standards to constantly improve our fleet, technologies, safety and employee performance.”

The company recently announced a new contract with Siemens Wind Power to support construction of a new offshore

systems, pointed out that the modular nature of the interior makes it easy for end users to swap out components, easily converting the interior from a four- to a fiveseat configuration in less than 20 minutes.

Sassoli said offering the MAGnificent package for the 505 was a natural extension of Mecaer’s interiors developed for the Bell 429 and under development for the 525 super-medium twin. That interior design was recognized with the prestigious international product design Red Dot award on March 5. o

wind farm in the North Sea near Germany. AW139 flights supporting the operation began in January from the CHC base in Den Helder. Last year, CHC wrapped up its support of a similar project offshore of Holland.

“We are excited to continue to build on our successful relationship with Siemens, supported by CHC’s decades of experience supporting a range of energy customers,” noted Mark Abbey, the operator’s regional director for Europe, Middle East and Africa.

In the Southern Hemisphere, CHC’s fleet of AW139s in Australia just passed the 25,000-flight

hour milestone. The company was the first to operate the type in Australia, starting in 2008, racking up hours predominantly in EMS and oil and gas crew transport.

CHC Helicopter Asia utilizes a fleet of more than 30 medium and heavy helicopters in Australia, Timor-Leste and Malaysia, and it has named former Jacobs Engineering vice president for Asia, Vincent D’Rozario, as regional director, Asia Pacific, reporting to Fessenden. In his previous position, he led projects across the region in support of Shell, BP, ExxonMobil and Chevron. o

ASIAN ROTORCRAFT FLEET GROWS, BUT AT SLOWER PACE

CHC president and CEO Karl Fessenden is putting a renewed focus on customers.

stone towards CHC emerging as a stronger, better capitalized company,” said CHC president and CEO Karl Fessenden.

As part of its anniversary celebration, the company last week unveiled a new corporate brand and website, with a refresh of the corporate logo and colors that harken back to its early Okanagan heritage. A new company positioning statement, “Reach Beyond,” was chosen with the company’s customers in mind.

“We are proud of CHC’s rich history, and are proud of our culture which recognizes and

Asian Sky Group’s latest Fleet Report for Asia Pacific Region Civil Helicopters showed 4 percent growth among turbine-powered rotorcraft year-over-year.

There were 3,924 helicopters in the region at the end of 2016, up from 3,761 a year before, according to the fourth annual edition of report released on Monday.

The increase is smaller than last year’s bump, Hong Kong-based Asian Sky noted, with only half of the countries in the report experiencing growth. Chief among them was China, which with its addition of 85 helicopters, logged a 21 percent increase—the highest in the region. With 540 rotorcraft now in service in greater China, it is expected next year to surpass Japan, which has 641 helicopters in service. Australia, which saw a 2 percent increase in its fleet in 2016, leads the region with 805 helicopters.

Among the OEMs, Airbus, Bell, Sikorsky and Leonardo combine for 90 percent of the market, with Airbus alone accounting for 43 percent. The European airframer saw the most growth over the past year, adding nearly 90 new helicopters to the region, while Bell saw an overall decline, due mainly to the retirement of older rotorcraft, noted Nadav Kessler, a member of

Asian Sky’s rotary program sales and business development division. He also added that Avicopter, China’s indigenous helicopter manufacturer, is finally making inroads into the market with 38 of its models now in service in China, or 7 percent of the country’s fleet.

The region’s fleet is relatively young, a result of several factors, including a cultural reluctance to purchase pre-owned equipment and regulations in several countries prohibiting the importation of aircraft older than 10 years. In China, of the 540 helicopters in its fleet, 408 are younger than 10 years.

The industry is awaiting the easing of airspace restrictions in China, which would significantly boost helicopter usage. Last year saw the entrance of 20 new general aviation rotorcraft operators on the mainland looking to expand once the government eases restrictions. Another development is China’s growing forestry protection and aerial firefighting capabilities.

One recent trend is the increase in the number of helicopters dry leased from dedicated leasing companies. According to Asian Sky, by the end of 2016, more than 170 rotorcraft in the region were leased from third parties.

—C.E.

www.ainonline.com • March 7, 2017 • HAI Convention News 3

Suite upgrade for NGT-9000

by Kerry Lynch L-3 Aviation Products released a suite of upgrades for its Lynx NGT-9000 ADS-B transponder that provides five different improvements ranging from enhanced situational awareness features to simplified interface features. The upgrades are collectively referred to as the 2.1 software release, but can be added separately.

The Lynx NGT-9000 is an ADS-B compliant transponder that provides traffic, WAAS/GPS, datalink weather and a color touchscreen display in a single box.

Larry Riddle, vice president of sales and marketing, general aviation for L-3, said the Lynx NGT-9000 transponder family

was designed specifically to accommodate upgrades and future enhancements.

One of the key upgrades involves the optional ADS-B Traffic Advisory System (ATAS) aural alerting. The 2.1 upgrade essentially improves the filtering built into ATAS to provide pilots a better awareness of aircraft around them, Riddle said, and this is particularly important for helicopters flying low and slow. L-3 has developed “smart” technology and is using more accurate ADS-B positioning information for the ATAS to better differentiate between nearby aircraft and those that are approaching the helicopter. The pilot

Astronautics teams with Jagid on SmartCopter ISR system

by Matt Thurber Astronautics Corporation of America and Jagid Management have developed SmartCopter, a portable communications suite for mission-oriented helicopter operators such as para-public organizations and commercial operations. “It’s essentially a portable cockpit upgrade and portable ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] system and portable tactical and strategic communication system all in one system,” said Jagid CEO Jake Williams.

SmartCopter is housed in two or three Pelican cases. The core system consists of one case containing the Astronautics Nexis processor and a Nexis electronic flight bag for interfacing with portable devices and communications between air and ground systems, a power supply and switches. The second box contains inputs/outputs for video, audio and data feeds and Wi-Fi capability. A third box adds communication options such as

air-to-ground (LTE) or Harris airborne military encrypted radio.

The LTE service can allow secure communications between the helicopter carrying SmartCopter and hundreds of ground-based receivers in a 10-km bubble, according to Williams, including video running on smartphones. The Harris radios would provide more range, up to 100 km point-to-point or a 200-km cone.

According to Dan Ryan, Astronautics vice president of business development and product strategy, “This fully portable solution, potentially costing less than 20 percent of a fully integrated mission system, gives pilots and aircrew improved air-ground situational awareness via uplinked ground video, as well as access to detailed moving maps and charts along with text-based information from the ground during flight.”

“Communication is critical to use helicopters as eyes in the sky,” said Williams.

A software update for the Lynx NGT-9000 ADS-B unit enhances situational awareness features.

can choose to mute the unit. The 2.1 software upgrade enables tracking of aircraft below 380 feet.

Another upgrade is the ability to interface with L-3’s Stormscope WX-500 lightning detection system. This enables the NGT-9000 to display real-time lightning data at ranges of 25-200 nm. Riddle noted “Portability allows you to outfit many aircraft with one system versus a permanent installation.” SmartCopter is compatible with installed infrared, video and other surveillance sensors. “I can bring [that information] into the processing box where Nexis is housed, process and store that data, then route it through the LTE and Harris datalink.”

Jagid is demonstrating the full threebox SmartCopter system at the Astronautics booth (9949). Total weight of the three-box system is about 80 pounds, although Jagid is working on lowering the system’s weight with lighter mounting structure inside the Pelican cases. Power can range from 28 vdc to AC power, and antennas can be mounted on helicopter skid crossbars or on fixed-wing, high-wing airplane struts. “Within minutes you can put the system on the aircraft and fly, and you will have a full airborne ISR system,” said Williams.

At Heli-Expo, he said, “We will have various tablets tethered to the system and will be able to see and send video from tablet to tablet and phone to phone, and send simulated video to the ground. We will show the system on the ground in live working form.” o

The SmartCopter suite for mission-oriented helicopter operators developed by Astronautics and Jagid Management combines an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissence system and tactical and strategic communications system into one portable device.

4 HAI Convention News • March 7, 2017 • www.ainonline.com

that this helps maximize use of limited real estate in the helicopter cockpit.

The latest update further adds L-3 Lynx TerrainVision, which is not quite a full H-TAWS, but provides terrain awareness with a color-coded display to improve ground proximity situational awareness.

The unit, Riddle noted, incorporates the same database integrity and color coding as the TSOed Lynx TAWS. Other changes include the ability to configure the NGT-9000 to remove the “Squawk VFR” button and to provide for dual installation, whether remote or panel-mounted. o ASU UNVEILS NEW LIGHTWEIGHT HELMET AND GOGGLE MOUNT Aviation Specialties Unlimited (ASU) is inviting Heli-Expo attendees to experience its latest lighter-head solution during a cocktail reception in its booth (10334) at 1 p.m. March 8. Attendees will be able to view the company’s new lightweight and more comfortable night vision helmet mount and battery pack, known as the Aeronox, as well as the Aspida carbon Paraclete Aviation life support helmet with a Kairos retention assembly and ASU’s white phosphor night vision goggles.

“This combination of the new helmet and mount vastly improves the user experience,” said ASU senior business development manager Kim Harris, a pilot with NVG experience. Harris said the lighter helmet, battery pack and goggle mount combination significantly decreases strain on pilots and crew wearing the equipment.

—M.H.

by Matt Thurber Genesys Aerosystems announced that MD Helicopters has selected it to provide the new flight deck for the twinengine MD 902 Explorer. The avionics system will feature two IDU-680 six- by eight-inch displays as primary flight displays and one as a multifunction display, dual ADAHRS and GPS sensors, H-TAWS, remote digital audio, full digital engine instrumentation, a Mid-Continent Standby Attitude Module and a BendixKing weather radar.

The Genesys flight deck replaces the InSight Integrated Flight Deck that MD Helicopters had planned to purchase from Universal Avionics. The Universal flight deck for the MD 902 was originally announced at Heli-Expo 2013 and made its first flight in March 2016.

The Genesys suite includes some unique features, such as highway-in-the-sky navigation guidance and geo-referenced hover vector, “which allows precision hover relative to designated targets,” according to

the company. The IDU-680 includes integral H-TAWS and FMS, NVIS-A and NVIS-B night-vision goggle compatibility and digital flight performance recording (last five flights).

Genesys has already certified its smaller IDU-450 to Level A (software) and for IFR operations, according to Jamie Luster,

Genesys Aerosystems will supply the new upgraded flight deck avionics system for the MD 902 Explorer. Genesys is showing this four-display system here at Heli-Expo, but the new avionics suite for the MD 902 will have only three displays—one multifunction screen and two primary flight displays.

Thales develops small autopilot for helicopters

by R. Randall Padfield Engineers at Thales (Booth 2628) have come up with a small autopilot for helicopters that is so compact that it “can fit on all aircraft, including the lightest platforms, both as a line-fit or a retrofit,” according to Thales.

The Thales Compact Autopilot does this by the deletion

director of sales and marketing.

“We’ve proven we can do it. The IDU-450 is smaller glass but the same electronics,” so helicopter IFR certification of the IDU-680 shouldn’t pose any difficulties.

Genesys also offers airframers the Oasis platform for customizing features such as engine instrumentation and

of the flight control computer.

The new autopilot “relies on an innovative architecture based on two sets of three Smart actuators that can be configured on three or four axes with advanced modes, such as hover and departure,” according to Thales.

The design of the Compact

Thales’s new Compact Autopilot is so small that it can fit on any helicopter platform.

The company is targeting both the VFR and IFR markets for the system.

Autopilot makes it lighter—the smallest and lightest autopilot on the market, Thales says— and less expensive. The actuators provide stability without cyclic stick displacement. Based on simulated test flights, this feature—stability without displacement of the cyclic—“makes use of this autopilot a lot more comfortable and intuitive for pilots without need of additional training to compensate for cyclic displacement,” Thales explained.

Thales is targeting the VFR (Part 27) and IFR (Part 29) markets for the Compact Autopilot. The Smart actuators are mounted inline with the flight control system, Thales explained, “providing seamless stabilization with a high level of safety (fail safe). It can be upgraded with parallel actuators to increase the authority, still with no dedicated computer.” Specifically, the autopilot is installed between the swashplate and trim actuators.

“Movements from the autopilot are going to the swashplate due to resistance from the trim actuators or from adjustable control friction in the cockpit.”

Although the autopilot can be installed without a control head, just needing an on/off switch to

6 HAI Convention News • March 7, 2017 • www.ainonline.com

engage basic stability, Thales said a control panel can be used for flight director modes.

Although Thales is targeting lighter aircraft without autopilots, and particularly those used in demanding missions, such as search and rescue, EMS and homeland security, the Compact

operator, but we could also do it with a large fleet operator. You don’t have to take what we have on the shelf. We want to be flexible and give the customer what they want.” She added that all of Genesys’s current OEM partners have implemented Oasis, including Grob, Leonardo and MD Helicopters.

Heli-Expo visitors can “fly” the Genesys Aerosystems cockpit demonstrator equipped with four IDU-680 displays at the company’s booth (8606). The demonstrator is not a simulator, but its flight controls are hooked up to HeliSas servos so pilots can feel how the avionics integrate with the flight controls and also how HeliSas handles unusual attitudes by returning the helicopter to a normal attitude. The cockpit setup also demonstrates Genesys capabilities planned for the MD Explorer such as 3-D synthetic vision, highway-in-the-sky navigation, geo-referenced hover vector, H-TAWS and engine indicating and crew alerting system. Visitors can fly an IFR approach anywhere in the world in the demonstrator and see how these features enhance safety.

“We’re really excited,” said Luster, “and we’re hoping in the next five years when we walk the floor [at Heli-Expo] that we’re in more helicopters.” o Autopilot is also suitable for heavier aircraft. A typical VFR helicopter installation would weigh about two kilograms. Pricing and the timeline for certification are not yet available, but Thales said, “we are working to [achieve] certification as quick as possible.” o

THIS MONSTER FIGHTS FIRES Columbia Helicopters’s tanked CH-47D Chinook sports a Simplex Aerospace fire-suppression system with an internal 2,800-gallon water tank and a 140-gallon foam concentrate reservoir tank. A 12-foot-long hover pump fills the internal tank. It can then deploy the water or foam through a variety of drop or spread patterns.

MARIANO ROSALES

Genesys tapped by MD Helo for Explorer flight deck upgrade

advisory messages. The Oasis software itself is certified, but purchasers of Genesys displays can then modify some of what shows on the displays outside of the TSOed base software. This includes engine instrumentation pages, caution and warning messages and similar features. Once the buyer customizes the displays, then the end result is certified via the supplemental type certification process instead of a more time-consuming and stringent technical standard order (TSO). “This allows the customer to have some customization,” Luster explained. “It’s for an OEM, not a single helicopter

Excelling Together

Leonardo Helicopters is committed to serving your business to enable the most demanding operations, worldwide.

A global network of over 1,800 dedicated specialists provide the highest-quality of customer support, advanced service solutions and a comprehensive customertailored range of training programs - collectively known as 'TeamUp' - ensuring mission success; anytime, anywhere.

Inspired by the vision, curiosity and creativity of the great master inventor – Leonardo is designing the technology of tomorrow.

Visit us at Heli-Expo, stand 3017

leonardocompany.com

Helicopters | Aeronautics | Electronics, Defence & Security Systems | Space

Columbia’s big fire stopper lands in Dallas

by Curt Epstein quickly, are being received in a very positive way.”

system to improve real-time awareness on Chinook 234 missions. The system offers real-time analysis of engine exceedances and operational deviations, and its satellite data download feature can offload full flight logs on landing.

Columbia also operates 13 Vertol 107-II twin-rotor helicopters, the civilian version of the CH-46 Sea Knight, for which it also owns the type certificate, having purchased it from Boeing in the mid-1980s.

As Columbia performs maintenance on its fleet, Crespo noted that the company is conducting more and more outside work for the operators of the more than 900 CH-47s still in service for the U.S. and other governments. o

MD HELICOPTER GLIMPSES INTO THE FUTURE MD Helicopters is showing a mockup of its MD 6XX here at Heli-Expo, complete with a five-blade main rotor and four-blade tail rotor. The new helicopter is mainly being aimed at law enforcement customers. Last year, the company said the MD602 derivative will incorporate a new Rolls-Royce M250-C47E/3 variant, which will improve efficiency and performance.

8 HAI Convention News • March 7, 2017 • www.ainonline.com

A Fire Attack System-equipped Columbia Helicopters CH-47D Chinook sent leaves blowing on its arrival here at Heli-Expo on Saturday. The big helicopter’s firesuppression system has a 2,800-gallon water tank.

Firmly in control, Essex celebrates its 70th year

by Curt Epstein While some 70-year-old companies are out there, not many can say one of their founders still comes to work every day. That’s the case with aviation component supplier Essex Industries, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year.

Founded in 1947 by Harold and Sidney Guller, the latter at the age of 93 still has a hand in the family-owned business. An exhibitor at Heli-Expo for the past two decades, the St. Louis, Missouri-based company specializes in platform controls, a large variety of valves and regulators, liquid oxygen systems and emergency breathing equipment. Essex occupies four facilities in the city, totaling 180,000 sq ft of manufacturing space.

Its staff consists of 270 employees, including 35 full-time engineers, with an average tenure of 15 years. The company has moved with the times and now offers state-of-the-art rapid prototyping capability utilizing 3-D printers and quick-casting tooling technology.

According to global account executive Robert Geisz, factoring the company’s acquisitions over the years, Essex has manufactured approximately 15,000 different products, and at Heli-Expo, the company (Booth 5722) is displaying a wide variety of components, including its cyclic and collective grips that are standard on the Bell 525 and have been selected for the airframer’s V280 Valor tiltrotor.

MARIANO ROSALES

Oregon-based Columbia (Booth 6111), which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, is one of the leaders in heavy lift helicopter operations. Its fleet currently consists of 10 234 Chinooks, the commercial version of the CH-47, for which Columbia now owns the type and production certificates. Last year it acquired the last three of the type from Taiwan, making it the world’s only operator of the Chinook model that can carry passengers in addition to performing heavy lift tasks.

Between 2013 and 2014, Columbia purchased 11 military surplus CH-47Ds from the U.S. government. Of them, three are currently airworthy, including the two fire-suppression helicopters that were converted in 2015 and saw their first service last year. According to Crespo, the company will bring more of the CH-47s online for use in oil field services once the industry recovers sufficiently to merit their operation. Last month, the company announced it has selected Skytrac’s flight data monitoring

MATT THURBER

60th Anniversary

MARIANO ROSALES

Twin-rotor helicopters are generally a rare site at Heli-Expo, but fresh off a busy firefighting season, Columbia Helicopters has brought one of its speciallyequipped Boeing CH-47D Chinooks to the static display.

During the 2016 fire season, the company’s two Chinooks, equipped for the first time with the world’s largest internal helicopter Fire Attack System (FAS) and their 2,800-gallon water tanks, logged more than 740 hours, or nearly half of the company’s seven-helicopter fleet’s usage.

The fleet fought more than 50 fires in 16 states with an availability rate that exceeded 95 percent. The FAS was developed specifically for Columbia and it can discharge its entire tank in five seconds and can refill from a hover in less than a minute.

“Our customers were pleased with the speed and fuel efficiency of the Boeing CH-47Ds when combined with the large internal tank,” said Santiago Crespo, vice president of business development and marketing at Columbia. “It’s great to know that our firefighting efforts, which now include this increased capability to deliver large amounts of water

Essex is displaying a wide variety of components, including its cyclic and collective grips that are standard on the Bell 525 and have been selected for the airframer’s V280 Valor tiltrotor.

The company will be giving away a cyclic grip beer tap to one lucky show visitor.

Essex entered the cryogenics market in 1963, and its liquid oxygen converter systems are found on approximately 80 percent of the medical transportation helicopters currently in service, noted Geisz.

In 1991, the company acquired DuPont’s portable breathing and rescue products division, and Essex now has thousands of emergency supplemental oxygen units in service on commercial and private aircraft worldwide.

The company, a major supplier to military and commercial OEMs, also manufactures components such as pitot tubes, heater probes, hydraulic pulsation dampeners, fuel ejector pumps and flame arresters. o

COCKPIT B50 THE ULTIMATE PILOT’S INSTRUMENT Aviation enters a new era with a multifunction chronograph delivering unprecedented performance. At the heart of this high-tech feat beats a (COSC) chronometer-certified SuperQuartzTM movement specially developed by Breitling for aviation. Equipped with a sturdy and light titanium case, the Cockpit B50 innovates with its huge range of functions, extreme user friendliness, rechargeable battery and an ultra-legible high-intensity display mode. Reliable, accurate, efficient: the ultimate pilot’s instrument.

BREI TLI N G.C OM

Airbus increases deliveries in a down helicopter market

by Mark Huber Airbus Helicopters improved its delivery numbers and increased its mix of military business in 2016. For the year, Airbus Helicopters delivered 418 rotorcraft, a 5 percent increase compared to the 395 it delivered in 2015, against a market backdrop company CEO Guillaume Faury called “the most difficult year for the helicopter industry since 2008.” Global bookings for civil helicopters for all manufacturers dropped 13 percent from 2015 levels.

Airbus logged gross orders for 388 helicopters in 2016, compared to the 383 gross orders for 2015. Bookings in 2016 included orders for 188 light-single-engine helicopters, 163 H135/H145 light-twins, 23 Super Puma class, eight H175s and six in the H155/Dauphin family. Overall, order backlog stood at 766 helicopters at year’s end.

Airbus continues to maintain a 47percent share of the world civil market for helicopters weighing more than 1.3 metric tons.

Faury announced a variety of developments concerning new and existing

programs. The new H160 medium twin is currently undergoing cold weather testing in Canada, and a third prototype will join the program early this year. Airbus will begin taking orders for the H160 this year and already has a “significant number” of letters of intent for it.

Airbus plans to fly its X3 derivative, the Clean Sky2 high-speed compound helicopter demonstrator, at the end of 2019 or the beginning of 2020 and plans to reveal more details about it at this year’s Paris Air Show.

Faury also said the company will conduct the first unmanned flights of its City Airbus all electric, VTOL, four-seat urban vehicle in 2018 and manned flights beginning in 2019. Development of a full-scale vehicle will start this month in Germany.

The X6 heavy helicopter, seen as an eventual replacement for the H225, remains in the concept phase, with Faury characterizing it as a “long-term investment.” Faury said Airbus looks forward

Currently undergoing cold-weather testing in Canada, Airbus Helicopters’ H160 has received numerous letters of intent from prospective customers. A third prototype is expected to begin test flights soon.

to “restoring trust” in the H225 following last year’s fatal North Sea crash that killed 13 and prompted a temporary EASA grounding order that was lifted after a problematic planet gear was identified and an increased inspection regime imposed.

