Fleet Report Helicos

HELI MARKET CONTINUES ITS HEALTHY GROWTH

The latest summary of the worldwide active helicopter fleet from JetNet LLC has highlighted mixed fortunes for both piston and turbine operators with increases and decreases in numbers across all regions. Alan Norris reports

ROTOR The Sikorsky S-76D (top). Airbus Helicopters family (center). Weststar is the largest operator of AW139 in Asia (below).

Looking at the figures released by JetNet LLC, obtained from a wide network of data sources, and comparing for like figures for year end 2018 and 2019 the total number of helicopters globally has increased by only 0.46%, from 31,965 aircraft to 32,113 in 2019. This slight increase of helicopters within the civil market is a continuing trend despite some sectors of the helicopter industry still struggling after the oil and gas price collapse.

But the figures also highlight a downturn in real terms of the actual number of helicopters added down with only 148 aircraft added to the civil fleet in comparison to the previous year’s figure of 461aircraft.

Overall, the figures for piston engine versus turbine engine helicopter use also indicates that piston powered aircraft use is on the decline with a reduction in numbers by 120 aircraft, which represents a 1.25% decrease.

In the piston sector, although Robinson numbers were down by 66 aircraft (0.8% from 2018), the company still outperformed both Enstrom and Schweizer. The R44 Raven II continues to have the highest number of

PISTON MFG/MODEL TOTAL EUROPE ENSTROM 280 SHARK 5 2 ENSTROM 280C SHARK 110 28 ENSTROM 280F SHARK 13 0 ENSTROM 280FX SHARK 117 20 ENSTROM F-28 2 0 ENSTROM F-28A 73 14 ENSTROM F-28C 54 7 ENSTROM F-28C-2 22 0 ENSTROM F28F FALCON 85 8 ROBINSON R22 49 8 ROBINSON R22 ALPHA 40 3 ROBINSON R22 BETA 906 235 ROBINSON R22 BETA II 1575 280 ROBINSON R22 HP 47 3 ROBINSON R22 MARINER 106 19 ROBINSON R22 MARINER II 40 13 ROBINSON R44 ASTRO 471 100 ROBINSON R44 CADET 50 12 ROBINSON R44 RAVEN I 1415 355 ROBINSON R44 RAVEN II 3602 776 SCHWEIZER 300CB 72 12 SCHWEIZER S-300C 435 139 SCHWEIZER S-300CBI 175 31 T otal Piston 9,464 2,065 Turbine Make/Model AGUSTA/WESTLAND A119 KOALA 83 19 AGUSTA/WESTLAND A119KE 99 24 AIRBUS AS-350B-2 ECUREUIL 1,197 138 AIRBUS H120 620 283 AIRBUS H125 881 293 AIRBUS H130 264 48 BELL 204B 24 1 BELL 205A-1 122 5 BELL 206A JETRANGER 47 3 BELL 206B JETRANGER II 796 53 BELL 206B-3 JETRANGER III 1,774 188 BELL 206L LONGRANGER 87 9 BELL 206L-1 LONGRANGER II 363 21 BELL 206L-3 LONGRANGER 452 21 BELL 206L-4 LONGRANGER IV 425 10 BELL 210 3 0 BELL 214B BIGLIFTER 29 0 BELL 407 1,042 55 BELL 407GX 263 21 BELL 407GXi 40 4 BELL 407GXP 183 12 BELL 505 JET RANGER X 208 41 BELL/AGUSTA AB-206A JETRANGER 21 12 BELL/AGUSTA AB-206B JETRANGER II 72 57 BELL/AGUSTA AB-206B-3 JETRANGER 74 61 ENSTROM 480 28 10 ENSTROM 480B 158 20 EUROCOPTER AS-350B ECUREUIL 268 50 EUROCOPTER AS-350B-1 ECUREUIL 40 19 EUROCOPTER AS-350B-3 ECUREUIL 1,008 285 EUROCOPTER AS-350BA ECUREUIL 452 100 EUROCOPTER AS-350D ASTAR 42 3 EUROCOPTER EC-130B-4 ECUREUIL 411 58 EUROCOPTER SA-315B LAMA 141 68 EUROCOPTER SA-316B ALOUETTE III 95 37 EUROCOPTER SA-318C ALOUETTE II 63 33 EUROCOPTER SA-319B ALOUETTE III 22 8 LEONARDO AW119Kx 78 8 MD MD 500E 329 67 MD MD 520N 95 9 MD MD 530F 170 3 MD MD 600N 53 10 ROBINSON R66 787 140 SCHWEIZER 330 12 3 SCHWEIZER S-333 47 8 T otal Single Turbine 1 3,468 2,31 8 Turbine Make/Model AGUSTA/WESTLAND A109A 45 16 AGUSTA/WESTLAND A109A MK II 79 35 AGUSTA/WESTLAND A109C 60 19 AGUSTA/WESTLAND A109K2 25 12