Faury called the Super Puma family “outstanding” helicopters with a major role to play in the oil and gas market. “We believe that market cannot rely on a single helicopter type,” he said,referring to Sikorsky’s S-92A. “We are fully aware that we

Airbus North America Grows Market Share In the key North American helicopter market, Airbus Helicopters, Inc. (U.S.) and Airbus Helicopters Canada delivered 60 civil and parapublic helicopters during 2016, which totaled 50 percent of the overall deliveries in that region. Orders taken by the U.S. and Canada companies reached 64, “or an estimated 73 percent of all new helicopter bookings in North America,” according to Airbus.

“In both deliveries and bookings, the companies increased their share of the North America helicopter market.” The orders included some from 20 new customers, five of which are new helicopter owners or operators.

The 2016 orders included 33 H125 AStars, which are built at the Airbus Helicopters factory in Columbus, Miss.; seven late-model and five

Drone-makers take on city-transport challenge

carry one passenger on pointto-point trips in urban environments, with the passenger using a smartphone to set the destination prior to takeoff.

Ensuring Stable Flight

by Matt Thurber Some forward-looking designers are fielding new electric aerial vehicles that promise to solve the problem of efficient transportation in highly congested urban areas. Two of the more significant efforts are the EHang 184 autonomous aerial

earlier-model H145s; nine H130s; seven H135s; two H120s; and one AS350B2. One of the 2016 deliveries was an H145 to Dallas Cowboys football team owner Jerry Jones.

Airbus delivered 35 UH-72A Lakotas to the U.S. Army last year and also added a five year contract worth $1 billion to provide Lakota logistics support in the continental U.S. and ­elsewhere. —M.T.

vehicle (AAV) and the CityAirbus urban vehicle.

China-based drone maker EHang introduced the EHang 184 AAV in January 2015, and has already begun flight testing. The electrically powered four-rotor AAV is designed to

For the cost of a normal taxi fare, urban passengers could someday be treated to a ride in the CityAirbus.

EHang engineers are well aware that there is more to designing a passenger-carrying autonomous vehicle than simply scaling up a smaller drone. According to the company, “As the EHang 184 might be the multi-rotor aircraft with the world’s largest propellers, in order to avoid the problem of ‘control divergence’ in its autonomous flight, we need to do a variety of algorithm optimizations for the flight control system to ensure that such a large multi-rotor aircraft can fly in the air stably.”

EHang said all AAV flights will be monitored in real time by its command and control center, which will be able to communicate with passengers, monitor flight data and keep an eye on weather conditions.

10 HAI Convention News • March 7, 2017 • www.ainonline.com

In case of emergency, the AAV will be able to land by itself.

Airbus Helicopters is serious about exploring the electric VTOL market and plans to begin flight testing the fourseat, all-electric CityAirbus in 2018, with manned flights starting in 2019, according to CEO Guillaume Faury.

To speed the CityAirbus to market, the company is planning for initial operations to be flown by a pilot, followed by autonomous operations as that becomes possible operationally and from a regulatory perspective.

Because it has four seats, the concept for the CityAirbus would be for shared passenger operations. Passengers would book an available seat via a smartphone app then take off from the nearest helipad. “A flight would cost nearly the equivalent of a normal taxi ride for each passenger, but would be faster, more environmentally sustainable and exciting,” according to Airbus. o

need to ensure a smooth return to service of that product in the North [Sea].”

“The multiple challenges faced in 2016 have increased our resolve to support our customers with an ever-increasing commitment to quality and safety, leveraging the most modern portfolio of products and services,” he said. “Despite this challenging market environment, we delivered on our operational objectives and proceeded with the execution of our transformation plan.”

Faury said highlights of 2016 included success in key military campaigns for the H225M, which was selected by Singapore and Kuwait, the latter being an order for 30 ships, as well as for the H135/H145 family, which was selected in the UK for military flight training. Last year also saw first deliveries of the new AS565 MBe Panther naval helicopter to Mexico and Indonesia and the first flight of the NH90 Sea Lion for the German Navy.

On the civil side, the first H175 medium-twin helicopter in VIP configuration entered service in 2016, while the public services variant began flight-testing ahead of certification in 2017. A Chinese consortium signed an order for 100 H135s to be assembled locally over the next 10 years. Ground-breaking of the H135 facility in China will take place in the middle of this year with deliveries from that facility beginning in 2019.

Certification of the Helionix-equipped version of the H135 was granted by EASA in November 2016, while flight-testing activities of the next-generation H160 continued at a steady pace throughout the year, paving the way for the first firm orders to be signed this year. The H160 aerodynamic configuration was frozen at the middle of last year and manufacturing will soon start on a new final assembly line designed for the aircraft “and this will change the way we manufacture helicopters,” Faury said.

More than 100 H145s were delivered in 2016 and Airbus has booked more customers for the new military variant H145M. Faury believes there will be more “sales opportunities for the H145M in the short-term.”

The first flight of the unmanned VSR700 naval drone, based on the Guimbal Cabri G2 piston helicopter, will take place later this year. o

THE DECISION-MAKING TOOLS YOU NEED. IN THE AVIONICS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS.

Garmin GTN™ series for helicopters. Enhanced situational awareness. Mission effectiveness. Peace of mind.

With GTN 750/650 and G500H avionics, you’ll see all the benefits of faster, more intuitive access to the flight information you need. Plus, you can upgrade now with approved installations for a wide range of popular helicopters, including: most Bell 206 and 407 series, Eurocopter’s AS 350 B2/B3 and EC 130 B4. The GTN 750/650 series is approved for installations in the EC 130 T2 and MD Helicopter’s 369E/F/FF models. And the G500H is approved for installation in the R44. For a firsthand look, stop by our exhibit (booth #9536) at HAI or visit Garmin.com/helicopters.

Note: Options available for HTAWS, NVG, radar altimeter, and satellite data links (with additional equipment, sold separately). ©2017 Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries

MATT THURBER

An increase in demand so far in 2017 has been a pleasant surprise for Robinson, causing management to raise production rates to keep up with a spike in orders. One reason is a boost in Russian sales, attributed to removal of import taxes.

Robinson Helicopter sees revitalized market in 2017

by Mark Huber Robinson Helicopter’s 2016 annual delivery numbers dropped sharply from 2015, but the company expects this year’s numbers to climb. Last year Robinson delivered 234 aircraft, down from 347 the previous year. The delivery mix included 63 R66 turbine singles, 114 R44 Raven IIs, 26 R44 Raven Is, 12 Cadets and 19 R22s. That compares with 2015 deliveries that included 117 R66s, 152 R44 Raven IIs, 44 R44 Raven Is and 34 R22s.

While delivery numbers were down, the average unit price sold increased substantially, thanks to customer-specified options such as the Garmin G500H avionics package with the Genesys Aerosystems HeliSas autopilot and now the recently announced availability of the HeliSas autopilot on the R44 when equipped with the Aspen Avionics EFD 1000H primary flight display. “Our sales may have been down,” said CEO Kurt Robinson, “but the people who are buying aircraft are buying them fairly loaded.

They are putting all the bells and whistles on them.”

Robinson said that sales of the new two-seat R44 Cadet are going well as the helicopter gains certification in more markets. “Once you get it certified here in the U.S. you still have to get it certified in all the other countries. We are still grinding through that in Canada and some other places [where] we are close but not quite there yet,” he said.

“We’re not worried about the Cadet at all, we think it is going to do very well given its price and the options it gives you.

It’s a great little aircraft.” At the end of January the University of North Dakota’s flight training program took delivery of its first Cadet.

“The Cadet will serve a bigger market than just training because of the cargo space in back and the available airconditioning,” he said. “There are a lot of jobs where you need only one or two people, and it is perfect [for that]. The R44 Raven I doesn’t have the margins and the power to put air-conditioning on it, but with the Cadet you do. Someone can get a Cadet with the Garmin G500H, with the autopilot, with air-conditioning and that’s what we are seeing.

For IFR training it is really popular.

And the Raven II, while more expensive, gives you so many more options and has always been our most popular aircraft.”

Robinson Helicopter is working on a variety of improvements to, and new options for, its existing models. The company recently certified the R66 with a police package, and it is working on certifying the R66 with a newsgathering option that includes a new gyro-stabilized camera with a 40:1 lens.

“We’ve got quite a bit of demand for that, and that is really close to certification,” Robinson said.

Also on the R66, the company is developing a wire-strike protection kit with Magellan and a lithium-ion battery option with Mid-Continent Instrument’s True Blue Power division. “I think the battery will be incredibly popular,” Robinson said. “Our standard battery weighs 36 pounds, but most people order the increased output battery that weighs 52 pounds. This lithium battery has the same output of the larger, heavier battery but weighs just 16 pounds. That’s a significant weight reduction.” Robinson also is working with Donaldson to develop an inlet barrier filter for the

12 HAI Convention News • March 7, 2017 • www.ainonline.com

R66 in response to requests from Australian customers. “While the R66 has performed well in harsher environments, they have that red dirt there that is very harsh on the turbine,” Robinson noted.

Robinson is developing its own data recorder for the R44 and the R66. “It’s not just an engine monitoring unit, but it will record other parameters on the aircraft and be useful to both mechanics and in the event of an accident. It’s a project we hope to have done by the end of the year,” Robinson said.

The OEM continues to look at ways to simplify maintenance and increase inspection intervals. “Last year we approved new spindles for the R22 that eliminated the 500-hour inspection that was required and allowed people who installed them to switch to a collectiveactivated hour meter instead of an engine-activated one. That adds 12 to 14 percent to the life of the [helicopter] and obviously lowers the [operating] costs,”

Robinson said.

He said he doesn’t see the availability of credit as an issue for most of the company’s U.S customers, but there has been some tightness internationally. “In the United States it’s not too big of an issue. The dealers all work with different finance companies they like to work with. We have seen it overseas. Our dealer in Brazil just told me that financing had been very slow, but they are working with a new finance program now in their country, and it is something that they hope will increase sales this year. We’ve stayed away from financing, as 65 to 70 percent of our production goes overseas. [Father and company founder] Frank [Robinson] always used to joke that the last thing he wanted to do was to try and repossess a helicopter in Russia.”

The Russian market, long a strong one for the company, is improving since that country temporarily lifted its import tax on light helicopters last year, Robinson said. “That has triggered more sales activity in Russia.”

Robinson said he expects 2017 to be better than 2016. “We have seen orders spike up a little bit. Maybe it’s the optimism about the economy. If you called me at the beginning of the year, I would have said my best guess [is] that our production would have been the same as last year, but right now we are running a little bit ahead. I’ve got to kick the R44 production line up a little bit.

We’re doing three helicopters a week now and I think by summer we are going to have to increase that to four.” To put that improved number in context, Robinson said it’s still half of what the company was producing a decade ago during fatter times for the entire industry. Robinson continues to employ 1,100 at its Torrance, Calif., headquarters. o

HELITOWCART HANDLES HELICOPTERS ON THE GROUND Helitowcart wants Robinson R44 and R66 recent R44s and R66s. Tow handles can be ground handling to be easier, more conve- used on the left or right and cranked fornient and smoother with newly developed ward or aft as desired. designs for tow handles and wheel-tire comHelitowcart’s new Easy Roll wheel has binations. This includes a tow handle with a solid rubber tires for manual handling on hard bright-red anodization finish; the tow han- surfaces with less effort. The Quebec, Candle and its wheel can be readily disassem- ada, company (Booth 8649) said the Easy Roll bled for stowage under a seat or in a small design provides customers with a broader space. Wheel hubs are aviation-grade alumi- assortment of choices to find a tire texture num to save weight for easier handling and and wheel that meet their needs. The compato improve the weight-and-balance situation. ny’s Regular Wheel with pneumatic tires is still A skid pin introduced available, and this helps with one year ago remains a key smooth movement over hanfeature, with adjustable gar rails. The Wide Wheel height of 1.75 or 2.2 inches tire is also available and (4.5 or 5.5 cm) for better helps protect turf grasses clearance of objects such as from helicopter movement. hangar rails. Flexible mountA gel-filled option is also ing schemes permit usage available to maintain shockon inner and outer skids absorption and eliminate tube maintenance. ­—N.G.K. to fit earlier R44s through R44/R66 wheel-tire combo

EXTENSIVE AND GROWING RANGE OF PROGRAMS DALLAS Airbus Helicopters H135 Bell 212 Bell 412EP Bell 412EP-Fast Fin Bell 430 Sikorsky S-76B DENVER Airbus Helicopters H135 LAFAYETTE Bell 206 Bell 407 Leonardo Helicopters AW139 Sikorsky S-76C+/C++ Sikorsky S-92 LONDON FARNBOROUGH Sikorsky S-92

LEVEL D HELICOPTER TRAINING FOR SUPERIOR QUALITY, EFFECTIVENESS AND VALUE

SHREVEPORT Helicopter Flight Training Center – Metro Aviation Airbus Helicopters AS350 B2 Airbus Helicopters H135 SINGAPORE Sikorsky S-76C+/C++

FlightSafety, the global leader in training, offers Level D qualified simulators for twin- and single-engine helicopters. Designed to enhance the safety and proficiency of helicopter flight crews, our training recognizes that different missions require different skills. Our simulator-based training provides in-depth instruction, from basic operation to highly specialized maneuvers and recovery techniques that would be difficult to perform in a helicopter. FlightSafety’s extensive and growing range of helicopter training programs includes advanced-technology

STAVANGER, NORWAY Sikorsky S-92 WEST PALM BEACH Sikorsky S-70 A/L Sikorsky S-70i Sikorsky S-76C+/C++ Sikorsky S-76D Sikorsky S-92

simulators that replicate an aircraft’s exact flight and performance characteristics.

UPCOMING AND PLANNED

Our VITAL 1100 visual system offers resolutions of more than 12 million pixels that, combined with our exclusive CrewView glass mirror displays, delivers unprecedented fidelity. And our knowledgeable, experienced instructors are simply the best in the business, dedicated to providing the highest quality professional aviation training. That’s why the majority of today’s aircraft manufacturers – including Airbus Helicopters, Bell Helicopter, Leonardo Helicopters and Sikorsky – trust us to provide world-class training. Train with us and we’ll earn your trust, too.

DENVER Airbus Helicopters AS350 B3 Airbus Helicopters H130 Bell 407GXP SHREVEPORT Helicopter Flight Training Center – Metro Aviation Airbus Helicopters EC145

Aviation professionals from around the world trust us to provide the highest quality training and outstanding service.

More than 1,800 highly experienced professional instructors deliver aircraft- and mission-specific courses, using our comprehensive training systems and advanced-technology flight simulators designed to enhance safety. Trust your training to FlightSafety. You’ll see why so many aviation professionals make the same choice. And have since 1951.

For more information, please contact Steve Gross, Senior Vice President, Commercial 314.785.7815 • sales@flightsafety.com • flightsafety.com • A Berkshire Hathaway company

Redbird’s VTO trainer makes Heli-Expo debut

by Curt Epstein Making its debut at Heli-Expo this year is flight training device manufacturer Redbird Flight Simulations (Booth 2804). The San Marcos, Texasbased company, which for the past decade has concentrated mainly on fixed-wing training devices, recently made its first foray into the rotary-wing market with the launch of its VTO motion trainer.

“There isn’t a better format for us to really start talking about it with qualified customers than Heli-Expo,” said Charles Gregoire, company president and COO. He explained that while the company has previously displayed the trainer during the course of its development at shows such as Sun ’n‘ Fun and EAA AirVenture, “this is the first time that what we consider to be the complete product has been shown off to a group of highly qualified helicopter operators.” Redbird has one of the devices, which sells for $150,000, available for demonstrations at its booth.

“We thought if we can build a device that can actually teach someone how to hover—and that means it has to have a motion platform—it has to be able to give the sensation in the

seat of the pants of what’s going on with that aircraft at any one time,” noted Gregoire, son of company founder Jerry Gregoire, who retired at the beginning of the year. “Now you can off-load the most difficult and dangerous things to learn in an actual helicopter, which is maneuvers close to the ground, trying to hover and autorotation, so that’s what we built this device to do.”

‘Emulates’ Specific Models

The company leaned heavily on its previous experience when it came to designing the VTO model. “It’s a lot like our fixed-wing sims,” stated Gregoire. “It is somewhat generic, but it’s made to emulate but not replicate a specific airframe. It’s interchangeable, so you can emulate a Robinson R22, and that’s the unit we are bringing to Heli-Expo.”

He added that customers can quickly swap out components to configure it to an R44 or a Bell 47. “The nice thing about the VTO platform is it is essentially a base platform that can be developed upon,” he told AIN. “We can develop it, as there’s a critical demand in the marketplace for other

Redbird’s VTO rotary-wing trainer uses new technology that it says provides seat-of-pants realism for hovering, autorotation and other training scenarios that involve flight close to the ground. The trainer also has a footprint that fits in a standard classroom.

training platforms.” Currently the company is eyeing the new R44 Cadet training helicopter for adaptation to the device.

“The aircraft performance is the same, but it’s the gauge cluster and the avionics that the pilot would be interfacing with that would change,” he added.

“The platform that we have here with this VTO is unlike any other platform on the market,” said Gregoire. While most motion simulators involve the cab’s situation on top of a forest of hydraulic or electric actuators, Redbird went in a different direction in terms of the engineering design of its helicopter simulator.

Sikorsky in Phase 3 of ALIAS program

by Bill Carey The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded Sikorsky (Booth 8114) a contract to carry out a third phase of its program to develop an Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System

(ALIAS), the Lockheed Martin subsidiary announced in January.

The drop-in, kit-based system provides advanced automation to an existing aircraft; the aim of the ALIAS program is to reduce pilot workload while enhancing

mission performance and safety.

In addition to assisting with decision making on a manned aircraft, DARPA and industry officials see the technology being applied to control unmanned aircraft systems.

Through ALIAS, pilots can fly the aircraft using a tablet computer that recognizes familiar prompts such as swiping and tapping. Sikorsky’s demonstration system, which connects to existing mechanical, electrical and diagnostic systems, fits under the cabin floor and within the airframe of both airplanes and helicopters.

It’s the Pilot’s Choice

Sikorsky’s S-76 Autonomy Research Aircraft with ‘Matrix’ technology performed at Griffiss International Airport in Rome, N.Y., last fall.

“Pilots can choose to engage autonomy to help operate, dynamically plan, adjust and/ or execute a complete spectrum of responsibilities, allowing the operators to better focus on the designated mission at hand,”

14 HAI Convention News • March 7, 2017 • www.ainonline.com

“Imagine a meatball in a bowl, and the meatball is just sitting there in the middle; that’s the cab of the simulator,” he explained.

“It’s all built into a dual-gimbal design and everything is balanced, so to move it requires very little energy.” That translates into the device being able to run off a standard outlet rather than a specialized power supply.

Also different from most motion simulators is the fact that the device can be installed in a standard classroom. “We’ve always tried to design devices that can be utilized by every flight school, not just the flight schools that have a 30,000-sq-ft,

four-story facility,” noted Gregoire. “We believe in the inherent safety of simulation training. That’s why we do this.

But the only way we are going to get increased acceptance in the marketplace is to make it accessible. These are going into flight schools and flight training operations at any airport.”

Currently there are four of the devices in service; the most recent was delivered to the U.S. Naval Academy in December.

The company has two more units presently under construction, and the build takes approximately 12 weeks from time of order. o

said Mark Miller, Sikorsky vice president of engineering and technology. “Our autonomy capabilities will help pilots in high-workload and degradedvisual environments, ultimately increasing safety and efficiency.”

Over the first two phases of the DARPA program, Sikorsky integrated its “Matrix” automation technology on an S-76 testbed called the Sikorsky Autonomy Research Aircraft and also on a single-engine Cessna Caravan turboprop. Aurora Flight Sciences, of Manassas, Va., tested an autonomy system on a Cessna Caravan and a twin-engine Diamond DA42 piston airplane.

The program conducted ground demonstrations of an ALIAS system’s response to simulated flight contingencies, such as system failures, that might cause pilots to deviate from preset or standard courses of action.

Testers also demonstrated the ability to install and remove an ALIAS kit without affecting airworthiness of the host aircraft.

Phase 3 of the program will

further test the ability of an ALIAS system to respond to contingency situations, decrease pilot workload and adapt to different missions and aircraft types, said Scott Wierzbanowski, DARPA program manager.

“We’re particularly interested in exploring intuitive human-machine interface approaches—including using handheld devices—that would allow users to interact with and control the ALIAS more easily,” Wierzbanowski added. “Ultimately, we want to design for and demonstrate the improved ALIAS across as many as seven previously untested fixed- and rotarywing platforms.”

NASA and the U.S. Air Force, Army and Navy are providing support to the ALIAS program.

They plan to continue participating “to identify potential transition opportunities” for the technology, DARPA said. o

Swiss Rotor Solutions has received EASA certification for its Maximum Pilot View Kit enlarged bubble windows for the Airbus AS350/H125.

Max view bubble kit improves pilot vision

by Matt Thurber Swiss Rotor Solutions (Booth 7350) has certified its Maximum Pilot View Kit (MPVK), a replacement for the rightside cockpit door in the Airbus AS350/H125 that allows pilots to see a much wider field of view during long-line and other types of challenging utility helicopter

flying. The MPVK received EASA certification on December 21, with the assistance of certification partner GVH Aerospace, which will provide installation and maintenance support.

Certification in other countries, including the U.S., Canada and Brazil, is expected to follow

shortly. One of the first helicopters to receive the MPVK is a new H125 equipped with Garmin’s G500 display and the Genesys Aerosystems HeliSas autopilot, which is covered in the supplemental type certificate.

The MPVK replaces the AS350’s standard door with a

Trent Vick and Robert Fournier receive Appareo Pilot of the Year Award

Robert Fournier Here at Heli-Expo 2017 Trent Vick and Robert Fournier will receive the Appareo Pilot of the Year Award at the Salute to Excellence Awards dinner at the Hilton Anatole Dallas on March 8. The award recognizes active pilots who demonstrate an exceptional act of professionalism. Vick and Fournier are due to receive the award because of their heroic work during the Copper King Fire in Montana during the summer of 2016.

Trent Vick started his helicopter career as a flight instructor in 2008 after viewing a presentation about medical careers that included a fly-in by a helicopter air ambulance in Missoula, Mont. He attended Hillsboro Aero Academy near Portland, Ore., after joining the Air Force to fund his helicopter flight training in 2009. He went on to receive his commercial certificate and earn a position as an S-61 copilot with Helicopter Transport Services (HTS). While flying the S-61, Vick continued to work as a flight instructor at Hillsboro Aero Academy, completing two to four flights a day, flying maneuvers such as autorotations, maximum performance takeoffs,

Trent Vick airport landings, simulated engine failures and more.

Meanwhile, Robert Fournier earned his commercial fixed-wing certificate and attended the helicopter flight training program at Canadore College in North Bay, Ontario (Canada), on a scholarship. He spent five years flying charter assignments in northern Canada, then took a position with HTS in Ontario.

Vick describes Fournier as a “stand-up guy who holds professionalism in the highest regard.

He has a great amount of experience in the industry and a lot of time in all sorts of aircraft including both helicopters and commercial fixed-wing operations. There isn’t a question you can ask him about his aircraft, or nearly any other, that he doesn’t have an answer for. He is a great example of what a true professional pilot should look like.”

In the summer of 2016, Fournier and Vick were working out of Plains, Mont., when they were called to tend to the Copper King Fire. Unfortunately, gusty winds up to 50 knots had caused the fire to almost triple in size within 24 hours. With the strong wind and the area’s steep terrain, the fire was difficult

16 HAI Convention News • March 7, 2017 • www.ainonline.com

door with a large bubble window that meets at the bottom with a transparent fuselage window fairing mounted into a floor and fuselage insert and frame. The side bubble window in the door provides more space for the pilot’s head—including a helmet—particularly when

to control. Vick, Fournier and their Sikorsky S-64E Sky Crane were called in to transport water from the Clark Fork River near Thompson Falls to the fire.

Vick recalled the anxiety he felt while driving from Plains to Thompson Falls along Highway 200.

Although it was dark, the active flames lit up the area as they grew closer to the houses near the highway.

Vick understood the responsibility he and Fournier had; to calm the fire and keep the locals safe.

While on one of their numerous water runs, Vick and Fournier spotted a young boy named Weston excitedly waving at them. The boy was interested in the helicopter because his father was a firefighter also working on the Copper King Fire.

Vick said the two men waved back a few times but it was Fournier who suggested they stop by to give the boy a hat or some stickers.

Vick explained, “A lot of helicopter pilots start flying because it’s their dream to fly. I was inspired when I was younger by a helicopter pilot who flew in at a medical presentation and talked about his role as an EMS pilot. We just thought it would be very cool to go talk to someone who shared the same passion as us. I had also been away from my family for the whole summer, and seeing Weston on the bank reminded me a lot of my own son here in Portland. So it was a brief break from life on the road to go share our passion with a young boy.”

With the help of these two pilots as well as firefighters and other volunteers, containment of the Copper King Fire grew to 70 percent by September 2016. Focused on helping those in need, Vick never imagined that his work on this project would lead toward the Pilot of the Year Award.

“My goal now is to try to be the best at what I do year in and year out,” he said. “I hope that I can use this award as motivation to become an expert in my field. I have a very long way to go before that happens, but I feel like I will be holding myself to the highest standards possible. It’s also an honor to share this award with Mr. Fournier.” —S.C.

leaning over to look downward through the lower bubble window, which provides a wide field of view directly below the helicopter. To fill the gap between the floor and the door when a downward field of view is not needed and to protect the lower window from debris, the kit includes a solid cover for the bottom window that fits level with the cockpit floor.

Swiss Rotor Solutions, based in Zweisimmen, Switzerland, claims the composite MPVK will increase vertical visibility below the helicopter by a factor of 10. With the standard floor window, the pilot has a view of about 120 sq m, according to the company, and the MPVK boosts that to 1,200 sq m. Design of the kit was accomplished using finite element modeling and computational fluid dynamics to ensure optimum aerodynamic characteristics.

European helicopter insurance providers are offering discounts of about 15 percent for AS350s/H125s with the kit installed. According to Swiss Rotor Solutions, “The MPVK dramatically improves the capability and safety to perform demanding operations such as sling loading, fire-fighting, SAR/EMS, confined-area operations, aerial survey, seismic, law enforcement and any other tasks performed in close proximity to terrain, obstacles and ground crews or when operating at remote landing sites.”

Installation of the MPVK will take between 70 to 150 hours, and kit cost (not including installation) is about $50,000. o

wouldn’t it

BE BETTER?

» If one provider covered your diverse fleet » If your maintenance program transferred across models » If your costs were stabilized and predictable At JSSI, we never stop working to make things better for you. We want our name to be synonymous with lower maintenance costs, higher residual value and superior service around the globe. We provide Tip-to-Tail® coverage for virtually any make or model of turbine-powered helicopter, as well as business or commercial jets and turboprops. JSSI. A better approach.

Visit us at booth #7536

Call or email us at +1.312.644.8810 or info@jetsupport.com jetsupport.com

Bell’s next-gen V-280 aims for 2017 first flight

by Matt Thurber In a well-guarded hangar tucked away on the Bell Helicopter campus at Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport in Texas, a tightly knit team of dedicated technicians and engineers is putting the final touches on Bell’s next-generation tiltrotor, the V-280 Valor. If all goes as planned, the V-280, which was about 93 percent complete in late January, will fly sometime around September this year.

Designed to fulfill a requirement for new cost-effective and more efficient aircraft for the U.S. Department of Defense’s Future Vertical Lift program, the V-280 is the U.S. Army’s Joint MultiRole Technology Demonstrator (JMR-TD), “the flagship program anchoring the Army Aviation science and technology portfolio,” according to the Army.

Bell leveraged its experience with the V-22—also built in Amarillo—in designing the V-280. Both share design features such as composite wings and other structural elements, but there are significant differences that are apparent when viewing the two aircraft. The V-22 is much larger and capable of carrying a maximum of 32 passengers plus at least three crewmembers, while the V-280 can fit 14 passengers and four crew. The Navy and Marines required a rear ramp for loading/unloading, which adds complexity and weight to the V-22, but the crew enter and exit the V-280 via six-foot-wide

fuselage doors under the wings.

Also adding complexity to the V-22 is the gigantic spherical bearing mounted under the center wing section and the folding proprotors, which allows the V-22 to fold into a compact and more easily stored unit. The V-280’s wing is fixed to the fuselage, and its proprotors are about a foot shorter than the V-22’s.

Perhaps the biggest difference between the two aircraft is the way the proprotors tilt. On the V-22, the engines tilt up and down to provide the craft’s unique vertical lift and horizontal flight modes.

The V-280’s engines are mounted in the nacelles and do not tilt.

According to Bell, “The output shaft is connected to the drive system through a spiral bevel gearbox that transfers power to the fixed gearbox and proprotor gearbox, which rotates on two big spherical bearings driven by a conversion actuator mechanism.” The V-280’s tilting gearbox design vastly simplifies the V-22’s complex hydro-mechanical clockwork that provides the necessary tiltrotor action.

The V-280’s powerplant configuration offers other advantages, explained V-280 build team manager Scott Allen.

When the V-22’s engines point skyward during vertical flight, the exhaust is directed onto the landing area, and this could cause a fire, say on a grassy area, or damage a ship’s flight deck (the Navy uses protective pads

Though smaller than its predecessor V-22, Bell’s next-generation military tiltrotor affords several advantages. Because its engines remain fixed and only the proprotors pivot, the mechanism is simpler, and there is no exhaust downwash on takeoff and landing.

under the V-22 exhaust blast).

The V-280 projects only proprotor airflow downwards, while the engines remain fixed in place horizontally, eliminating the hot exhaust problem. Another benefit is that the pilot’s field of view is improved, with much less machinery blocking the view along the wings, he explained.

Digital Design

Allen has been involved with the V-280 JMR-TD for four years, ever since it began as a preliminary design concept. Like Bell’s new 505 and 525, the V-280 was developed in Bell’s new digital design framework, which has helped keep costs down. The V-280 wing, for example, is estimated to cost less than half that of the V-22 wing, according to Allen. Designing the drawings

R44 NVG PANEL LIGHTING OFFERED BY AERO DYNAMIX Aero Dynamix, Inc. (ADI, Booth 9961) now offers a new Robinson R44 instrument panel lighting system that is compatible with night vision goggles (NVG). Under the FAA supplemental type certificate (STC), ADI performs internal avionics modifications including a white LED-overlay night vision imaging system (NVIS) and modification of the original-equipment engine-instrument cluster.

“The NVG LED overlay provides optimal NVG and night lighting by providing NVIS-compatible lighting for the engine gauges,” said Tonka Hufford, ADI COO, “while also enhancing the basic gauge readability due to the very white light being produced.”

“This is also true for the NVIS

white LED modification of the OEM engine cluster,” she said.

The R44 STC update averages about $30,000, depending upon final configuration, she added.

Aero Dynamix offers this R44 LED overlay panel lighting system.

Growth of the R44 market prompted ADI to develop the STC. Over the course of more than 20 years, ADI has acquired 34 NVG cockpit STCs applicable to more than 40 different aircraft types. Regulatory approvals have been granted worldwide by regulatory authorities in Europe, Canada, Japan and Brazil. The modifications are also certified by the Defense Logistics Agency for MIL-DTL-7788 illuminated panels.

Based in Euless, Texas, ADI employs about 100 people for engineering, research and development, manufacturing, quality assurance and certification. Modifications do not void warranties by Garmin, Honeywell, Rockwell Collins, Universal Avionics and other avionics manufacturers. n

18 HAI Convention News • March 7, 2017 • www.ainonline.com

for one of the V-22’s hydraulic systems took 700 to 800 manhours, compared to just 40 for the V-280. “Digital designs present huge opportunities” he said.

The program faced many challenges, but the hand-picked team of top Bell engineers and technicians has been able to solve every one.

One challenge is because of the fixed wing mounting, which means that the V-280 will have to fly out of Amarillo, as it can’t be folded up like the V-22.

Because of this, Bell had to build a ground-run stand, which features large ramps for the V-280 to roll up for installation in the test rig. The Amarillo Economic Development Corporation provided a $3 million grant to Bell to build the run stand.

While Bell built the V-280’s composite wing at its own facilities, the fuselage, made of aluminum frames and composite skins, was built by Spirit AeroSystems.

The fuselage could eventually be all-composite, made using Spirit’s filament-winding machines, but that would depend on the Army’s level of comfort with composite structure. “I’d love to get to zero fasteners,” Allen said.

Flight control surfaces are composite, as are the proprotors.

The V-280’s wing has 22 percent of the parts count of the V-22 wing; the V-22 wing is also more complex, with some dihedral that isn’t present in the V-280’s flat wing. Like the V-22, an interconnect shaft runs in the back of the wing, allowing either engine to power both proprotors in case of engine failure.

The V-280’s landing gear configuration is also unique; basically, it’s a taildragger, with two

main landing gear up front and a large wheel on the aft fuselage, and all are retractable.

The empennage is a V-tail configuration, which some observers note is not the same as early drawings of Marine Corps V-280s with downward-tilting anhedral stabilizers. “That is one potential solution, but we haven’t evaluated it yet,” said Allen.

The V-280 is equipped with its own APU, mounted toward the top of the aft fuselage, and this can power utility systems and help start the aircraft’s GE T64-419 engines, each with more than 5,000 shp. The V-280 has three hydraulic systems running at 3,000 psi (compared to the V-22’s 5,000 psi), and up to two systems can fail while the remaining system powers the fly-by-wire flight controls.

Last year, Bell demonstrated a sophisticated new cockpit concept for the V-280, a singledisplay touchscreen that fills the entire instrument panel. The touchscreen display has integrated night-vision and synthetic vision capabilities and allows the pilot to customize layouts of various kinds of information.

In the V-280 JMR-TD, the cockpit is more standard, with dual Lockheed Martin PFDs and MFDs and dual FMSs. The fly-by-wire collective and cyclic are a similar shape as the Bell 525’s, and they are mechanically interconnected to provide a visual cue of control movement for both pilots.

V-280 specifications include a maximum speed of 280 knots, combat range of 500 to 800 nm, maximum self-deployable range of more than 2,100 nm and 13,000+ pounds of useful load. o

7UDIƄF 3DWWHUQ Warnings

1090/978 MHz Transponder

NEXRAD & 6WRUPVFRSH

NOTAMs & TFRs

$FWLYH 7UDIƄF

Terrain & 2EVWDFOHV

ATAS $OHUWLQJ

Winds & 7HPSV $ORIW

THE ONE FOR ALL

ALL-IN-ONE ADS-B SOLUTION

L3 Lynx NGT-9000

“A revolutionary, slam-dunk winner.”

—Flying Magazine, Editor’s Choice Award

Thousands of pilots have found their ADS-B solution — and much more — by flying the Lynx NGT-9000. The patented and award-winning Lynx is the world’s first touchscreen transponder that also displays ADS-B traffic and weather. Features such as terrain, Stormscope ® and NextGen Active Traffic® are also available as the software driven display easily grows with your needs.

Visit L3 at HeliExpo Booth 10056 Wi-Fi Traffic & Weather to your ForeFlight App

TRAFFIC

TRANSPONDER / WEATHER

L3Lynx.com

Sikorsky’s multi-role menu buttresses S-76 and S-92 sales

by Charles Alcock The slow, but somewhat steady, recovery in oil prices may have fueled some expectations of a recovering helicopter utilization

for offshore support operations. But Dana Fiatarone, Sikorsky’s vice president for commercial systems and services, isn’t

Excellence in Helicopter Maintenance Services Excellence in Helicopter

Maintenance Services

Airframes Design

Components Engines PBH Part Sales

HAI Heli-Expo Booth 2608

Heli-One.com

20 HAI Convention News • March 7, 2017 • www.ainonline.com

taking the bait from those who would portray this as an assured path to an uptick in demand for new aircraft. “Overall, we’re still bumping along the bottom [in demand from the offshore sector], but I suppose we’re hopeful that 2018 will start to show a turn upwards,” he told AIN in an interview ahead of HeliExpo 2017. “The longterm trend is that this is just part of a cycle that we’ll come through after one of the industry’s worst downturns.”

Sikorsky has never put all its eggs in one offshore basket. Fiatarone was quick to emphasize the multi-mission characteristics of the manufacturer’s S-76 and S-92 families. Applications include emergency medical services (EMS), VIP transportation, and search and rescue (SAR).

He reported strong interest in the S-76 in both the North American and Asian markets, and pointed out that the S-92 will soon pick up its 11th head-of-state transportation role when it enters service with the U.S. Marine Corps to provide vertical lift for the country’s new president. The S-92 has also found favor as an SAR platform, with Alaska’s North Slope Borough having introduced one into this application in late September 2016.

To date, more than 850 S-76Ds have been delivered to customers across 40 countries. “The market sees what a robust platform this is for multiple applications,” Fiatarone said. “We’re still only a year or two in with the S-76D, so we expect this to continue to do well for a few more years, and we can still push it in other areas while the oil and gas sector is down.

In the longer term, we have talked about a possible next-generation platform [to replace the current model]. By comparison, the S-92 is more like a teenager. It

The North Slope Borough in Alaska introduced a new S-92 helicopter into search and rescue service in September 2016.

was first delivered in 2004; 275 aircraft have been delivered and it’s now passed one million flight hours.”

S-97 Raider

The cutting edge of Sikorsky’s technology development effort is represented by its new S-97 Raider demonstrator that is being prepared as a next generation light tactical helicopter for the military. Based on the U.S. company’s Collier Awardwinning X-2 technology—featuring a coaxial rotor system, fly-by-wire controls and a clutched propeller—it promises speeds of up to 220 knots and exceptional hot-and-high performance up to 10,000 feet in 95-deg F temperatures.

For now, there is no declared path for how this technology may eventually be applied to civil rotorcraft. “Speed is just one differentiator, and the question is what value do you place on that speed,” commented Fiatarone. “We need more conversations with customers on that point, taking account of how many trips they want to do each day and the extent to which they value factors such as expanding the ‘golden hour’ for EMS operations and being able to cover more ocean in the SAR environment.”

Meanwhile, the Sikorsky engineering team continues to push for incremental advances in areas such as improved autonomy for helicopter operations through improvements to the human-machine interface; and boosting productivity through advances such as new approach procedures for offshore rigs that reduce pilot workload at the busier stages of flight.

At the same time, work has continued under a DARPA-funded research project to evaluate the Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System, which is being demonstrated on an S-76 as part of efforts to extend the scope for autonomous missions on the path to optionally piloted operations. In flight tests conducted last year, the Sikorsky team demonstrated the ability of a pilot to plan and execute every phase of an autonomous mission with a tablet device—tapping the company’s Matrix Technology. o

WHEN YOUR MISSION MEANS

EVERYTHING Each mission is unique, but all P&WC turboshaft engines have one thing in common: You can depend on them. Designed for outstanding performance, enhanced flying experience and competitive operating economics, the PW200 and PT6 engine families are the leaders in helicopter power. With innovative technology that respects the environment and a trusted support network that offers you peace of mind, you can focus on what matters most:

A MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

VISIT US AT HAI HELI-EXPO 2017 - BOOTH #7117

WWW.PWC.CA/DPHM

NEWS CLIPS z Mecaer Names Gary Brown as Mx Director Mecaer Aviation Group (Booth 11537) named Gary Brown as its new director of maintenance. Brown recently served as chief inspector for an FAA Part 145 and EASA 145 organization.

Overall, Brown has more than 20 years of experience in the aviation industry, including approximately 10 years working for Part 145 organizations, as well as more than seven years supporting the Leonardo/AgustaWestland AW139.

In addition, Mecaer announced that its facility in northeast Philadelphia will soon become a customization center for the Bell 505 MAGnificent. The company also serves as a Leonardo Helicopters service center for the A109E/S, A109SP, A11MKII and AB/AW139.

z FSI and Sikorsky Intro Graphical Sim for S-76D Further enhancing training for Sikorsky S-76D pilots is a new FlightSafety International (FSI) graphical flight deck simulator, a stationary cockpit trainer that provides interactive representations of the aircraft’s cockpit on touchscreens.

The new training device “significantly enhances the fullspectrum learning experience,” according to Dana Fiatarone, Sikorsky v-p of commercial systems and services. “It enables pilots to familiarize themselves with the cockpit, aircraft systems and avionics suite prior to flying the full-flight simulator and allows pilots to fully focus on in-depth flight training in the levelD-qualified simulator.”

The same software that drives the FSI (Booth 5710) graphical flight deck simulator supports a PC-based, dual-screen desktop simulator that can be used in classroom training for both instructor-led and individually self-paced instruction.

JSfirm survey shows industry hopeful following U.S. election

by Samantha Cartaino with candidates’ high pay expectations.

The survey also asked companies about growth projection, aircraft support and services offered. A majority of the companies that participated worked with corporate aircraft such as the Learjet, Citation, Hawker and Gulfstream (31 percent) while others worked with general aviation single and light twin-engine aircraft (22 percent), helicopters (15 percent) and commercial/ transport wide-body aircraft (15 percent).

Ultimately, these companies believe they will see moderate growth in 2017.

“The survey results indicate a thriving aviation job market,” JSfirm operations manager Jeff R ichards said. “We are busy! New companies are posting jobs and job seekers are creating memberships to stay up to date on new opportunities.” o

JSfirm.com (Booth 11244) found that 51 percent of the aviation companies that participated in its hiring trends survey believe that the presidential election will have a positive impact on the aviation industry. Overall, 358 aviation companies specializing in MRO and OEM services as well as aircraft operators, training centers and others in different sectors of the aviation industry participated in the survey.

The survey found that 88 percent of companies expect to hire in 2017, with maintenance and avionics technicians as well as pilots in high demand followed closely by sheet metal/ machine operators and customer service representatives. Of those who participated, 71 percent did not cut jobs in 2016. The companies, however, cited a decrease in qualified professionals as one of the biggest challenges, along

Rotorcraft Sector Hiring

z EASA Okays Robinson R66 Turbine Marine Robinson Helicopter (Booth 11842) has received EASA approval for the R66 Turbine Marine with pop-out floats. Tests were conducted in Spain last July at a facility with the capability of simulating the certification requirements that included Sea State 4. The Marine can now be used in Europe in emergency situations and for commercial operations. Sea State refers to the height, period and character of waves on the surface of a large body of water. The R66 Turbine Marine was certified by the FAA in November 2014. Current price for the base aircraft is $916,000. Robinson said it “looks forward to expanding the Marine’s market throughout Europe.”

72% 40%

Were any jobs cut from your company last year (2016)?

How many people did your company hire last year (2016)?

z Airbus Delivers H145 to WeatherTech Founder Airbus Helicopters recently delivered a customized H145 to entrepreneur David MacNeil. The WeatherTech founder and owner, who already operates an H125, worked with Airbus employees on customizing, assembling and installing a new navigation and communications system in the aircraft. Airbus is displaying an H145 here at Heli-Expo (Booth 7648).

The H145, which can seat eight passengers, features the Airbus Helionix flight deck, designed to enhance performance and safety. It also includes a four-axis digital automatic flight control system designed for improved situational awareness.

Besides the H145, Airbus is also displaying several of its helicopters and a virtual reality experience featuring the H160 at Heli-Expo.

13% NONE

13% 11-20 6-10 5

22 HAI Convention News • March 7, 2017 • www.ainonline.com

8% 9% 9% 11-20

21-50

In 2017, my company is projecting:

12%

z Airbus Nets H125 Order from Reach Medical Reach Medical Services, a Santa Rosa, California-based subsidiary of Air Medical Group Holdings, placed an order for five new H125s from Airbus Helicopters here at Heli-Expo 2017. The order follows a Rocky Mountain fly-off in Colorado last summer of the Bell 407 and Airbus H125 and H130 singles. Both Airbus models exceeded flight-envelope expectations, according to the manufacturer, with the H125 edging out its stable mate.

The helicopters will primarily serve mountain communities in the western U.S. Two H125s are planned for delivery to Reach this June, to be joined by three more in the third quarter.

Although Reach has long operated the twin-engine H135, the order represents its first order of the H125. The OEM will install the air medical equipment in the helicopters.

6-10

26%

Moderate growth No growth Moderate

Not sure

16%

1% . % 5 5%

3

%

7%

51-100 101-200 201-500

NONE

42%

3%

1-50

51-200+

How many people will your company be hiring this year (2017)?

21% 14% 11-20 6-10 5

6-10

% 6% 9 7% 11-20

*Chart depicts responses to JSfirm survey specifically from companies in the rotorcraft sector.

21-50

51-100

3%

101-200

7% 201+

13% Likely

The Honeywell Aspire 200 satcom system for helicopters includes either a motorized (left) or fixed antenna, line replaceable units and MMU-II integrated dialer and text messaging terminal.

Honeywell Aspire 200 satcom STC in the works for AS350s

by Kerry Lynch Honeywell Aerospace is finishing up its supplemental type certificate (STC) for installation of its Aspire 200 Inmarsat SwiftBroadband-based satcom system on the Airbus AS350 as it highlights the important role the concept of a connected aircraft can play in applications such as medevac and police use.

Honeywell has submitted the paperwork for the second STC and was hoping to have it in hand by Heli-Expo, if not shortly afterward, said Tom Neumann, who recently became v-p of operations for Honeywell’s BendixKing unit after serving as a director in the commercial helicopters business.

The approval comes a little more than a year after Honeywell secured the initial approval on the Leonardo AW139 and as work continues on a number of other platforms. Honeywell is working with Safran Engineering Services to secure approvals from both the FAA and EASA on a range of both commercial and military platforms. In the interim, Honeywell is planning a series of demonstrations of capabilities in the AS350 for uses such as emergency medical operations.

Aspire 200 is a high-speed wireless broadband system that can provide data rate speeds approaching 600 kbps, depending on the package adopted. Neumann noted this is a “step change function” in broadband capabilities “versus traditional Iridium systems.”

The increase became possible as Honeywell worked through the issue of helicopter configuration. The rotor blade has acted as a shield that prevented the signal from reaching the satellite, he said. To get around that, the solution was to have “an extremely long tail boom with an antenna that really didn’t work optimally,” he said. “We’ve solved that problem now by allowing the system to basically push the signal through the rotor blade.”

The new speed capabilities open a range of possibilities that Neumann said were not possible before. One focus is packaging services for telemedicine uses for EMS operations. “We’re working on the capability to get [medical] information such as a patient’s vital signs and even ultrasound to the hospital,” he said.

“When a patient arrives at the hospital, the potential for survivability goes up exponentially because they’ve got that information.”

The telemedicine capability is one of several possibilities that Honeywell is eyeing. He noted customers have been looking for “tele-engineering” solutions, under which they can transmit engineering diagnoses in remote locations to a base location. Search and rescue and law enforcement are other potential applications, he sawid, noting police can broadcast images from surveillance back to the station.

With STC approval in hand, Neumann added, “we’re at the point it’s no longer a concept. It can actually be done and we can now demonstrate this.”

With the market undergoing a downturn, he noted, “the helicopter industry is at the point where owners are searching for other ways to utilize the ability of the helicopter and ways to go commercial.

The connected aircraft is a path to open the market to different industries in ways that weren’t open or possible.”

Honeywell is not just focused on the “pipe, but also to provide solutions to various users and provide services that are valuable to them,” he said.

Honeywell is still working out pricing on installation. The price will vary according to hardware, such as the antenna, and also whether it is coupled with data packages, he said, adding “we’re very, very aware” of the margins of the industry.

Honeywell plans to highlight the technology at this year’s Heli-Expo (Booth 5423), alongside its Sky Connect Tracker III satellite communications and helicopter tracking system. Honeywell late last year announced an agreement with EMS provider Air Methods to collaborate on bringing the latest Sky Connect Tracker system to market.

Honeywell is upgrading Air Methods’s existing Sky Connect Tracker II system to the III, which enables phone and text services and provides helicopter fleet tracking globally for fleet managers. In addition, the Tracker III provides flight data monitoring functionality in compliance with the FAA’s mandate for EMS operators. o

SAVING YOU MONEY IS OUR BOTTOM LINE Service-related expenses are a significant part of an operator’s bottom line.

At StandardAero, we’re lowering our customers’ DOCs by implementing preventative practices that reduce unscheduled engine removal and emergency maintenance. As an OEM authorized RollsRoyce AMROC, our comprehensive support programs are designed specifically to increase M250 MTBR, keeping you in the air with worldwide Service Centers and Mobile Service Teams available 24/7.

AOG and need it now? We have an extensive M250 engine accessory and exchange pool, supported by our fresh M250 rental fleet and quick turn-times. www.standardaero.com/heli +1.204.318.7544

VISIT US AT HELI-EXPO EXHIBIT #10353 Copyright © 2017 StandardAero. All Rights Reserved.

www.ainonline.com • March 7, 2017 • HAI Convention News 23

Reflecting more cautious mood, Honeywell lowers helo forecast

by Curt Epstein In its latest five-year Turbine Powered Civil Helicopter Purchase Outlook, Honeywell Aerospace downgraded its delivery totals from last year’s forecast by roughly 400 units. Honeywell is now forecasting deliveries of 3,900 to 4,400 civil turbine helicopters between 2017 and 2021.

Released today at Heli-Expo, the results for the 19th annual survey reflect the slow global economic growth environment and volatility in oil and gas markets, which are fostering a cautious worldwide outlook for near-term new purchases despite “generally increasing” fleet utilization. Those usage rates are expected to improve significantly in North and Latin America over the course of the year, with a moderate rise in Europe, and 2017 deliveries are anticipated to increase modestly over 2016’s totals.

“The current global economic situation

is causing fleet managers to evaluate new helicopter purchases closely, and that’s why we are seeing a more cautious five-year demand projection compared with previous years,” noted Ben Driggs, president of Honeywell Aerospace for the Americas.

This year’s prognostication is based on responses of more than 1,000 chief pilots and flight department managers from companies operating 3,746 turbine and 362 piston helicopters worldwide.

Broken down by region, the company (Booth 5423) saw North American purchase plans decline for the second straight year, in this case by more than 2 percent. The region encompasses more than 40 percent of the current global fleet. More than three quarters of the region’s planned purchases in the fiveyear survey window consist of light, single-engine models, while nearly 13

Waypoint boosts Airbus fleet, breaks into Chinese market

by Charles Alcock

BARRY AMBROSE

Waypoint Leasing today confirmed an order for 16 more aircraft from Airbus Helicopters, including a mix of H135s, H145s and H175s. The Ireland-based lessor already has 45 of the European manufacturer’s aircraft in its 140-strong fleet and, prior to this latest $105 million contract, already held commitments for 10 more H135s and 16 H145s.

The latest batch of H135 and H145 light twins will mainly be leased to operators providing emergency medical and utility services worldwide. These will be

percent consist of intermediate or medium twin-engine models.

While still above the world average, Latin American purchase plans declined by 13 percent compared with the 2016 survey results due to sputtering economies in Brazil and Venezuela.

The Middle East and Africa show the second highest new purchase rate predictions, with nearly a quarter of the respondents in the region planning for a new helicopter purchase during the survey window. Nearly 80 percent of the slated purchases will consist of intermediate and medium twin-engine rotorcraft.

Meanwhile, overall buying plans declined by more than 3 percent in Europe, down for the second year in a row, with intended purchases, excluding heavy-twin helicopters, split evenly among the categories.

In Asia-Pacific, where rotorcraft operators tend to focus more on corporate and oil and gas usage, purchase plans leaned more toward the medium segment.

For BRIC countries, Honeywell noted that limited survey sample sizes in Russia and India cloud its forecast, but it stated that overall, purchase plans are down 11 percent year-over-year. o

Purchase plans by size Light Single-Engine and Twin-Engine models account for over 66°/o of expected purchases.

Light Single-Engine

Intermediate & Medium Twin-Engine

18% Light Twin-Engine

1% Heavy Multi-Engine

another undisclosed operator in China. from China was won by the company’s “Waypoint’s speed of execution, deep office in Singapore and the company also understanding of our operating needs now has offices in South Africa and Braand ability to structure an attractive lease zil, in addition to its headquarters in Irearrangement will allow us to land and operations in the U.S. focus on our fleet and fulfill and Canada. our missions across the counH175 Offers More try,” commented Skyway chairthe first of the H175 medium-twins in the man Wang Bei. “Waypoint has “We are pleased to be growing Waypoint portfolio and they will be offered proven to be a great partner for our fleet with 16 new Airbus to operators in the oil and gas support sec- Skyway and we look forward helicopters, including the new tor, as well as for search and rescue and to continuing our collaboraH175, a cost-effective and relipublic service missions. tion in the future.” able helicopter,” said Waypoint In other news announced on the first Last week, Waypoint CEO Ed Washecka, commentday of the 2017 Heli-Expo show in Dal- announced it is to deliver a ing on the new order with Airlas, Waypoint signaled its entry into the pair of H135s to Australia’s bus. “We’re beginning to see Waypoint CEO Ed Washecka China market with a lease agreement to Mackay Helicopters, which sustained demand for heavy provide a new H135 for Shanghai Sky- will use them for transferring marine aircraft in the market, while at the same way General Aviation Company. Sepa- pilots to ships. This transaction was time recognizing and responding to the rately, it is to lease an Airbus AS350B3 agreed through the lessor’s newly estab- growing demand for interest in ‘supermodel, taken from its existing fleet, to lished office in Australia. The new business medium’ aircraft that are well suited to a wide range of missions.”

Powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6C-67E engines, the H175 can carry 16 passengers up to 140 nm or 12 passengers up to 200 nm. Due to its light airframe, the aircraft can carry 30 percent more fuel than rival aircraft in its class, according to Airbus Helicopters.

At maximum takeoff weight of 17,195 pounds (7,800 kg), the H175 can hover out of ground effect at 5,800 feet in ISA + 20-deg C conditions. It has achieved a climb to 6,000 meters (19,685 feet) in 6 minutes 54 seconds and to 3,000 meters (9,843 feet) in 3 minutes 10 seconds. Standard cruise speed is 150 knots, rising to 160 knots high speed cruise. In search and rescue roles it can fly for up to six hours.

Waypoint’s aircraft portfolio now has a combined value of more than $1.6 billion committed to 26 different operators in 31 countries. The company (Booth 9836) holds firm orders and options for over 120 more aircraft to be delivered Ireland-based helicopter lessor Waypoint Leasing has placed an order for 16 over the next five years with a value of more Airbus Helicopters, including H135s, H145s and, for the first time, H175s. more than $1.5 billion. o

24 HAI Convention News • March 7, 2017 • www.ainonline.com

Critical Missions

Avionics for when it is needed most.

5-inch FPCDU, UNS-1Fw MMMS

Visit Heli-Expo booth 9149 to learn more.

uasc.com

Bell Helicopter hopes to soon resume flight testing of its super medium Bell 525. Flight testing has been halted since the crash of FTV1 last July in Italy, Texas.

Bell 525 readies to resume flight testing

by Matt Thurber Bell Helicopter (Booth 11249) is preparing the next Relentless flight test helicopter (aircraft 003) for its first flight and resumption of the 525 flight test program. Flight testing was halted after the crash of FTV1 last July in Italy, Texas, in which both test pilots were killed, but it should resume in the “next several months,” according to a Bell spokesman. The National Transportation Safety Board final accident report “is not our driver for return to flight timing,” he added. “Bell Helicopter continues to work closely with the NTSB and FAA to complete the NTSB investigation of the Bell 525 accident.”

Added Larry Thimmesch, vicepresident of 525 sales and business development, “The NTSB and Bell Helicopter have focused the investigation on a sequence of events for which corrective actions are being implemented. Obviously we need to wait until the NTSB comes out with the summary of the findings to talk about what those are.”

Asked whether the NTSB had requested that Bell try to simulate the accident scenario, Thimmesch said, “We have been integrally involved with them through every step of the process to understand the whole aspect. And Bell Helicopter has gone beyond that to look at everything that we do. It’s a perfect opportunity for us to always look at process improvement to validate everything that we’re doing so that when we go back to the air, we’re completely certain we will provide a safe and reliable aircraft as a result of that. So obviously a tragic event—the accident— we’re doing everything we can to leverage all of our learning and move forward with a very safe and reliable aircraft.”

Aircraft 004 and 005 are in the

build process and will be the first two production-conforming 525s, and these will join the flight test program later this summer or early this fall, according to Thimmesch. These 525s will also be the platforms for certification of kits and will also fly customer demonstration flights.

Last December, Bell applied for an extension to the 525 type certificate program because the initial application expired at the end of 2016. “That extension just took us through the end of 2018,” he said, “so somewhere in that timeframe is our objective to certify the aircraft, and we’ll come out with more information on that when we have that full flight test plan.”

Bell is putting the finishing touches on its 525 full flight simulator, manufactured by sister company Tru Simulation + Training, at the Bell Training Academy in Fort Worth, Texas. The simulator will be operational in the third quarter of this year.

Aircraft 003 is Bell’s third development 525, and in early February this helicopter was on its way to undergo pylon pull and control system stiffness or proof testing. The latter tests are done to calibrate aircraft systems to flight test instrumentation, he explained, “so when we see instrumentation through our telemetry lab we know exactly what’s happening on the aircraft.” The pull testing involves connecting devices to the blade attach fittings on the main rotor hub, and these also validate actuation against test instruments.

Similar tests are underway on the tailrotor system.

Ground Tests Continue

Alongside physical testing of the 525s in preparation for return to flight, Bell engineers have been running ongoing tests in

26 HAI Convention News • March 7, 2017 • www.ainonline.com

the Relentless Advanced Systems Integration Lab (RASIL) at the Bell XworX facility in Arlington, Texas. “I call it aircraft zero, and it’s been in a flight-type testing mode for over two years,” said Thimmesch.

“Everything we’ve done in the aircraft we’ve already done in the RASIL.” Meanwhile, development activities continue, including work with certification authorities. “They’re very involved in everything on the program,” he said. “Component testing has continued. Every system has to be tested, and those are best done on the ground, in the test labs. Maturing the product, learning through the component and systems tests, all that’s been moving forward, and there’s a tremendous amount of activity in a clean-sheet program to test and validate everything to its requirements for certification.”

“This is an R&D facility, an engineer’s dream,” said RASIL supervisor Larry Hudson. The RASIL hosts three separate 525 systems integration labs, one for the helicopter’s Garmin G5000H avionics, one for its fly-by-wire flight controls and a third for the electrical system. Bell designed and built the flight control system, which runs on three BAE Systems flight control computers and Moog electrohydraulic actuators.

The collective and cyclic, made by Sagem, are mechanically interconnected (as are the anti-torque pedals) so they move in concert. Bell elected not to adopt electronically connected flight controls, due to the need for additional electronics to manage that connection and ensure reliability and redundancy. “That’s a lot of work,” Hudson said. “I think we have a very good design. When you have your hands on the controls and you feel the

other [pilot] move them, that’s like getting a punch in the arm. You don’t have to look at anything, if somebody moves that control, you know it.”

When pilots climb into the cockpit of the 525, they will notice a big difference compared to other helicopters. The cyclic isn’t mounted between the pilot’s legs on a pivoting mechanism, but protrudes from the end of a housing in front of an adjustable armrest. Because the controls are flyby-wire, it was easier to mount the cyclic this way, and the design means no more hunching over the controls and resting an arm on a leg. The armrest positions the pilot’s wrist comfortably and conveniently for the full range of cyclic movement. The collective is conventionally located on the pilot’s left side, but also has its own armrest for maximum comfort.

The RASIL includes a full cockpit rig with a visual display much like a nonmotion simulator, but hooked into all the lab equipment that replicates the 525’s systems. “We’re able to connect either [test] bench to the cockpit rig, and can also tie in the avionics bench and the electrical bench,” Hudson said. This is far more efficient than previous lab systems, which each had to be tested individually then only came together in the actual helicopter. “We can tie and integrate these systems with everything operating together,” he said, and this means “flying” the simulation using real hardware and software and loads on actuators, allowing engineers to “evaluate the whole system in real-time,” he added.

The 525 will be certified for full flight into known icing condition, but not at initial certification due to the need to chase natural icing conditions. Full icing approval is expected in 2019 or early 2020, according to Thimmesch. Bell will also obtain limited icing capability for North Sea operations at the same time as the full icing approval.

Bell decided not to build another test aircraft after the accident, so four will be used to finish the flight test program. “The aircraft has proven to be very reliable,” he said. “Our efficiency allows us, once we get back in the air—plus the aircraft is more mature—we believe we can be very efficient in our remaining flight test program to hit that certification date.”

The 525s that have flown have logged just under 200 hours. Some ground testing is under way as Bell prepares to resume flight testing, although not engine runs, and this helps advance the program even without flying. “The next insertion point for flying the aircraft is going to be a more mature production representative configuration,” Thimmesch explained.

Bell holds “around 80” letters of intent for the 525, he said. “We have many customers around the world that are following this program very closely. We understand the aircraft, we have validated our vibrational elimination, which will be best in class. We have validated our speed, which has exceeded our expectations, and our hover performance, which has exceeded our expectations. This aircraft has proven itself to be an incredibly capable aircraft.” o

Garmin G500H STC brings ADS-B, H-TAWS to R44

by R. Randall Padfield Robinson R44 pilots flying with the Garmin G500H avionics suite will benefit from new enhancements and capabilities “that promise a faster, more responsive and modernized flight display” under a supplemental type certificate developed

by Olathe, Kansas-based Garmin International (Booth 9536).

“With this upgrade, we’ve incorporated capabilities that put even more information in the pilot’s primary field of view, further expanding upon the toolset within the G500H in the R44,” said Carl Wolf, Garmin v-p of aviation sales and marketing.

The STC includes advanced ADS-B integration, TargetTrend and Terminal Traffic, geo-referenced FliteCharts, Smart Airspace and other enhancements designed to reduce overall pilot workload, according to Garmin. ADS-B in capabilities are available via Garmin’s GDL 88H datalink, which delivers free FIS-B weather and ADS-B traffic. Garmin displays traffic on the G500H moving-map and dedicated traffic pages, but adds TargetTrend, which “provides pilots with a more intuitive method of judging target trajectories and closure rates.”

It also shows positions of ADS-Bequipped traffic and ground vehicles throughout the airport environment with the TerminalTraffic feature. The FIS-B weather information can be viewed as overlays on the moving-map and on dedicated

weather pages, according to Garmin, and also alongside flight planning pages.

G500H enhancements also enable display of optional weather products, such as datalink weather via the GDL 69 (METARs, TAFs, Airmets, Pireps, Canadian Nexrad, winds/temperatures aloft). Also available are text and graphical weather products via the GSR 56 Iridium datalink.

Garmin has added new features thanks to the improved dynamic maps, including faster map rendering, geo-referenced Garmin FliteCharts and WireAware wirestrike avoidance (including powerline alerting on the optional synthetic vision display). Pilots can view upcoming airspace restrictions using Garmin’s Smart Airspace feature, which is based on the helicopter’s current altitude. AGL display with the GRA 55 radar altimeter is now more accurate; a clock or timer display is selectable on the PFD; full-screen video can be viewed on the MFD; outside air temperature units are selectable (SAT, TAT or ISA); H-TAWS annunciations can be displayed on the PFD when interfaced with H-TAWS-enabled GTN 750/650 or 430W/530W systems; topography and terrain data can be displayed simultaneously on the moving map; and LP+V approaches are annunciated on the PFD. The new features and capabilities are available immediately from a Garmin authorized dealer. o

MRO Heli-One Norway was named

by Universal Avionics as a top dealer. Heli-One is the first rotorcraft company to achieve this status.

UNIVERSAL AVIONICS NAMES HELI-ONE AS A TOP DEALER Universal Avionics (Booth 9149) has awarded rotorcraft MRO provider Heli-One Norway with international top dealer status. In 2016, Heli-One introduced several mission retrofit programs incorporating integrated cockpits with Universal Avionics EFI-890H advanced flight displays and flight management systems as well as Multi-Missions Management Systems for the Airbus AS332, Sikorsky S-61 and Sikorsky S-76. This is the first time that a rotorcraft company has achieved top dealer status with Universal Avionics.

“Universal Avionics has been a great

Automatic transition-to-hover now available for Super Puma An automatic transition-to-hover capability is considered critical for overwater search-and-rescue operations, and Universal Avionics (Booth 9149) announced at

FLIGHTSAFETY ADDS NEW COURSE OFFERINGS FOR BELL, AIRBUS HELICOPTER PILOTS FlightSafety International (Booth 5710) is expanding its helicopterrelated training offerings with new night vision goggle (NVG) and operational control specialist courses. The Berkshire Hathaway company is now offering Part 142 NVG initial training for the Airbus Helicopters H135, Bell 212 and Bell 412EP using Level D-qualified simulators. The training includes eight hours of ground school and eight hours in the simulator and involves scenario-based and mission-based exercises. FlightSafety is further offering recurrent NVG training that includes a review of NVG operational techniques during all phases of flight and includes topics such as aeromedical factors, emergency operations, scene interpretation and regulatory guidance.

partner in developing innovative solutions for our customers that address obsolescence issues, expand operational capability, enhance safety and deliver long-lasting value,” said Heli-One president Anthony DiNota. “Their ability and aptitude to adapt and tailor solutions for rotorcraft will benefit the industry immensely. We can rely on them to go above and beyond to put our customers’ needs first, and we look forward to continuing our collaborative working relationship for many more projects to come.”

—S.C.

FlightSafety is also offering a new operational control specialist course for helicopter air ambulance operators and is compliant with FAR 135.619 and Advisory Circulars 120-96A and 135-14B. The course, which can be taken at a FlightSafety learning center or at the customer location, is designed for pilots, communications specialists, airline dispatchers and other aviation safety professionals. The topics covered include aviation weather, navigation, flight monitoring, air traffic control, aviation communication, aircraft systems, aircraft limitations and performance, aviation policy and regulation, human factors and crew resource management and local flying and area orientation. The human factors section of the course includes crew resource management and aeronautical decisionmaking specific to helicopter air ambulance operations.

—M.H.

Part 142 night vision goggle training for the Airbus Helicopters H135 and Bell 212 and 412EP is now being offered by FlightSafety International. The training includes eight hours of ground instruction and another eight hours in a simulator.

Heli-Expo 2017 the successful integration and testing of this feature in the AS332L/ L1 Super Puma.

Using transition-to-hover, pilots mark a target for a winch operation on the Universal Avionics FMS, which then determines and provides an automatic downwind leg and course reversal. The CDV-155 flight control system performs the descent and deceleration to a stable hover downwind of the target, and then transitions to hover, allowing hands-free operation by the crew.

“The Mark-on-Target can be activated during any FMS/Multi-Missions Management System operation, including during automatic search patterns,” explained Grady Dees, director of technical sales for Universal Avionics.

Flight testing of the system took place in a military helicopter in Stavanger, Norway, with Heli-One (Booth 2608) as part of an AS332L/L1 modernization program. —R.R.P.

The Universal Avionics automatic transition-tohover feature for the AS332L/L1 Super Puma reduces crew workload during winch operations.

www.ainonline.com • March 7, 2017 • HAI Convention News 27

P&WC aims to take engine reliability to the next level

by Charles Alcock Over the past five years, Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) has introduced powerplants for three new twin-engined helicopters: the PW210S for Sikorsky’s S-76D, the PW210A for Leonardo’s AW169 and the PT6C-67E for the H175 from Airbus Helicopters. The manufacturer, which is fast approaching its 90th anniversary, says that more new technology is still in the works, but for now much of its focus is further enhancing levels of reliability for its operators.

With an inflight shutdown rate of 0.004 per 1,000 flight hours, P&WC says its rotorcraft engines have reliability levels that exceed requirements for extended-range twin-engine operational performance standards. “We are best in class when it comes to reliability,” said Irene Makris, vice president of marketing for turboshaft engines.

She also pointed out that the Canadian group’s engines ranked number one in the recent AIN product support survey for overall reliability.

But the company also is pressing hard to further boost availability levels and drive down operating costs. “Increasingly, we are applying more predictive and prognostic technology with our products so that we can further extend time between overhaul [TBO] and more elements of maintenance

on-condition,” Tim Swail, P&WC vice president for customer programs, told AIN. “Year-over-year we’re taking steps to cut the cost burden of operations and reduce the amount of unscheduled maintenance through the use of diagnostic technologies such as the Flight Acquisition Storage and Transmission [FAST] solution for the AW139.”

The FAST system has been in use with the PT6C-67C engines powering Leonardo’s AW139 since March 2016 and, according to P&WC, allows it to gather more comprehensive data on the condition of the turboshaft. Complementing this is the new oil analysis service, launched in May 2016, which examines minute particles within the oil to determine the condition of key components such as bearings and gears. More than 3,000 engines are signed up for the oil analysis work.

According to the company, these systems have created a highly predictive environment in which customers can now know exactly what is happening inside engines still on the wing, and well in advance of potential issues. Not only does this approach avoid flight delays and cancellations, but it also means that maintenance can be planned and implemented in a far more cost-effective way.

P&WC’s efforts in these areas have allowed it to increase TBOs for the PW200 and 210 engines to 4,000 from 3,500 hours hours, and, in some cases give customers the ability to extend TBOs based on their knowledge of local operating conditions.

“This is important because the industry is becoming more complex with structures like leasebacks through which financial institutions want to see more control over operating costs,” Swail said.

The manufacturer’s customer support teams are now implementing Librestream’s Onsight remote collaboration software, which connects a mechanic to remote technical specialists who can inspect the engines using an interactive audio-visual platform.

The system can capture high-quality video and images even in low-bandwidth locations where Wi-Fi and cellular signals are weak.

It also includes features such as borescope connectivity, remote camera control and onscreen drawing and image sharing.

There are around 4,300 P&WCpowered helicopters flying today and its turboshafts have logged more than 55 million flight hours. The company’s helicopter engine portfolio includes 34 different models and it has manufactured around 15,000 units in total.

“In the longer term, we are now working on new engine technology of between 5,000 shp and 7,000 shp and we’re developing new centerlines across this power range,” said Makris. “We’re mainly focused on reducing specific fuel consumption and noise. We should have new products ready by around 2021, and we’re already running and testing some of this technology.” o

WYSONG COMPLETES TWO BELL 407GXS FOR PHI AIR MEDICAL scene and safety lighting. Newly installed equipment included a FreeFlight RA 4500 radar altimeter, Aviation Specialties Unlimited night vision goggle cockpit modification and Genesys Aerosystems HeliSas autopilot.

“We have worked on numerous aircraft for PHI Air Medical over the past five years,” Wysong sales manager Paul Schreuder said. “In the past seven years we have completed more than 30 new Bell 407s for our various EMS customers.”

—S.C.

MARIANO ROSALES

Wysong Enterprises recently delivered two Bell Helicopter 407GXs to PHI Air Medical, the first of the kind to join PHI’s fleet. One of the completed PHI aircraft is on display at Wysong’s booth (7503) during Heli-Expo.

Wysong’s work on the two aircraft included exterior painting, LifePort EMS interior, avionics upgrades and airframe modifications. The company added an Air Comm air-conditioner and heating system, Donaldson inlet barrier filter and custom LED exterior

28 HAI Convention News • March 7, 2017 • www.ainonline.com

Luma adds LED caution panels for Bell models

by Mark Huber Luma Technologies (Booth 4224) has added the Bell 206, 206L, 214ST and 412 platforms to its list of certified LED caution warning panels for retrofit programs.

Luma’s initial STCs will cover installation of the LT-4000 series LED caution warning panels as dropin replacements to the incandescent OEM versions that had been standard factory equipment since the 1960s.

Luma president Bruce Maxwell said the new plug-and-play panels are night vision goggle ready and provide FAAapproved sunlight-readable aviation colors that do not adversely impact night vision goggle performance.

Maxwell said it gives operators an affordable path to night vision imaging system (NVIS) upgrades without undue complications, although it may still be necessary to obtain NVIS certification. “For some it’s as simple as getting their provider to amend their existing STC package to get the new panel added to the MDL, or for new projects we’re part of the installation from the get-go.”

Maxwell explained that a typical cockpit conversion in a helicopter with older technology requires installation of NVIS filters on each caution warning panel cap assembly, including installation of modified lamp assemblies and other replacement parts.

“Don’t get me wrong,” he said, “the guys in this business are well known for being incredibly good at what they do, often working miracles in pulling it all together no matter how old or fragile the equipment.” At the same time, sunlight readability must be preserved, and this is a normal feature of the Luma Technologies panels.

Its proprietary cast legend plates are single-piece, and the legend is treated with an anti-reflective coating.

While Luma Technologies previously served the helicopter market with an AS350/355 upgrade as part of the FX performance kit, the newly certified Bell platforms mark the company’s return to the rotorcraft industry. LED panels last much longer and are far less expensive to maintain, especially as parts for incandescent panels become harder to source.

Luma Technologies panels come with a five-year warranty. o

EXPERIENCE AIRBUS Because you need your helicopters to be available around the clock, we have the largest network of helicopter training, logistics and maintenance centers across the globe.

With HCare - Ready to serve you 24/7.

COME & VISIT US Stand 7648

Day 1_AIN

HAI 2017 AIN Convention News Conv News (MSB_R44)_HAI_17.pdf 1 2/22/17 4:35 PM 1/2 Page (non bleed) 4.875” W x 12.5” H

STC

APPROVED

Leonardo continues to extend its product line with new models, while improving legacy helicopters, such as the AW139. The medium twin is the company’s top seller, with 800+ delivered and more than 1,000 on order for a variety of roles, including helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS).

Robinson R44 Raven II C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

DELIVERING THE POWER OF INNOVATION Lithium-ion Aviation Batteries The True Blue Power® TB17 (17-amp hour) battery is the first lithium-ion, engine-start battery to receive FAA STC approval.

Learn more truebluepowerusa.com

Booth 5717

®

30 HAI Convention News • March 7, 2017 • www.ainonline.com

Leonardo adds certifications and upgrades capabilities

by Mark Huber Get ready for a wild ride. Visitors to the Leonardo Helicopters booth (3017) here at Heli-Expo will be able to experience the thrill of being snatched from the churning seas and winched aboard a searchand-rescue (SAR) helicopter—through the magic of virtual reality goggles. This is just part of the customer experience at the company’s booth this year. Leonardo is stressing how its product line, from the AW119Kx single to the AW189 supermedium twin, fulfills diverse emergency medical and SAR requirements.

Leonardo is emphasizing both continuous product upgrades and performance improvements of legacy and newer products as well as its ongoing certification programs. The AW119Kx single, for example, will soon be certified for operations at 24,000 ft pressure altitude and 25,000 ft density altitude, a capability that will add to its utility in mountainous regions, including China, said Stefano Bortoli, Leonardo Helicopters senior vice president for sales and marketing.

The 10,140-lb AW169 medium twin is adding to its certified and STC’d list of kits, especially for EMS. The AW169’s 2016 EASA certification was validated by the FAA in February, and U.S deliveries are scheduled to begin later this year. To date, the company has orders and options for 150 AW169s, and more than 20 have been delivered to customers around the world for applications that include emergency medical service, executive/private transport, utility, offshore transport and wind farm support. All AW169s are being delivered from Leonardo’s plant in Vergiate, Italy. A planned second AW169 assembly line at the company’s Philadelphia facility, which was slated to open late last year, is indefinitely on hold.

Meanwhile more than 30 of the larger AW189 super-medium twins have been

delivered, and the highest-time ship, operated by Bel Air of Denmark in the North Sea, had exceeded 6,000 hours as of January. The Bel Air AW189s are equipped with the limited ice protection system (LIPS) and the 8.6-ton maximum gross weight upgrade. LIPS allows operations within a known and defined envelope of icing conditions provided that the capability to descend into a known band of positive temperature is available along the intended route.

Leonardo currently has agreements for more than 150 AW189s. The AW189 has the capacity to carry up to 19 passengers and features an optional full ice protection system (FIPS) and a 50-minute rundry gearbox.

The AW139 medium twin continues to be Leonardo’s star performer, with more than 800 delivered and an order book approaching 1,000. The fleet has amassed 1.5 million flight hours and is operated in 71 countries worldwide.

The big dog in Leonardo’s development hangar continues to be the AW609 civil tiltrotor. The third AW609 (AC3) test aircraft recently began flight testing from the company’s Philadelphia plant. Icing trials in Marquette, Michigan are the next item on the agenda. Bortoli said the AW609 program remains aggressively resourced.

“It is consuming a significant amount of engineering resources, significantly in Philadelphia,” he said.

Certification is expected later this year for both the Trekker light twin and the AW009 light single, Bortoli said. The Trekker is basically an AW109S Grand on skid gear and with advanced singlepilot-IFR Genesys avionics, but costs less. The AW009 is a reworked PZL Swidnik SW-4, also now with Genesys avionics, with a Rolls-Royce M250C30P engine. o

MARIANO ROSALES

2017 FAA nod expected for Enstrom two-seater

by Mark Huber Enstrom Helicopter (Booth 4517) of Menominee, Mich., says that its new TH180 two-seat trainer should receive FAA certification by the end of this year, with EASA and Transport Canada certification to follow shortly.

Enstrom is currently flying its second—and first fully conforming—prototype TH180. A third is undergoing static tests and will be added to the flight test program shortly. Enstrom, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China’s Chongqing General Aviation Group, said it holds “a number of letters of intent” for the TH180.

Flight testing to date has included handling and controllability surveys, load surveys and continued systems development.

Upcoming tests include fully defining the performance envelope and the FAA-mandated 100-hour ground run.

“We are very happy with how the aircraft is flying,” said Enstrom senior test pilot Bill Taylor. “There have been no real surprises. In fact most of the issues we’ve run into have been with the test equipment, not the aircraft, itself. It’s really a good little helicopter. We look forward to accelerating this test program and getting the aircraft onto the market.”

$400,000. Company officials said direct operating costs are targeted at around $175 per hour. o

With estimated operating costs of $175 per hour, the Enstrom TH180 is expected to sell for less than $400,000.

HELICOPTER ENGINES

FOCUSED ON YOU

Conception/Réalisation : Free-Lance’s l’Agence - ©Getty Images.

Common Rotor System

Flight testing resumed in May after the first test aircraft was destroyed during a hard offairport landing in February 2016.

The pilot walked away with only minor injuries. Preliminary indications are that a piece of flighttest instrumentation in the main drive system failed and disconnected the engine from the drive train. The company announced the TH180 in 2014 and plans to use the type certificate basis and rotor system of the larger threeseat 280FX to speed development.

The TH180 is powered by the new 210-hp Lycoming HIO-390A1A piston engine, and will be initially certified with Garmin avionics. It features an engine governor and electric clutch switch, robust landing gear and a useful load of 700 pounds.

Maximum gross weight is about 2,250 pounds, including a standard 40-gallon fuel capacity. The TH180 also features the company’s signature fully-articulating, high-inertia main rotor system and unblocked tail rotor.

Target price is less than

Safran is the world’s leading manufacturer of helicopter engines. It offers the widest range and supports 2,500 operators in 155 countries with one constant aim : to stay focused on their missions and to keep their helicopters flying every day, everywhere.

Safran_TurbomecaFocus_199x264.indd 1

safran-helicopter-engines.com : @SafranHCEngines

20/02/17 10:27

www.ainonline.com • March 7, 2017 • HAI Convention News 31

Designed to protect engines from harmful ingestions, including salt, the Aerometals inlet barrier filter enhances offshore ops.

Aerometals S-92 IBF certification is free of ‘deal killer’ restrictions

by Kerry Lynch Aerometals has secured its longawaited supplemental type certificate (STC) approval for its Sikorsky S-92 inlet barrier filter (IBF). The STC culminated a five-year certification process that involved some 100 hours of flight testing and a $6 million investment on the part of the El Dorado Hills, Calif.-based aerospace parts manufacturer.

The STC was Aerometals’s most extensive and costly process yet, as the manufacturer worked with the FAA to satisfy certification requirements. The process had slowed as the FAA has

been ironing out its policy guidance on approvals for rotorcraft IBFs. “It really has been a huge undertaking for us,” said Aerometals executive director Lorie Symon. “We’ve learned a lot.

The FAA has learned a lot. It is really going to give us a good basis going forward…on how we can streamline these processes and make them more efficient.”

The FAA Los Angeles Aircraft Certification Office worked closely with Aerometals, she said, as it tried to meet the “spirit of the regulation.” For development, Aerometals used the latest generation

computational fluid dynamics modeling software to maximize the filter design efficiencies and predictability, including modeling for turbulence mitigation, shape design and optimization of the overall filter performance and protection characteristics.

The IBFs are designed to protect against ingestion of salt, sand and other potentially corrosive materials, and as a result, extend power margins between overhaul intervals, and reduce possibility of premature engine removals. This filter not only substantially reduces foreign

object damage and engine compressor erosion, but significantly limits salt nuclei ingestion during offshore operations, the company said. Symon noted that during testing, the filter media was shown to limit well over 90 percent of salt nuclei ingestion.

The S-92 IBF STC results in no changes to published performance, she said. The IBF, however, is currently restricted in flight into known icing and flight in falling and blowing snow.

Symon noted that a large number of S-92s operate in warmer locations, such as the Gulf of Mexico. But she added, “We will at some point do the falling and blowing snow flight testing.

That unfortunately requires you to chase the weather.”

Aerometals worked to ensure there were not other substantive operational restrictions, she added. “That was one of the reasons the S-92 took us as long as it did. We were unwilling to accept unreasonable restrictions.” Limiting weight on a transport category helicopter such as the S-92 would have been a “deal killer,” she said. “If I can carry 20 people out to an oil rig but put a filter on and can only carry 18, I am losing more revenue than saving by using the filter.” That was not a choice that Aerometals wanted to present to potential customers.

Sikorsky had partnered with Aerometals and was willing to share extensive inlet distortion data required for the approval, Symon said. Noting that the data requirements are a significant

obstacle in the FAA’s proposed policy guidance, she added, “identifying projects going forward, at least until new standards are finalized, that is something we are going to take into account. We must have either an airframe or engine manufacturer that is willing to share the data with us.”

While the STC was in progress, Aerometals had stopped taking letters of intent because of the uncertainty surrounding the timing. But with the approval in hand, “We are hitting the ground running, and the response has been tremendous,” she said. Operators in the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf of Mexico have especially shown interest.

Aerometals (Booth 9731) has begun production and was planning to ship the first several kits before Heli-Expo. At the same time, the company is eyeing an expansion that will double its footprint. The company acquired a neighboring lot and is building a second 75,000-sq-ft plant that will enable it to expand manufacturing capabilities.

As it ramps up on the S-92 filter, Aerometals already has identified future projects, including an IBF for the Airbus Helicopters H130 (formerly EC130T2).

That project already has been submitted to the FAA to begin the certification process. The company has already obtained the necessary inlet distortion limit data on the project. Aerometals further is in negotiations with an engine manufacturer for another aftermarket kit.

Aerometals also offers IBF kits for various other Bell, Airbus, MD and Sikorsky models. o

Priority 1 Air Rescue’s SAR training fits customers’ needs and equipment

by Norval G. Kennedy By early 2017, more than six classes had completed Priority 1 Air Rescue (P1AR, Booth 2417) search-and-rescue (SAR) training under a multiyear contract with the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF), said Brad Matheson, P1AR president. Since October 2016, Defense Helicopter Command trainees have focused on marine and inland hoist operations in Airbus AS532 Cougar and NH90 helicopters at the P1AR Tactical Training Academy in Nîmes, France.

Tailored training packages vary in length and enrollment, depending upon contract terms,

Matheson said. Virtual training and tactile training are performed under the RNLAF contract, he added. Pilot and rear-crew synthetic sessions are paired with hands-on training-tower sessions to provide trainees with technical and procedural hoist operations practice.

The RNLAF contract features hoist mission training for basic to advanced SAR, ocean and shipboard operations. Night-unaided and night-vision-goggle operations in specified environments and all-weather conditions are included. “The virtual simulation component provides not only

realistic immersion, but more importantly, accurate context to skills and scenarios [in the field] to train for their complete range of missions,” said Matheson.

Level of detail in the training platforms relates to the company’s field experience performing helicopter hoist SAR missions and 18 years providing international customers human-hoist operations ground- and live-flight training and program implementation services, he said.

The Nîmes facility includes aerial gunnery training, two separate hoist procedural towers, fast-rope and rappel tower and

32 HAI Convention News • March 7, 2017 • www.ainonline.com

P1AR’s virtual simulation enables search-and-rescue crews to experience potential missions with “realistic immersion” and with accurate context scenarios.

multimedia classrooms. Two swimming pools are used for helicopter underwater egress training and rescue training programs.

P1AR’s European facility was first to use TitanIM simulation software for more realistic visualizations, and a companion facility in Mesa, Ariz., is set to use the new software in early 2017.

The multifaceted corporation also has worldwide government and commercial contracts to provide continuous coverage for SAR and medevac personnel such as full-time hoist-system operators, rescue swimmers and paramedics. More than 6,000 civilian and military pilots have trained with P1AR. o

RADALT? HTAWS? ADS-B? CHECK. CHECK. AND CHECK. To help make flying safer for all of us, the FAA has enacted new rules requiring radar altimeters for all Part 135 commercial helicopter operators – as well as HTAWS terrain alerting for air ambulance operators. Also, most aircraft flying in U.S. controlled airspace will need ADS-B “Out” capability by year end of 2019. For the best in compliance solutions, Garmin is your go-to source. But don’t wait. Dealer installation schedules are filling up fast. For a firsthand look, stop by our exhibit (booth #9536) at HAI or visit Garmin.com/helicopters.

©2017 Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries

StandardAero celebrates 50 years of servicing helicopters

by Kerry Lynch StandardAero, celebrating its 50th anniversary in rotary-wing aviation this year, is maintaining a steady business flow in the downturn with programs such as its proprietary coatings and engine optimization. At the same time, the company is eyeing international opportunities and possible new platforms to position it for long-term growth.

StandardAero (Booth 10353) and its predecessor companies have a 106-year heritage, said Manny Atwal, v-p helicopter programs. But its entrance in the rotary-wing market came in 1967, when it received a contract from the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) to maintain the T63 engines (the military designation for the Rolls-Royce/Allison 250) that

powered its fleet of Bell OH-58A Kiowas.

Atwal noted that maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) shops frequently will wade into a new program, first with minor field repairs and slowly adding capabilities. But with the CAF contract, which came alongside Rolls-Royce approval, StandardAero fully jumped into the market. ”We put in a plan to establish full capabilities, and we made it happen,” Atwal said.

That served as a springboard to expand into commercial aviation over the next several years, first offering services to other Bell customers in Canada and eventually into the U.S. and other international destinations for a variety of Rolls-Royce 250 models.

Over the past 50 years, the company has added the capabilities to support the roughly 30 to 40 different applications of the engine as manufacturers continued to introduce new light helicopter variants. Brian Hughes, director of sales and marketing, estimates that StandardAero has worked on at least 30,000 engine equivalents since.

StandardAero’s business now averages MRO services for between 300 to 600 engine equivalents a year. A typical year will involve a customer base from 50 countries, but StandardAero has serviced engines for customers from more than 80 countries.

Solid Customer Service Numbers

Hughes noted that as a result, it has captured the top spot in market share for service of the 250 for the past 25 years, and added that customer satisfaction surveys have led to a positive rating of 96 percent.

Atwal and Hughes credit some of this success to programs like the company’s Custom Build Standard and Optimum Build Engine, which involve the development of procedures tailored to the helicopter mission and operating conditions to optimize engine performance.

The helicopter business taps into StandardAero’s engineering resources to be able to develop tailored programs such as those, he said. “StandardAero isn’t just a repair facility. We’re also an engineering group. We’re data driven, and we know if we come up with new solutions we’re going to win business. We make our investment in our engineering group to be able to do that.”

Also relying on its engineering expertise, the company has developed fixes for trouble spots. During last year’s Heli-Expo, StandardAero introduced its new EnduroCoat 3500 coating to extend the life of engine compressor cases on the Rolls-Royce M250. The company so far has delivered more than 300 compressor cases with the new coating, and has had “zero returns,” Atwal said, meaning that the product is working as StandardAero expected it to.

StandardAero developed the coating amid concerns that compressor cases were encountering issues such as plastic breakout. “Operators weren’t getting the full value, or having unscheduled events” for the cases, he said. “We had our

34 HAI Convention News • March 7, 2017 • www.ainonline.com

Manny Atwal, v-p helicopter programs at StandardAero, looks back on half a century’s work.

engineering group investigate what was the cause of the failures…and determined the solution was to improve the life of the plastic by applying a coating to it.” With about 6,000 of the affected engines in service, there is quite a large base of potential customers for the coating.

These efforts have helped StandardAero maintain its business through a turbulent helicopter market. “We’ve managed to stay level in what we’ve seen as a downturn,” he said. While oil-and-gas has been a driver of the downturn, and a relatively small part of StandardAero’s business, Atwal said the struggles of the sector have had a ripple effect throughout the industry. The company is optimistic that the business as a whole may strengthen a little, but he added that “it is still early in the year to see that.”

Along with developing new fixes, StandardAero continues to add capabilities, look for new platforms and work to grow internationally. In 2013, the company added capabilities to support the RR300 turboshaft that powers the Robinson R66. The company is further looking at other platforms, but is not yet ready to discuss them, Atwal said.

While StandardAero is already operating as a global company, “we want to continue to build our international marketplace,” he added, pointing to potential in Europe, the Middle East, South America and “certainly China.”

Last fall, the company announced a new agreement that established Chinese partner, Chongqing General Aviation (CQGA) as StandardAero’s first approved service center for Rolls-Royce M250 engine maintenance services in China. Under the agreement, CQGA will have access to the StandardAero support network, engine parts, approved training programs and engineering support for customers operating M250-powered helicopters. “China is starting to open up more and more airspace, and we see rotary aviation taking more and more of a center stage in China,” Atwal said, adding, “We knew it was the right place to go.”

Having said that, he stressed that the U.S. still represents at least half of the company’s helicopter business. “We are going to make sure we’re continuing to support those customers.” o

HeliTrak R22 collective pull down is ready to ship

by Matt Thurber HeliTrak is now selling its collective pull down system for the Robinson R22, having received an FAA supplemental type certificate (STC) last October and FAA parts manufacturer approval (PMA) on February 9.

The collective pull down (CPD) is designed to lower the collective rapidly and automatically in a low rotor rpm situation.

The CPD is HeliTrak’s first product, and now that it is on the market, the company is developing a CPD and an autopilot system for the R44. Other helicopter types, such as the Airbus EC135, will also be fitted with the CPD, according to HeliTrak president Chris Nehls. R44 CPD flight testing began just before this year’s Heli-Expo. While the R22’s rotor system is considered to be a lowinertia system, HeliTrak (Booth 8531) believes that the CPD can benefit any type of helicopter.

The CPD attaches to the collective and can be switched on or off, depending on the pilot’s preference or for whether instructors want to use it during training. “It works fine if you want to train with it, or disable it and do a normal autorotation entry,” said Nehls.

In the R22, said Ray Debs, HeliTrak flight test pilot and v-p of engineering, “the collective has to go down immediately, you have half a second.” Then the pilot has time to move the cyclic to maintain rotor rpm. “If you don’t do aft cyclic, you’re going to lose rpm. The normal reaction is to try to hold attitude. When the CPD fires, it’s pretty normal to move the cyclic to maintain attitude. You’re not trying to pull the nose up. In this aircraft, cyclic has big impact on rotor rpm, and if you use cyclic to keep the nose constant, it works well.”

‘Good Safety Margin’

Debs explained that during flight testing, it was critical to lower the collective, then apply cyclic as needed to maintain rotor rpm. “My belief is that collective is critical in all cases,” he said. “The benefit [of the CPD] is that it gives the pilot two or three more seconds to figure out what to do. In all of our tests, rpm hasn’t gone below 90 percent. The low warning is at 97 percent. Robinson says if you go below 80 percent you won’t be able to recover. Even if you don’t react on the cyclic immediately, you still have a good safety margin [with the CPD]. The pilot has to do the right thing eventually,

but the CPD gives him time.”

The CPD’s pull-down force can be adjusted to the pilot’s preference, between 6.5 and 10 pounds of force; Debs prefers 7.5 pounds. The pilot can override

the CPD, he added. “If they override it, they can feel it. They should be thinking that something’s going on, and they need to do something different,” such as move the collective down.

The R22 CPD will retail for $14,950, but HeliTrak is offering promotional pricing at $9,950, with lower pricing for HeliTrak dealers.

The R44 autopilot is a parallel

system with no series actuators, using triplex motor drives and ADAHRS. Total weight of the self-contained system is 8.5 pounds. All control buttons are mounted on the helicopter’s cyclic, and features include heading-, altitude- and speedhold modes, speed protection in altitude hold and an unusualattitude recovery mode. o

SKYe SH09

The Swiss response to making a helicopter

The SKYe SH09 is equipped with the best baseline in the industry incorporating a full glass cockpit suite, a dual hydraulic system, a dual electrical circuit, and more.

Expect outstanding hot and high performance. This is not just your regular single-engine, this is a new class of multirole helicopters with the largest cabin/cargo volumes and modern ergonomics for your mission.

Swiss movement!

www.marenco-swisshelicopter.com

www.ainonline.com • March 7, 2017 • HAI Convention News 35

The Cabri G2’s low operating costs and high performance are attracting a growing number of flight training providers.

Cabri G2 fleet growing; U.S. sales going strong

by Mark Huber The Helicopteres Guimbal Cabri G2 two-seater continues to build a following with U.S customers, flight schools in particular, after receiving its FAA type certificate in February 2015. Precision Helicopters of Newberg, Ore., the authorized U.S dealer, reported 16 helicopters in country at the end of 2016 and plans to deliver at least another 12 this year. Worldwide, more than 190 G2s have been delivered through January since it received EASA certification in 2007. The G2 can be seen here at Booth 7123.

The G2 features all-composite monocoque construction, a threeblade fully-articulating main rotor and a fenestron-type tail rotor. The skids are attached with elastomeric mounts to reduce the propensity for ground resonance. Power comes from a naturally aspirated Lycoming O-360 derated to 145 hp with solid-state ignition and mounted with vibration isolators. Later this year, Guimbal plans to make a new 160-hp max power setting available for all legacy and newly built helicopters via a software update.

The G2’s avionics are built around an Electronic Pilot Management (EPM) system with similar architecture to Airbus’s VEMD (vehicle and engine multifunction display). A variety of optional avionics are available including ADS-B OUT/IN, moving map and the Aspen EFD 1000 primary flight display.

The cabin features a variety of automotive styling touches including leather seating, personal stowage, power outlets and iPad holders. The engineering work has been completed

for optional air-conditioning, but customers have yet to order it, likely due to the associated weight/power penalty. Other available options include copilot adjustable pedals and popout floats. The latter notably do not impose a speed penalty.

$100 per hour. “You only have a few [maintenance] items that are uncontrolled [or have specific time limits], the engine, the main rotor gearbox and the tailrotor gearbox. And then you have two calendar items, the seatbelts and the fuel bladder. Everything else is oncondition. You can plan to replace the muffler every 500 hours and the main belt every 1,500 hours.

But that maintenance number includes everything—all the man hours for every 50-hour, 200-hour and 500-hour inspection and all

Widespread Use

Precision’s own flight training program currently operates four G2s, and it is adding two more early this year. The helicopter also is flown by schools in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland and Texas, and southern-California-based Revolution Aviation plans to take delivery of a G2 shortly. The helicopters are crated and shipped from Guimbal’s factory in Aix-en-Provence, France, and can be reassembled in six to eight man hours.

“When people buy the aircraft for their flight school we help them develop their training and checklists so they all are learning the same way, and they have the opportunity to learn from our experience,” said Precision CEO David Rath.

That experience is extensive.

Precision’s highest-time ship has logged more than 1,000 hours, and the company has methodically tracked maintenance costs and events, which Rath said are much lower than comparable helicopters thanks to the G2’s design and so many of its components being certified for oncondition maintenance.

The Lycoming O-360-powered G2 burns an average of 10 gallons per hour, and Rath calculates that Precision’s average fuel and maintenance costs run about

36 HAI Convention News • March 7, 2017 • www.ainonline.com

the typical rotables,” Rath said.

At a base price of €330,000 ($355,460), Rath concedes that the G2 is “the most expensive two-seat piston you will ever buy.

However, depending on how you maintain it, it will be the cheapest piston aircraft you will ever own or operate. And it’s a real helicopter. It has a real mast, a real blade system, a sophisticated instrumentation package. You’re not learning manifold pressure, you’re learning torque and power settings. It’s the littlest big helicopter you will ever fly.”

The G2’s EPM makes it easier for students to transition into Airbus turbine singles, Rath explained. Rather than relying on mechanical linkages, the EPM uses sensors to relay critical information on torque, engine temperature and fuel flow to a central computer to take the guessing game out of reading typical piston gauges. “You don’t think about manifold pressure—something you’ll never think about again in your commercial career—you think about percentage of power,” Rath said.

He also stressed that the G2 has been designed for safety, and not one fatality or serious injury has taken place in a G2, to date.

Rath also claimed that the

G2’s simple design, pleasant handling and straightforward avionics enable students to “solo quicker and get comfortable quicker. That means you can spend more time honing those skills with the instructor before the checkride. The aircraft is that comfortable to fly.”

Rath thinks the G2’s popularity is just in its early stages in the U.S. “In the last two months we’ve had more interest coming in on the Cabri than we’ve ever had in the last few years, not just because the Cabri has more notoriety, but because they know that Guimbal is now a successful manufacturer, it is not going away, and that they are supporting the helicopter well. We have yet to be in a situation with any of our operators in the United States that they have asked for a part AOG and we haven’t been able to ship to them overnight. We have a large spares stock that we keep here [in Oregon] in partnership with Guimbal.” Parts stocked include major items such as main- and tailrotor blades, tailrotor gearboxes and skid gear and cross tubes. “Guimbal is not run simply on making sales. It’s an engineering-driven company, and they’re always focused on service and finding solutions,” he said. o

BLR Aerospace Award goes to Bryan Smith Here at Heli-Expo 2016, Bryan Smith will receive the 2017 BLR Aerospace Safety Award. Smith is a pilot and safety program manager for the Airborne Law Enforcement Association (ALEA). He has also spent time as an instructor pilot for the Seminole County sheriff’s office and chair of the Safety Management System (SMS) Working Group.

The award, which will be presented at the Heli-Expo Salute to Excellence Awards dinner on March 8 at the Hilton Anatole Dallas, recognizes individuals or organizations that have promoted safety in the helicopter industry.

Smith has spent his career developing and implementing safety solutions for operators and pilots since 1992. As an instructor pilot for the Seminole County sheriff’s office in Florida, he flies rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft. He has 11 years of experience in law enforcement aviation and eight years of experience flight instructing at aviation events around the world. He works as an instructor in law enforcement tactics; aviation safety; accident response planning; flight training and unit management; and marketing strategies.

Smith currently serves as the ALEA safety program manager. Created in 1976, the organization values and supports safety, education and training as well as networking, integrity, public service, professionalism and ethics. ALEA also offers awards, scholarships and citations to deserving individuals who have proven their excellence in aviation. Since 2012, Smith has supported safety outreach and education, development of risk management tools and resources and ALEA members’ safety management and program development efforts.

Bryan Smith The pilot’s work doesn’t stop there, and Smith also participates with the United States Helicopter Safety Team and chaired the SMS Working Group. During this time, he led a volunteer team of industry experts to help reduce accident rates around the world and implement SMS. He published various articles in industry trade publications, including “The Real World SMS” in Air Beat Magazine, Law Officer, Vertical 911 and Rotor Magazine. Besides working as a flight instructor, Smith also gives safety presentations and leads safety courses worldwide.

Last year, the BLR Aerospace Safety Award went to Boston MedFlight, a nonprofit organization that provides hospital transportation to patients who may not be able to afford it.

—S.C.

Gill’s 7407-28 lead-acid battery receives PMA nod for the Bell 407

by Matt Thurber The FAA has issued parts manufacturer approval (PMA) to Teledyne Technologies division Gill Batteries (Booth 5517) for its 7407-28 sealed lead-acid battery for all models of the Bell 407.

Bell has also selected the 7407-28 battery as standard equipment on new Bell 407 GXPs. In addition to costing less than competing batteries, Gill’s sealed lead-acid batteries are simpler to maintain compared to nickel-cadmium batteries.

The 7407-28 can be used for up to 18 months or 1,800 hours before requiring removal for charging and a capacity check, according to Gill. It also offers more initial startup power, more residual power after engine start and up to 50-percent faster recharge rates.

be recharged in a short period of to restart and do short hops.” time. “Our batteries have that The Gill LT sealed batterhigher IPRr66_police_freeway_ad_2017_ain_opening_day.pdf so you will be able ies have1a2/15/2017 two-year, 2:35:391,200-hour PM

warranty. While sealed batteries cost more than dry-charged batteries, the lower maintenance costs can offset that higher price.

“When you factor in the lack of maintenance required for the 7000,” he said, “I believe you’re getting a better value.”

Gill Batteries also offers chargers for all of its batteries, both for maintenance (trickle

charging when not flying) and for recovering a battery from a deep discharge. “That’s a unique feature of the 7000 series,” he said. “If it’s deeply discharged, we have the equipment and we provide the training to maintain our batteries to properly bring them back to life. We want our customers to get the full life of the battery.” o

POLICE HELICOPTER

C

Sealed lead-acid batteries have greater output and require far less maintenance.

M

Y

Gill Batteries plans to seek FAA approval for the 7407-28 battery on Airbus, Leonardo and Robinson helicopter models. “Our plan is to continue to add FAA STCs and PMA approvals for our 7000 series/ LT sealed lead-acid batteries for these rotorcraft throughout this year,” said Gill Batteries general manager Armando Chacon.

Gill Batteries is based in Redlands, Calif., and has been manufacturing lead-acid batteries since 1920. Unlike Gill’s drycharged batteries, which must be filled with electrolyte and charged before use, sealed lead-acid batteries are already charged at the factory and ready for installation in the aircraft without further charging or servicing.

Gill’s 7000 series batteries feature high IPP and IPR ratings, which are measurements of starting power and capacity after engine starting, according to Chacon. “The 7000 series rates much higher than the competition for a similar footprint [battery],” he said. This is especially useful for short flight durations, where the battery needs to

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

• Hover ceiling OGE 10,000 ft at max gross weight • 758lb payload with standard fuel • $1,228,000 USD police equipped/FAA-approved

Locate a Robinson dealer www.robinsonheli.com

www.ainonline.com • March 7, 2017 • HAI Convention News 37

AnOTHEr SATISfIEd cUSTOmEr

Safran’s 2,100-shp Makila 2A1 could soon be unseated as the most powerful in its line. New powerplants in the 2,500- to 3,000-shp range are in the works, based on the previously announced Tech 3000 program.

Safran opts to move ahead with larger-engine program

by Mark Huber

Is It gettIng harder to fInd parts?

AIrwOLf makes It sImple.

SEE US AT HELI-EXPO! BOOTH #11237

TT STrAPS fOr: • Enstrom 480 & F28/280 Piston Helicopter Conversions • Bell Jet Ranger, Long Ranger & OH-58 • Bell 204, 205, 212, UH-1 & AH-1

cOmIng SOOn: Strap Fittings, Pins, Latch Bolts, other Life Limited Components for Bell Helicopters and Hiller Helicopter Components

Always in Stock, Always Saving you Money airwolfaerospace.com • 440-632-1687

Join & follow us Search for helitechinternational on these social media channels:

Visit us at Heli Expo Booth #733 1

Inspiring the Future of the Rotorcraft Community In association with

3-5 OCT 2017 EXCEL LONDON

www.helitechinternational.com Interested in exhibiting?

Co-located with

Supported by

Contact Elizabeth Agress +44 (0)20 8910 7188 Elizabeth.agress@reedexpo.co.uk

Organised by

38 HAI Convention News • March 7, 2017 • www.ainonline.com

Safran Helicopter Engines CEO Bruno Even called 2016 “a challenging year,” with flat deliveries and customers flying significantly fewer hours, putting a big dent in support revenues. But there were also bright spots that included the formal announcement of a new largerengine program and several first flights.

“In 2016 we achieved great commercial success with five first flights,” Even noted. These include the Airbus H160 flying for the first time with Arrano engines; first flight of the Russian Helicopters Kamov Ka-62 on April 28 powered by Ardiden 3Gs; the July 27 first flight of Avic’s AC312e in China with the Arriel 2E; India’s first flight of the single engine HAL light utility on September 16 with the Shakti 1U (Ardiden 1H); and at the end of December, first flight of the Chinese Avicopter AC352, powered by the WZ16.

The WZ16 engine is the Chinese variant of the Safran Ardiden 3C, and it was co-designed and co-produced with Safran’s Chinese partner, which includes CAPI and Dongan, parts of the new Aero Engine Corporation of China consortium. Safran said the new-generation 1,500- to 2,000-shp turboshaft features compact modular architecture, a best-inclass power-to-weight ratio, low cost of ownership and 10 percent lower fuel consumption than competitive engines.

“On the Airbus H135, a helicopter in which we are in engine competition, we finished the year with 74 percent market share,” Even said.

“We think the market will be flat in 2017,” he said, “and our new engine programs will remain stable. We are committed to certifying the Arrano by the end of 2018, and

continue to mature the engine in both ground and flight tests. We continue our partnerships in the developing countries and in the long-term we believe that the growth in the helicopter market will come from countries including India and China. We are already in strong positions in these countries with our strategic partnerships. We are continuing with the certification of the Ardiden for our Indian and Chinese partners.”

Safran (Booth 10542) formally took the wraps off its long-anticipated new engine program last year. Even said that work continues on developing a new powerplant based on the previously disclosed Tech 3000 program in the output range of 2,500 shp, to be ready by 2020, and a higher powered 3,000-shp variant to be ready by 2025.

Currently Safran’s 2,100-shp Makila 2A1, which powers the Airbus H225, is the company’s most powerful engine. The new engines are expected to provide competition to GE’s CT7 series, which are aimed at the super-midsize and large helicopter markets. The company’s goal is to be able to offer a range of powerplants between 500 and 3,000 shp.

For Safran, Even said, innovation means not only providing more powerful new engines, but also engines that are demonstrably more efficient than the competition’s, perhaps by as much as 18 percent. And that means “finding a way to optimize the fuel consumption in all phases of cruise conditions,” he said.

Even said he was gratified by the company’s high ranking in customer satisfaction and support surveys and that Safran plans to continue investing in maintaining and improving customer service. o

AVINCO REPORTS GOOD RESULTS IN DIFFICULT MARKET Monaco-based Avinco Helicopters (Booth 10931), a specialist in helicopter sales, acquisitions, trading and remarketing, reported that it logged 27 helicopter transactions in 2016, along with a large, “unprecedented” repossession contract involving 21 Airbus H225s and an EC155.

Revealing its 2016 annual results, the company said the 27 transactions involved a mix of light, medium and heavy machines from several manufacturers, worth a total of $54 million.

Half the transactions involved moving the assets from one continent to another, and half the transactions also included adapting the aircraft to a different mission type for the buyer.

Three of the 27 transactions were originated by Avinco’s New York-based U.S. subsidiary, which it established in mid-2016.

—I.S.

MAG P2 AIN -HE17 20170224

JSSI helicopter market picking up momentum

by Kerry Lynch Hourly maintenance provider Jet Support Services, Inc. (JSSI) decided to increase its focus on the helicopter market in recent years, and is experiencing exponential growth in the segment. It has seen a 250 percent jump in new contracts, which are bringing 600 percent growth in contract value over the past year.

JSSI (Booth 7536) offers costper-hour maintenance programs for a variety of aircraft types.

JSSI president and CEO Neil Book noted that the company had offered helicopter programs for decades but had not made significant inroads in the market segment. The company about two years ago evaluated its long-term business and decided to renew focus on the market.

This included both on the business-development side and on the support side.

“We really started to turn and drive a focus into the helicopter

market segment,” said Kevin Thomas, JSSI senior v-p, business development and strategic planning. After securing a handful of enrollments in 2015, business picked up steadily in 2016.

Thomas pointed to JSSI’s decision to build up its helicopter support for its recent success.

This includes filling out a dedicated team of technical experts that have substantial experience in the helicopter segment. “We leveraged the foundation of our tech team network, and we augmented that to specifically address the needs of the helicopter operator. Those needs are different from those of the fixed-wing operator, which historically has been our traditional market,” he said.

This included the promotion of Raymond Weiser from helicopter program specialist to senior director of helicopter services and the addition of technical experts. JSSI recently

JSSI president and CEO Neil Book

added support specialists in North America and Europe and is looking in other areas where the company has been experiencing significant growth, such as Africa and Australia, he said.

JSSI’s team of about 75 to 80 technical services specialists still handle parts and major airframe/ engine events, but the dedicated helicopter support team provides expertise in managing helicopter care and ensuring full compliance with maintenance and regulatory requirements, Weiser said. The company also lines up product specialists for each helicopter in an operator’s fleet.

“This is a tremendous relief for

directors of maintenance who would have to put in different programs to support each of those aircraft,” he said. “It is not uncommon in aviation for things to slip through the cracks. The technical expert helps reinforce [the maintenance] needs.” It also helps from the billing and costassurance side when a director of maintenance is trying to manage a half-dozen different platforms.

“We learned some valuable lessons over the last few years,” Book added. “You can’t ask a team of fixed-wing experts to try and put a rotorcraft hat on. Bringing in an experienced and a focused team… with helicopter talent like Ray and the others has really allowed us to scale the helicopter business.”

JSSI continues to expand product offerings in the rotorcraft sector. The company has programs available for 100 different helicopter models. It introduced 18 new maintenance programs in 2016, including the MD fleet, and has 10 more in development for 2017. In addition to comprehensive support for platforms, it also is offering targeted products such a partsonly program announced late last year for the Airbus H130.

The company supports a range of operators, from the single-helicopter corporate flight department to fleet operators in segments including emergency medical services, law enforcement and oil and gas markets.

Depressed market conditions in the oil-and-gas world have heightened the need for costassurance programs, Weiser said.

“In downtimes there is real value in preparing for future maintenance events,” Thomas added. “When times are good, you are reserving and paying for that hourly cost maintenance, and when times are bad, those funds are already earmarked and protected for the maintenance that has come due. It is unfortunate that the market has been down, but it really has highlighted the need for cost-stability tools.”

JSSI is still working to establish its visibility in the rotorcraft segment, he added, acknowledging, “We are not as far ahead in that market as we are in the fixed-wing space.” He expects the growth trajectory to remain as JSSI continues to build its presence. Book agrees, and added, “I think we’re just scratching the surface of what it will be.” o

EXPERIENCE BELL 505 LUXURY. Let your Light Single Engine Helicopter feel MAGnificent.

Stop by the Mecaer Aviation Group booth (11537) at HAI Heli-Expo 2017 to talk about our innovative VVIP interiors, including this design for the Bell 505.

We call it the MAGnificent. You’ll call it a whole new way to fly.

MAG_AIN_P2.indd 16

MECAER.COM 2/24/17 2:57 PM

www.ainonline.com • March 7, 2017 • HAI Convention News 39

Airbus product support effort embraces digital technologies

by Matt Thurber The product support team at Airbus Helicopters has seen the future, and it is alldigital. “We’re making a big shift to a more electronic business model,” said Darren Huski, e-commerce trainer at the company’s U.S. division in Grand Prairie, Texas.

Now 79 percent of parts orders are done electronically, through the Airbus Keycopter customer portal, which is available at any time for parts quoting, ordering and tracking, and contains other tools to help customers manage their operations.

To help operators use Keycopter more efficiently, Airbus has redesigned the tools as mobile apps, targeting tablet and smartphone users. This includes making all maintenance documents available as Adobe PDFs, which can be stored in the portable device and carried to the aircraft.

Updates are much easier, too, and can be done anytime the device is connected to the Internet, with no need for a dedicated company librarian to keep massive volumes of paper manuals up to date.

“We see the future being more appbased,” Huski said. So far, Airbus has fielded eight mobile device apps, for maintenance manuals (Orion), flight logs and logbook (FleetKeeper), weight-and-balance, etc.

These apps are already approved in Europe, and Airbus is working on regulatory approvals for North America operators.

Going digital is much more than just providing apps to customers, explained Anthony Baker, vice-president of customer support North America. With more customers interacting online with Airbus Helicopters, the company has been able to capture huge amounts of data on customer experiences.

The company hired a data specialist to analyze customer data to find opportunities to make improvements. For example, bird strikes are a constant problem for helicopters, and the analysis showed that one operator had dramatically lowered its bird strike incidents, down to zero. This operator had installed Precise Flight’s Pulselite system on its fleet, and this proved effective at warning birds away. Now, Pulselite is certified for 67 Airbus helicopter models.

Adjusting Time Limits

Airbus (Booth 7648) is applying data analysis to other areas as well, such as time limits on critical components, which could either be extended or lowered, depending on results of the analysis. In one case, the power-by-the-hour rates for the H125, H130, H135 and H145 were lowered by up to 25 percent and for new helicopters by a full 25 percent during the warranty period. In another case, an expensive and time-consuming 12-year inspection on the H130 was eliminated. The focus is on improving availability for operators.

“How we see that data collection is that it improves safety, availability and cost of operation,” Baker said. Another advantage is that Airbus is able to better forecast customer needs.

As part of its HCare technical support and services initiative, which was launched in 2015, Airbus has also invested heavily in spares supplies, adding $3 million in December to its now $144 million inventory at DFW Airport in Dallas. “We’re making a lot of investments in materials and people, Baker said. “For us, it’s worth it.” This includes adding more customer support managers (CSMs) based in Grand Prairie, with customer service representatives backing them up and assigned to particular regions. CSMs also spend time visiting customer locations. “The CSM is the customer voice into the company,” he said, and also works closely with sales managers to make sure customers are satisfied.

HCare includes HCare Infinite fleet

40 HAI Convention News • March 7, 2017 • www.ainonline.com

availability services; HCare Smart by-thehour services (ranging from full nose-totail coverage to component-, exchange- and repair-by-the-hour); and HCare Easy catalog services such as Easy Repair service commitments and Easy Exchange component pools to ensure availability. Some of these services include penalties that Airbus pays for not meeting commitments to customers. “In the past we had lots of complaints about parts availability,” Baker admitted. “Not anymore.”

Customers with existing aircraft can now buy into HCare Smart at reduced rates for the H135 and H145 and with no buy-in for the H125 and H130. The annual flight-hour requirement was lowered to 100 hours from 150 hours, which makes the program more attractive to corporate operators that don’t fly as often as commercial operations.

Collecting data in the future will become easier for Airbus, with a health and usage monitoring system (HUMS) in the works and scheduled for certification in 2017 on the H145.

White-glove Service

Airbus in 2016 split up MRO responsibilities between its operations in Canada (Fort Erie, Ontario) and the U.S. The Grand Prairie facility services gearboxes and larger helicopters, including the H135, H145 and AS365 models, while Canada specializes in the AS350, H120 and H130.

For Airbus-authorized service centers, the company is working with seven to 10 premium facilities that can offer a white-glove service to customers. The premium service centers chosen are already training for the new offering. “We want to make sure they represent the Airbus brand,” Baker said.

Last year, Airbus launched a service center board that evaluates and monitors new service centers, instead of just leaving it to the service center manager.

Airbus customers can now monitor the response to their problems by tapping into the technical inquiry system that runs in the Airbus command center in Grand Prairie. Here, CSMs work from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (and on call the rest of the time) handling out-of-service reports, tracking orders and helping return AOG helicopters to the sky quickly. Another team in Canada also provides similar services.

Technical experts are seated next to the command center and work with the CSMs to solve customer problems, although some of the tech reps are based in the field, as well.

A big part of the command center operation is, again, using data to improve support. By analyzing fleet availability, explained director of technical support Larry Huntley, “we share that with the customer so we can improve. It’s not just fixing an AOG, but figuring out how it fits into the big picture.” In the past, although the team hustled to deliver a part to a customer, there was no deep analysis of why that part failed, nor an effort to eliminate that failure. But that has changed, and now such situations are analyzed so they can be improved.

“We still have a long way to go,” Baker concluded. “Support never ends.” o

TODAY AT HAI HELI-EXPO 2017 TUESDAY, MAR. 7

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8 THURSDAY, MARCH 9 HFI Rotor Safety Challenge Sessions

HAI Annual Membership Meeting & Breakfast

8:00 am – 4:30 pm

8:00 am – 10:00 am

Ballroom D Ballrooms C3 & C4; Rooms C140, C141, C142, C146

Manufacturer Technical Briefings 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

Rooms C143/149 & C145

The Business Case for UAS Operations 8:30 am – 10:30 am

Rooms C143/149 & C145

HAI HELI-EXPO Opening Ceremony 10:15 am – 10:30 am

8:00 am – 5:00 pm

Ballroom D

10:00 am – 4:00 pm

HFI Online Silent Auction Ends at 4:00 pm. Until then, bid 24/7 at biddingforgood.com/HFI

Lobby D, Exhibit Level

Exhibit Hall Open 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

Lobby D, Exhibit Level

Exhibit Hall Open

HAI Salute to Excellence Awards Dinner* 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm Hilton Anatole *Separate ticket required for Salute to Excellence Dinner

10:30 am – 5:00 pm

HFI Helicopter Industry Career Fair* 10:30 am – 5:00 pm *Requires separate registration

Ballroom D

Exhibit Hall Open – Final Day

Manufacturer Technical Briefings

HFI Rotor Safety Challenge Sessions 8:30 am – 4:30 pm

FAA: Face to Face

Ballrooms C3 & C4; 8:30 am – 10:30 am Rooms C140, C141, C142, C146

Ballroom C1/C2

HAI Town Hall – HAI Connect 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Booth #4504

Please visit our first time exhibitors!

Pavilion Hall C Booths #6017– 6526

HAI HELI-EXPO 2017 Show App

Download at rotor.org/expoapp or scan me with your smartphone!

New This Year! HAI Connect • Booth #4504 Enjoy free demonstrations, presentations, and meetings on a range of subjects important to you — all right on the show floor. Times are listed in the schedule at the right.

HAI Town Hall: Hear from HAI President and CEO Matt Zuccaro and HAI leadership on what your membership organization is doing for you and your industry. o - Networking Area Dem

HAI HELI-EXPO 2017

Meetups: Meet informally with peers; no agenda, just show up!

Utility, Patrol, and Construction (UPAC) • Student Pilots • Law Enforcement • Flight Training and Maintenance Instructors • Student AMTs • Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)

Thursday, March 9

Tuesday, March 7 Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Meetup

11:30 am – 12:00 pm

U.S. Helicopter Safety Team (USHST) Update

11:00 am – 11:30 am

Get the Facts: Buying and Selling a Helicopter Operation

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Utilities, Patrol, and Construction (UPAC) Meetup

11:30 am – 12:00 pm

FAA Update on Flight Services

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Vendor Product Demonstrations McMurdo Group Pall Aerospace RMCI, Inc

1:00 pm 1:00 pm 1:20 pm 1:40 pm

– – – –

2:00 pm 1:15 pm 1:35 pm 1:55 pm

HAI Town Hall

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Student AMTs Meetup

3:30 pm – 4:00 pm

Student Pilots Meetup

4:00 pm – 4:30 pm

Get the Facts: Learn more about critical aviation topics.

ADS-B Equipage • Buying and Selling a Helicopter Operation

Wednesday, March 8 Law Enforcement Meetup

11:30 am – 12:00 pm

Vendor Demonstrations: Do a deeper dive into the technology offered by these aviation leaders.

McMurdo Group • Pall Aerospace • Fortem Technologies • RMCI • Vector Aerospace • Axnes, Inc.

Helicopter Foundation International

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Updates: Get out in front on these important subjects.

FAA Update on Flight Services • U.S. Helicopter Safety Team • Challenges and Opportunities in the Indian Helicopter Industry • Helicopter Foundation International

/HelicopterAssoc

Vendor Product Demonstrations Fortem Technologies, Inc. Vector Aerospace RMCI, Inc. Overview of the Indian Helicopter Industry – Challenges and Opportunities

1:00 pm 1:00 pm 1:20 pm 1:40 pm 2:00 pm

Get the Facts: ADS-B Equipage

3:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Flight Training and Maintenance Instructors Meetup

4:00 pm – 4:30 pm

/HelicopterAssoc

– – – – –

Vendor Product Demonstrations Axnes, Inc.

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm 1:00 pm – 1:15 pm

2:00 pm 1:15 pm 1:35 pm 1:55 pm 2:45 pm

#HAI_EXPO17

/heliexpo @HELIEXPO

#HAI_EXPO17

GET SPECIAL OFFERS ON OFFICIAL HOTELS FOR HAI HELI-EXPO 2018 WITH ONPEAK. REQUEST YOUR 2018 HOTEL HERE: onpeak.com/HAI2018-Requests

Andreas Loewenstein recently took the helm of Marenco Swisshelicopter, which aims to certify its SKYe SH09 next year.

Marenco names Swiss Alpinlift as a launch customer

by Mark Huber Marenco Swisshelicopter brought a full-scale mock-up of its SKYe SH09 single-engine turbine helicopter to Heli-Expo, along with its new CEO and another order in hand.

Marenco Swisshelicopter (Booth 7110) announced that Swiss Alpinlift Helikopter is ordering the SKYe SH09 helicopter and joining the launch customers’ team. The firm has committed to an early delivery. Founded in 2005, charter firm Alpinlift is based in Buochs, Switzerland, and conducts passenger and sling load operations. Alpinlift currently operates a mixed fleet

of Bell and Airbus Helicopters.

New CEO Andreas Loewenstein, who assumed his duties in January, joined Marenco after founder and CEO Martin Stucki retired last December. Loewenstein is a former senior executive at Airbus Helicopters. The decision to install Lowenstein was made on December 5 at a company board meeting. Marenco is now largely funded by Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut.

His interests on the board are represented by Marina Gronberg.

Marenco unveiled the $3.5-million SKYe SH09 singleturbine utility helicopter in 2009,

but the program has encountered delays and schedule slippages.

The first prototype did not take flight until 2014. Flight-testing was halted while the main rotorhead and rotor blades were redesigned and fitted to the second prototype, which then took flight in February 2016. Meanwhile, the certification timetable has moved from 2016 to 2018. A third prototype is currently under construction and is expected to fly soon. Marenco has 150 employees and said it has letters of intent from customers for more than 90 helicopters.

Marenco reports the

following flight test milestones achieved to date with test aircraft P2: maximum altitude attained, 3,000 feet; maximum speed, 120 knots with “a lot of reserve power;” 97 percent of maximum takeoff weight of 5,800 pounds tested; and low vibration levels, low external noise levels, low fuel consumption and quick start-up.

Performance targets include a 5,842 lb mtow, 140-knot cruise speed and 430-nm range.

Aircraft P3 is scheduled to join the program and make its first flight in the second quarter of this year. The company has grown to 170 employees and construction

MRO Heli-One pledges to keep S-61s flying

by Curt Epstein Canadian rotorcraft MRO Heli-One (Booth 2608) has launched a new campaign highlighting its support of the venerable Sikorsky S-61. Known as “Supporting the Legacy,” the company has pledged to keep the durable helicopter, which debuted in the 1960s, in continued use by operators for years to come.

British Columbia-based Heli-One has more than four decades of support experience for the type including all levels of inspections and checks, and more

than 200 nose-to-tail proprietary repairs and upgrade modifications to help safely extend the life of the aircraft. Beyond typical maintenance work, the company works to salvage parts typically deemed beyond economic repair, and it holds an extensive inventory of type-specific components for exchange, allowing operators to minimize downtime.

The company recently relocated its facilities from Boundary Bay to new facilities located nearby in Richmond and

Heli-One has recently relocated its facilities in British Columbia from Boundary Bay to new buildings in Richmond and Delta.

42 HAI Convention News • March 7, 2017 • www.ainonline.com

Delta. The Richmond complex includes the headquarters as well as the airframes and structures facility, while the Delta location houses component and engine support workshops. At the latter, the MRO last week also debuted its new engine accessory shop, which can offer dedicated service for Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6C-67C and PT6T engines, along with General Electric’s CT58/T58 and CT7 powerplants and the Arriel and Makila from Safran. The facility recently added cleaning, testing and overhaul services for PT6C-67C fuel nozzles with turnaround times as quick as 10 days, and is currently processing approximately 100 per month. “The expertise our team has gained goes beyond standard repair procedures,” stated Heli-One president Anthony DiNota. “They have played an integral role in developing proprietary repairs and streamlining procedures to improve efficiency and delivering quality product with low turnaround times.”

During Heli-Expo, Heli-One, which is a CHC Helicopter subsidiary, introduced a new safety and situational awareness upgrade for the Sikorsky S-92. The baseline system consists of a pair of

is under way on a new 43,000-sqft headquarters and production plant at Mollis airfield in the Swiss canton of Glarus that is scheduled to open in 2018.

The SH09 features all-composite construction, a flat-floor cabin and rear clamshell doors. It is a large single designed to carry one pilot and up to seven passengers. Power comes from a single Honeywell HTS900-2 turbine with Fadec. The SH09 will also be equipped with the Honeywell HUMS system enabling operators to continuously monitor mechanical rotating components and subsystems on their helicopters and become aware of potential problems before they occur.

Other features include a fiveblade bearingless main rotor system and a shrouded tail rotor. o

tailboom-mounted video cameras that monitor engine and cargo door operations in real-time, and a mockup of the system is on display at Heli-One’s booth. An enhanced version provides two additional mounted cameras to focus on a hoist and cargo hook during lifting operations, as well as video recording with audio capability. Camera feeds can be shown on any of five cockpit multifunction displays and pilots can easily toggle from one view to another. “The additional views offer pilots greater situational awareness upon landing, facilitating more efficient operations with ground crew,” noted DiNota.

Heli-One offers global coverage with locations in Canada, the U.S., Norway and Rzeszow, Poland, which has just added second-generation exhaust duct repair for the Leonardo AW139 to its list of services. According to DiNota, the repair can be performed in less than 30 days and is a more affordable option than replacement of the assembly. Since opening in 2014, the location has expanded its AW139 capabilities, which also include base maintenance and first-generation duct repair. The 65,000-sq-ft facility carries EASA, FAA and TCCA approvals and has a maintenance hangar capable of accommodating six large airframes along with an avionics workshop, structures shop with specialized tailboom repair area and a dedicated paint bay. o

Lord’s new bearings

stretch service life

by Mark Huber The Lord Corporation is extending its warranty, repair and service programs and launching an MRO mobile services app.

New repair offerings include overhauls for Bell 412 main driveshaft boots and a spindleexhange program for 412 main rotor spindles. For the Bell 206, Lord has developed FAAapproved PMA TT straps and it also offers a Bell 206 trunnion bearing three-year/2,500hour warranty. Other offerings includes a Bell 430 shear restraint exchange program and Schweizer 300 main rotor damper and tail rotor bearings.

Lord (Booth 2817) is also developing the next generation of elastomeric components to increase reliability and decrease

costs, including its SPE IIA elastomer on lead-lag and shear bearings that the company predicts will offer a minimum increase of 30 percent service life. The bearings are expected to exceed a 2,500-hour service life and provide users with an additional value of at least $13,000 per main rotor hub.

The new Lord MRO Services mobile app allows users to access more than 110 aftermarket parts for a wide variety of rotorcraft including 15 of the 25 platforms that the company currently services. Information available includes part numbers, service types and pricing. The app will also connect users directly to the company service manager in their region.

Lord also noted it has placed more than 1,500 active vibration control and electromechanical systems in service on 10 different aircraft models that have logged more than two million flight hours. Systems for eight more aircraft are under development and/or certification testing.

Lord has served the active vibration and noise control business since the 1980s.

The company has developed systems for every major helicopter OEM and several fixed-wing OEMs, and its active vibration control systems (AVCS) are now standard equipment in many helicopter models. Lord AVCS use accelerometers, centralized computers, proprietary algorithms and force generators to create “anti-vibration” to cancel out main rotor vibration, deliver a smoother ride and in some cases track rotor speed and communicate with onboard maintenance systems. AVCS can provide a lighter and more effective solution than traditional absorbers, according to Lord. o

NEWS CLIPS z LCI Leases AW169s to Norway’s Airlift LCI Helicopters has leased a trio of Leonardo AW169 helicopters to Norwegian operator Airlift, which will use the twin-turbine rotorcraft in support of its sea pilot transfer operations.

“This is the first time that LCI helicopters have been used for sea pilot operations, demonstrating the broad range of applications for this versatile and innovative aircraft, for which we are already seeing high levels of interest from operators across the globe,” said company executive chairman Crispin Maunder.

LCI is the launch customer for the type, the first new helicopter in its weight class to enter the market in more than three decades, and has so far taken delivery of five of the light intermediate helicopters, which are being deployed in a variety of roles including emergency medical services, offshore support, utility and training.

Through next year, LCI (Booth 2620) has orders and commitments for an additional five AW169s. The company currently has a fleet of nearly 60 rotorcraft consisting of the AW139 and AW189, in addition to the AW169, and from Airbus Helicopters, the H175 and H130.

z X-Naut’s Tablet Coolers Available Down Under X-naut is partnering with Australia’s Flightstore to make its products—including the iPad Mini Active Cooling Mount, iPad Air Active Cooling Mount and Kneeboarding Kit—available there. Launched in 2016, California-based X-naut develops solutions that address issues that arise when working with technology in extreme conditions.

X-naut’s iPad products are designed to combat overheating due to direct sunlight in the cockpit. Designed by Nectar, the iPad cooling products were developed after conducting extensive thermal testing and analysis. The iPad cooling products use an injection-molded vent case and built-in cooling fan system to direct airflow. The cooling airflow helps prevent the sudden protective shutdown of iPads due to overheating.

Android tablet options are currently in development.

z Thommen Shows Stratotimer Digital Clocks

Torrance, California-based Robinson Helicopter rolled out its 12,000th helicopter, a turbine-powered R66, in late December. The milestone helicopter will be delivered to South African dealer Hover Dynamics and eventually will fly charters and air tour flights at Fly Karoo Air Services in the Graaff-Reinet area.

Robinson rolls out 12,000th helicopter Robinson Helicopter (Booth 11842) recently produced its 12,000th helicopter. Company CEO Kurt Robinson said the helicopter rolled off the assembly line on December 23, calling it “a nice way to end the year.”

The turbine-single R66, S/N 0763, will be delivered to Hover Dynamics, one of three

long-time Robinson dealers in South Africa. The helicopter was purchased by a new charter and tour operator, Fly Karoo Air Services, operating in the Graaff-Reinet area.

Powered by the Rolls-Royce RR300 engine, the R66 2017 base price is $879,000.

The company is currently working to certify several new

options on the R66, including a new gyro-stabilized camera for news gathering, wire strike kit, lithium-ion battery and data recorder system.

Robinson’s first helicopter, the two-place R22, was produced and delivered in 1979, the first four-place R44 in 1993 and the first five-place R66 in 2010. Robinson also offers a multitude of variants, including the recently introduced R44 Cadet, a two-place helicopter specially configured for training. Robinson was founded in 1973. —M.H.

Swiss aircraft instrument manufacturer Thommen Aircraft Equipment (Booth 8603) is showing its new Stratotimer multifunction chronograph at Heli-Expo 2017.

Available in two-inch and three-inch sizes, the Stratotimer can be customized to users’ needs, with capabilities that include showing backup information such as passive TCAS, ADS-B in traffic, engine monitoring and other main instrument indications. The Stratotimer also features an Arinc 429 interface (four inputs and two outputs), and it can be synchronized to GPS Sync master/slave, according to Thommen. The unit’s display can be quickly set to full color, night-vision imaging system (NVIS) green or NVIS red.

According to Thommen, its “digital clocks can easily replace old devices without major change on the cockpit instrument panel or the aircraft electrical installation.” This includes clocks such as the ADS Transicoil/Astrotech LC-90/ LC-90SR.

z Shaw Aerox Highlights Medical Oxygen Systems Shaw Aerox Aviation Oxygen Systems of Limington, Maine (Booth 7021) is at Heli-Expo showing its latest medical oxygen system products for aviation use. Featured products include system installation hardware, such as adaptors, mounting brackets, line assemblies and pressure gages; cylinder and regulator assemblies, including a Kevlar-wound cylinder that weighs less than a same-sized steel or aluminum cylinder; and trans-filling hardware that is a necessity for maintaining any oxygen system. The cylinder’s regulator also acts as a highpressure reducer.

A variety of Shaw Aerox oxygen masks are available, such as the continuous flow 4110-711 and 4110-712, which meet FAA TSO-C103 and the quick-donning, carbon-fiber diluter demand style masks, meeting TSO-C78A and TSO-C89A.

www.ainonline.com • March 7, 2017 • HAI Convention News 43

Heliatica debuts blind-zone and photomapping cameras

The Hot-Stop L line features the Hot-Stop L fire-containment kits, which include bags and gloves.

by Samantha Cartaino Russian helicopter mission equipment provider Heliatica unveiled a universal geodetic photomapping and monitoring payload system and a blind-zone video system during Heli-Expo 2017. Both are designed to fit the Robinson R44 and R66, Bell 206 and 407 and Airbus H120, H125, H130 and AS350. Heli-Expo visitors can view both products at Heliatica’s booth (2307).

The geodetic photomapping and monitoring payload system was developed by Heliatica in conjunction with Russian UAV manufacturer Geoscan.

The system accommodates one Phase One iXU (50-100 MP resolution) camera or two Sony DSC-RX1 (24 MP resolution) cameras, and it is equipped with a GPS/ Glonass receiver for accurate geo-tagging and mission planning and execution using mobile devices. According to Heliatica general director Tatiana Dushenkova,

the payload fits geotagged photo, video and infrared cameras based on the mission requirements the customer chooses.

“Our target was to take the most advanced solutions from the UAV industry, develop a really low-cost system for light helicopters and get it certified by EASA, FAA and the Russian civial aviation authorities,” she said.

Meanwhile, the The GeoScan blind-zone video photomapping camera can geo-tag system is comprised video and images. of three video cameras, including one installed in the underbelly of the helicopter and two installed on the tailboom pointed towards landing gear and tailfin blind spots. Developed

by Heliatica and Heliswiss Iberica, the kit is already certified by EASA and the Aviation Register of the Russian Federation for the Airbus H130. The system has already been installed on private helicopters operating in Heliatica’s location in the Moscow area. o

REBRANDED CADORATH ADDS T53 MRO SERVICES MRO company Cadorath (Booth 7106) is adding T53 repair work to its portfolio. Cadorath was approved by Honeywell as an authorized component repair facility for T53 engine components. With its new authorization, Cadorath’s facilities in Winnipeg, Canada, and Lafayette, Louisiana can now provide repair, overhaul and other services for the engine.

Cadorath’s Honeywell authorization extends worldwide.

The company also during Heli-Expo unveiled its new branding, including a new website and logo. Canadian brand and digital agency Think.Shift worked with Cadorath employees for 18 months in order to build a brand identity that reflects the company’s values. According to Cadorath CEO Gerry Cadorath, the new tagline “MOREUPTIME” demonstrates the company’s goal to keep current and future customers productive. The company’s new website focuses on Cadorath’s digital marketing and online presence in the aviation, agriculture, oil and gas, mining and industrial sectors.

“The project included numerous discovery conferences with all employees to harness how we see ourselves,” said Cadorath’s senior v-p David Haines. “The core belief we maintained through the entire process was commitment to project a brand identity which —S.C. directly reflected what all employees believe and value in this organization.”

Baker’s Hot-Stop L gear tames fiery Li-ion batteries Baker Aviation is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of its Hot-Stop L firecontainment system. Introduced in 2007, the product, as well as the line of HotStop L fire-containment kits, were developed as a result of safety concerns about lithium-ion battery fires erupting from a variety of electronic devices. The bags are now used to contain fires that occur in portable chargers and battery packs, as well as e-cigarettes, laptops, tablets, defibrillators and more. Baker Aviation (Booth 6910) is a first-time exhibitor at this year’s Heli-Expo. “We are excited to be here at Heli-Expo to introduce our proven, tested and burn-certified safety tool to the helicopter market,” said Baker Aviation president and COO Ray Goyco.

The Hot-Stop L line features the Hot-Stop L fire-containment kits, which include bags and gloves, and the Evo product line, available in multiple sizes and featuring airtight zippers. The Hot Stop products are made of several inner layers of fabric with a 3,200 deg F melting point that are sandwiched between

two outer layers with a 2,080 deg F melting point. The Evo zipper technology provides another layer of security.

Baker Aviation’s line of fire-containment kits have burn certifications and have been tested to hold a battery in full thermal runaway until it burns itself out.

These products can be used as a preventative measure for devices that show possible signs of overheating before a fire breaks out.

“Our success began in the business aviation market, as safety management systems are highly emphasized, and the trend for these Part 91 and 135 operators is to secure their passengers’ safety, at all costs,” Goyco said. “Our core technology remains the same, incorporating proven materials that come from the firefighting industry, and we have always received burn certifications for our products. Flight departments recognized the value of our proven and tested solution many years ago and appreciate the lightweight and easy to store and deploy benefits.” —S.C.

Stat MedEvac opts for H135s with Helionix avionics suites

by Curt Epstein

GENESYS, HELIATICA RECEIVE RUSSIAN OKAY FOR HELISAS Genesys Aerosystems (Booth 8606) and its Russian distributor Heliatica (Booth 2307) have received Aviation Register of Russian Federation validation of the FAA supplemental type certificate for the HeliSas stability augmentation system and autopilot on Robinson and Airbus helicopters.

The STC validation covers the Robinson R44 and R66 and the Airbus H125 family (AS350B, BA, D, B1, B2, and B3) and H130 (EC130B4 and T2).

“With a fleet of 476 Robinson helicopters and another 213 rotorcraft from Airbus Helicopters, we see a huge potential for Genesys products,” said Tatyana Dushenkova, general director of Heliatica.

Heliatica is also finalizing retrofit of the H130 with the HeliSas autopilot in cooperation with Heliswiss Iberica, a Barcelona-based MRO and Genesys authorized distributor and service center. Heliatica has been the Genesys authorized distributor in Russia and the CIS since October 2015.

—M.H.

44 HAI Convention News • March 7, 2017 • www.ainonline.com

Emergency medical transport provider Stat MedEvac has placed orders for three new Airbus H135s equipped with the OEM’s Helionix avionics suite, which, when delivered by the end of the year, will make the Pennsylvania-based aeromedical company the first in the U.S. to operate air ambulance helicopters so equipped.

Helionix consists of two computers, which feed up to four electronic displays along with a four-axis autopilot to reduce pilot workload and a Traffic Advisory System that improves safety by helping pilots detect and avoid other aircraft. “Helionix is the latest Airbus product improvement that will significantly enhance the safety of helicopter operations,” noted Chris Emerson, president

of Airbus Helicopters (Booth 7648).

One of the largest air medical providers in the U.S., Stat MedEvac will use the new helicopters to replace older aircraft in its fleet, which operates out of 17 locations in the Pennsylvania area.

“The addition of these H135s builds upon Stat’s commitment to safety,” said Doug Garretson, president and CEO of the company, which was the first medical transport team to operate the type in North America. “We are thankful the H135 series continues to evolve, enabling us to operate to the standards we set. We continue to invest in twin-engine, IFR platforms, and the H135 delivers what we need to meet our goals for the product and support.” o

Donaldson certifies first inlet barrier filter for R66

by Curt Epstein Donaldson Aerospace and Defense has received FAA certification for the first inlet barrier filter (IBF) for the Robinson R66 to provide added protection for engines operating in dusty environments, the industry filtration specialist announced. The filter, designed for yearround usage, will be available as a factory option on new helicopters for $6,500, or as a retrofit to existing R66s. The installation includes a pre-flight sight gauge to observe how dirty the IBF is. Service interval for the oil-media unit is 300 hours or annually, depending on operating conditions.

Donaldson was asked to create the unit by Robinson after its customers,

particularly those in Australia, which has a particularly fine and invasive dust, began to request additional engine protection. “With a growing number of R66 helicopters operating around the world and increasingly in challenging environments, it was imperative that we offer a superior filter solution,” explained Robinson Helicopter president and chairman Kurt Robinson. “Donaldson’s team was up to the challenge, and the newly certified R66 IBF is proof of their complete grasp of our customers’ needs.”

At Heli-Expo 2017, the filter is on display both at the Donaldson booth (10537), as part of a selection of its full

Milestone orders

Rosenthal credited that success to diversification. “We diversified and that was highly important for us. We diversified by fleet, by mission and by customer, and we had great success in that in 2016. Then we also supported our existing customers, and that was highly important. You’ve seen that through the recent debt commitment to Bristow and CHC worth more than $400 million that we are really offering a full suite of products to support our customers.”

Milestone’s fleet has grown to more than 230 helicopters worth $4 billion, plus debt commitments of approximately $400 million. The company has an order book of firm and option aircraft with an estimated aggregate purchase price in excess of $3 billion supporting more than 35 customers in more than 30 countries. Since being acquired by GE Capital Aviation Services in 2015, Milestone has expanded its product offerings to include not only leasing and related structures but also debt financing, engine leasing and fleet advisory services. “There are a tremendous number of resources that we can bring to bear through GE and a wonderful collaborative spirit within GE. It’s up to us to continue to communicate that to our customers and keep on growing,” he said.

uContinued from page 1

MARIANO ROSALES

Milestone CEO Daniel Rosenthal said the new order is part of the company’s strategy to move deeper into the light and medium twin space in the face of continuing weakness in the offshore energy market.

“It’s important to remember that oil and gas is still in a significant downturn, but the rest of the industry is doing okay,” he said, noting that Milestone entered into leases on 23 light helicopters in 2016 for emergency medical services, predominantly light twins, “And we’re really excited about it,” he said.

He added that the new order announced at Heli-Expo today “is a direct result of the demand we saw for light twins and mediums in the space in 2016 with our customers’ order books, and we saw part of that demand coming in the U.S.” Despite the ongoing offshore oil and gas downturn, Milestone Aviation wrote $1 billion in leases and letters of intent in 2016.

That $1 billion in leases covered 88 aircraft, including 39 re-leases of existing aircraft. “If you compare that to the rest of the industry, that is quite a significant number.

Eighty percent of that was with new assets.

So I view 2016 as highly successful,” he said.

The bulk of Milestone Aviation’s $306.5 million dollar order is for the Airbus H145. In fact, the lessor will take 17 of the light twins—about three times as many as any of the other models under this deal.

Donaldson’s $6,500 inlet barrier filter for the Robinson R66 will be available as a factory option or as a retrofit. Its IBF, which protects the engine in dusty environments, is the first one available for the R66.

line of dry and oiled media filters, and Robinson Helicopter, which has ordered 25 of the filter kits. Deliveries of the kits will start shortly. According to Donaldson, which is accepting customer Rosenthal doesn’t see things improving in the offshore world anytime soon. “The challenge that the industry faced with the CHC bankruptcy in 2016 should not be underestimated. When we sold our business to GE in 2015, we had three dozen customers who had been in business for an average of 40 years, and there had never been a restructuring across our customer base. So this industry has changed dramatically.”

In 2016 Milestone provided offshore operator CHC with restructuring financing that included modified lease terms on its existing leases and additional helicopters at market lease rates. In addition to the leased aircraft, Milestone will provide a new $150-million asset-backed debt facility for purchase or refinancing of aircraft. In February 2017 Milestone announced that it was providing $230 million in asset-backed debt financing to Bristow Group as part of a strategy to improve that company’s liquidity.

Going forward, Rosenthal said, “The picture for the next few years is going to remain pretty dark when talking about offshore. You have a capital expenditure profile that peaked in 2013-14. Oil prices in the $50-to $60-range do not support the growth in offshore that we saw a couple of years ago given the impact of shale and other onshore [exploration] in North America and the rest of the world.

“In the offshore space you have tiebacks and greater efficiencies from existing wells that are good for the oil and gas industry but are not going to impact the offshore helicopter industry. By the time you get to growth in deep water, new exploration and production that drives an increase in helicopter usage, we are years down the road.”

He added that even when the oil and gas market strengthens, “you have oversupply in the heavy and medium space that has to get worked through. We are operating on the assumption that it is going to be a number of years before the industry truly bounces back, and frankly I don’t know that we will get back to the levels that we saw in 2013 and 2014.” o

orders at the show, there is an eight-to-10 week lead time required for the unit.

The Minneapolis-based company also noted that PJ Helicopters, the launch customer for its new line of drymedia IBFs, is nearing the 100-hour mark of successful operations with the new filter. Installed on one of the company’s Bell 407s in California, the filter, which received FAA certification last year, consists of Donaldson’s non-woven dry media with proprietary nanofiber technology. While PJ’s director of maintenance operations Dave McCammon noted the aircraft has not shown any signs of power degradation or increased engine temperatures, he added, “Our real test will come this summer during our peak operating season when temperatures will be hotter and conditions will be a lot dryer.” A long-time customer, PJ requested that Donaldson create a dry-media IBF that offers easier cleaning than the oil-media version, according to Matthew Fortuna, the company’s global general manager.

Fortuna added that Donaldson is ramping up production on its range of dry IBFs and expects to launch it for three new platforms over the next calendar year, starting with the MD 500.

Another milestone was recently experienced by Liberty Helicopters, which just passed one year since installing the Donaldson IBF on its fleet of Airbus H125s.

“The IBFs have already prevented a rock, a bird and other FOD from reaching and damaging critical components,” said Brent Duca, Liberty’s director of training, describing the IBF experience in his company’s fleet. The Liberty fleet racks up more than 9,000 hours annually in the New York City aerial tour market.

Lastly, Donaldson has seen an increase in customers Down Under as two Australian air medical providers, Toll Helicopters and Hunter Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Services, have signed on to outfit their combined 12 AW139s with the IBF to provide protection from a variety of contaminants, including salt water, sand and dust, according to Fortuna. “By using Donaldson IBF systems, operators in Australia have taken steps to extend engine life, and reduce program operating costs, by preventing damage from the elements.” o

www.ainonline.com • March 7, 2017 • HAI Convention News 45

BLR secures FAA and EASA approvals for H125 FastFin

by Mark Huber

AC3, the third Leonardo Helicopters AW609 civil tiltrotor, has begun flight testing from the company’s Philadelphia plant. It will soon head to Marquette, Michigan, for cold weather testing and icing trials.

Third AW609 now airborne, will soon start icing trials

by Mark Huber The third Leonardo Helicopters AW609 civil tiltrotor, AC3, recently began flight testing from the company’s Philadelphia plant and is slated to conduct cold weather testing and icing trials in Marquette, Michigan. Meanwhile, AC1 has been returned to Italy for modifications, while AC4 is under assembly in Philadelphia. Manufacture of production aircraft is scheduled to start there in 2018. Leonardo also reaffirmed its intent to gain FAA certification for the AW609 next year.

To date, AC3 has performed several weeks of unrestrained ground testing and, more recently, flight trials that allowed avionics and all systems to be fully tested. During initial flights, the aircraft performed basic hovering and maneuvering and patterns around the airport, concluding with hover landing. More than 1,300 hours have been logged in the program thus far, with 2,000 to 2,500 total planned.

The rotorcraft manufacturer said it has current customer commitments for “nearly” 60 AW609s, including three from the UAE Joint Aviation Command, as well as development agreements in place with Bristow and Era for offshore and EMS variants, respectively. Leonardo has yet to disclose a price for its civil tiltrotor.

Flight testing of the AW609 resumed in August with AC1 after the fatal crash of AC2 in October 2015. Announced performance includes a maximum forward speed of 275 knots, a ceiling of 25,000 feet, a hover out of ground effect of 5,000 feet, hover in ground effect of 10,000 feet and a useful load of 2,500 pounds. Short-takeoff capability will be added to the certification basis to increase the helicopter’s maximum takeoff weight to 18,000 pounds from 16,800 pounds. Standard range is 700 nm, but 1,100 nm with aux fuel. o

BLR Aerospace (Booth 11343) received FAA supplemental type certificate (STC) approval in December and EASA approval in January for installation of its FastFin tail rotor enhancement and stability system on the single-engine Airbus Helicopters H125 family. Additional certifications from Transport Canada and Brazil’s Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC) are expected to follow soon.

FastFin is now available both as an aftermarket option on pre-owned helicopters and as a factory-installed STC option on new H125s. FastFin uses advanced airflow management to increase the effectiveness of the H125 anti-torque system and yields certified performance improvements, including up to 130 pounds increased useful load and a 10 percent improvement in pedal margins. BLR said additional benefits include a reduction in pilot workload, easier control in precision hover-hold operations and better management of the yaw axis when hovering in challenging crosswinds.

Though based on the same aerodynamic principles, the H125 FastFin differs from the version for medium Bell helicopters in that it does not modify the vertical fin, but rather is composed of a tailboom

aerodynamic cowling, a tailboom strake and vortex generators.

BLR president Mike Carpenter said the $69,950 system requires about 120 man hours to install and that the company plans to ramp up to 100 kits this year and 160 next year. He said there are approximately 3,800 Airbus helicopters that could benefit from the system. An H125 with the system installed is on display at Heli-Expo in static display space 10.

Additionally, BLR announced in January that EASA had certified the FastFin system for installation on the Bell AB412, yielding an increased useful load of 1,250 pounds and improved stability in hover operations. o

Simplex Aerospace (Booth 4321) received certification in December of a fire attack system (FAS) for the Airbus Helicopters BK117C2 (EC145C2). Designated the Model 311 GII FAS, the unit includes a 240-gallon (900-liter) composite belly tank, internal foam tank assembly, hover pump and two ground fill ports. The certification enables Simplex to offer the system for most BK117 models, and it will be

adapted for the Kawasaki Heavy Industries BK117CC. Simplex also announced that Joel Rodriguez has been appointed as customer support manager. This new position will provide customers with an additional resource and point of contact for questions, trouble-shooting issues, training and parts sales service.

Finally, the company announced that Matthew Haaga has been appointed manufacturing manager. Haaga formerly worked for LifeSciences, where he was the manufacturing supervisor and was tasked with overseeing the production line of critically tolerant devices and the planning and coordination of production schedules for machining, finishing and assembly.

—R.R.P.

46 HAI Convention News • March 7, 2017 • www.ainonline.com

MARIANO ROSALES

SIMPLEX FIRE ATTACK SYSTEM GETS NOD FOR AIRBUS BK117C2

WAX ON, WAX OFF...

Once helicopters arrive at their spot on the Heli-Expo exhibit hall floor, the work of making them show-worthy begins. Teams of aircraft cleaners descended on the ships over this past weekend to make sure that they are spotless—inside and out—so attendees see them only in the best possible light.

Join thousands of top business aviation leaders, entrepreneurs, and other purchase decision-makers for the Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (ABACE2017). This is the perfect venue for investors considering aviation as a business opportunity; companies thinking of using an aircraft for business; and flight departments who have long used aircraft as a valuable business tool. Visit the website to learn more and register today.

REGISTER TODAY www.abace.aero/ain

A SALUTE TO

EXCELLENCE Mayhew notches ‘Dub’ Blessing Flight Instructor of the Year Award

Rolls-Royce Maintenance Award goes to ‘problem solver’ Carl Jones

Nick Mayhew, senior program manager of L-3 Link Simulation and Training, will receive the Salute to Excellence W.A. “Dub” Blessing Flight Instructor of the Year Award here at Heli-Expo. The award, along with the other Salute to Excellence Awards, will be presented at HAI’s Salute to Excellence Awards dinner at the Hilton Anatole Dallas on March 8. Mayhew is receiving the award for spearheading helicopter pilot safety through mentoring others and advising on FAA best practices.

After leaving the UK Royal Navy as lieutenant commander with 28 years of accident-free flying, Mayhew was part of

Carl Jones, a Bell 205 and 412 crew chief with the National Research Council of Canada, will receive the Rolls-Royce Excellence in Helicopter Maintenance award. Jones will be honored for his outstanding career in helicopter maintenance.

Jones became interested in helicopters in high school.

He decided to attend college in North Bay, Ontario, for aircraft maintenance. Jones recalled that approximately 23 people started on the course, and the majority of them gravitated towards fixedwing operations. Forging his own path, he decided to study rotorcraft maintenance.

the team that developed and implemented Bristow’s Target Zero program and served as general manager of Bristow Academy in Titusville, Fla. Mayhew joined the U.S. Helicopter Safety Team (USHST) in 2012 as the

Nick Mayhew

Training Working Group chair.

He also went on to work with the FAA’s Orlando Flight Standards District Office and other Florida-based flight schools to form the Helicopter Certificated Flight Instructor Special Emphasis Program in May 2014.

Mayhew told AIN, “I am forever hopeful that the good work and safety enhancements we are attacking now within the USHST will continue to drive [down] fatalities and helicopter accidents toward the goal of achieving zero accidents, while still performing the unique and hugely important services that helicopters deliver.” —S.C.

In 1977, Jones earned a position with Shirley Helicopters in Edmonton, Alberta.

After working for a small medevac company in Ontario, Jones joined the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada in 1994.

At NRC Jones said that the

Carl Jones

hardest part about the bring a crew chief is finding solutions for complex problems. ”A lot of times, we do stuff here [at the NRC] that’s never been done. That’s the whole exciting part about the job, that it’s never really dull. Lots of times they’ll come with a piece of equipment they need to install and we have to figure out a way to make it safe and make it happen in a timely time frame.”

Jones told AIN that he finds the Rolls-Royce Excellence in Helicopter Maintenance award humbling and vows to use it as motivation to continue completing projects and finding solutions.

—S.C.

Trinidad and Tobago Air Guard receives Leonardo’s Service Award Throughout the last decade, the Trinidad and Tobago Air Guard (TTAG) has provided humanitarian services for natural disasters, security threats and medical emergencies in the Caribbean.

Because of its success, the Trinidad and Tobago Air Guard will receive the 2017 Leonardo Humanitarian Service Award.

TTAG was founded in 2005 and has provided emergency services to St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Dominica during natural disasters while transporting critically ill and injured patients from Tobago to the hospital in Trinidad. The organization operates two Metro Merlin C-26B turboprops and four Leonardo AW139 helicopters. TTAG has experience airlifting shark-attack victims and injured sailors, rescuing lost hikers and stranded individuals at sea, extinguishing bush fires and helping ships.

—S.C.

Trinidad and Tobago Air Guard

LAPD veteran Jack Schonely to receive MD Helicopters Award

Dr. John Leverton to receive Bell Lifetime Achievement Award

Retired Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer and helicopter pilot Jack Schonely will receive the 2017 MD Helicopters Law Enforcement Award here at Heli-Expo.

Schonely dedicated more than three decades of his life to rotorcraft use in police agencies as a pilot, patrol officer, lecturer and author.

After earning a degree in criminal justice from Kutztown University in Pennsylvania, Schonely began his 33-yearlong career as a deputy sheriff in Berks County, Pa. He then moved to Los Angeles in 1983 to join the LAPD. While working as a patrol officer, Schonely learned

Dr. John Leverton will receive the 2017 Bell Helicopter Lifetime Achievement Award here at Heli-Expo. Leverton has served as a consultant, lecturer, chair, director and vice president throughout his influential career in the helicopter industry.

Leverton lived close to the Royal Air Force base in Devon, England, and applied for an apprenticeship with Westland Helicopters. He stayed with the company until 1984 when he moved to the U.S. to work with Westland Inc. While at the Institute of Sound and Vibration at Southampton University, Leverton became interested

about perimeter containment as a way to detain suspects.

He became a K-9 handler with the Metropolitan Division, participating in more than 7,000 high-risk K-9 searches as a primary handler or search team member.

Schonely then moved on to

Jack Schonely

become a tactical flight officer for LAPD’s Air Support Division. His main objective was to coordinate tactical operations from a helicopter that involved foot pursuits and perimeter containments. After serving as chief tactical flight officer, he served as a command pilot before retiring in June 2016.

All of Schonely’s experience led him to write a book titled Apprehending Fleeing Suspects: Suspect Tactics and Perimeter Containment.

He continues to provide training on suspect tactics and perimeter containment to agencies throughout the U.S. and Canada.

—S.C.

in helicopter noise and environmental issues. His work became a significant design aspect when Westland started producing the Westland 30.

Later on, Leverton worked on international noise certification, helicopter operations and heliport/helideck designs.

Dr. John Leverton

He told AIN, “I soon found that having worked in the UK and U.S. was a major advantage, since although it was— and is—often stated that the European and North American operators and authorities have vastly different views, this is not the case.”

Leverton has given lectures on aspects of helicopter noise and heliport design throughout the world. He served as chair of the HAI Acoustics, Acoustics/ Environmental, Offshore, Heliport and Fly Neighborly committees. He acted as director, v-p and advisor on infrastructure/environmental development for American Helicopter Society International. –S.C.