AGUSTA/WESTLAND A109S GRAND 167 69 AIRBUS AS-332C1E SUPER PUMA 5 1 AIRBUS AS-332L1E SUPER PUMA 3 3 AIRBUS AS-355NP ECUREUIL II 61 37 AIRBUS AS-365N-3 DAUPHIN 2 210 70 AIRBUS EC-135P2+ 381 144 AIRBUS EC-135T2+ 218 122 AIRBUS EC-145 827 118 AIRBUS H135 171 115 AIRBUS H145 253 143 AIRBUS H155 147 49 AIRBUS H175 35 23 AIRBUS H225 173 67 BELL 206LT TWINRANGER 3 1 BELL 212 459 50 BELL 214ST 28 0 BELL 222A 28 3 BELL 222B 13 2 BELL 222SP 5 0 BELL 222UT 27 0 BELL 230 32 1 BELL 412 104 35 BELL 412EP 559 49 BELL 412EPI 34 3 BELL 412HP 61 21 BELL 412SP 28 7 BELL 427 73 13 BELL 429 GLOBALRANGER 352 52 BELL 430 104 7 BELL/AGUSTA AB-412 28 24 BELL/AGUSTA AB-412EP 17 17 BELL/AGUSTA AB-412HP 4 3 BELL/AGUSTA AB-412SP 22 16 EUROCOPTER AS-332L SUPER PUMA 49 16 EUROCOPTER AS-332L1 SUPER PUMA 66 33 EUROCOPTER AS-332L2 SUPER PUMA 44 23 EUROCOPTER AS-355E ECUREUIL II 1 0 EUROCOPTER AS-355F ECUREUIL II 92 35 EUROCOPTER AS-355F-1 ECUREUIL 60 21 EUROCOPTER AS-355F-2 ECUREUIL 152 49 EUROCOPTER AS-355N ECUREUIL II 146 70 EUROCOPTER AS-365C DAUPHIN 2 39 17 EUROCOPTER AS-365N DAUPHIN 2 86 24 EUROCOPTER AS-365N-1 DAUPHIN 2 33 11 EUROCOPTER AS-365N-2 DAUPHIN 2 111 25 EUROCOPTER BK-117A-1 30 0 EUROCOPTER BK-117B-1 46 16 EUROCOPTER BK-117B-2 73 10 EUROCOPTER BK-117C-1 51 14 EUROCOPTER EC-135P1 40 13 EUROCOPTER EC-135P2 153 61 EUROCOPTER EC-135T1 84 44 EUROCOPTER EC-135T2 143 103 EUROCOPTER EC-155B 29 16 EUROCOPTER/KAWASAKI BK-117A-1 8 0 EUROCOPTER/KAWASAKI BK-117B 81 1 EUROCOPTER/KAWASAKI BK-117C-1 11 0 LEONARDO A109E POWER 388 105 LEONARDO A109SP GRANDNEW 183 74 LEONARDO AW109 TREKKER 11 2 LEONARDO AW139 967 242 LEONARDO AW169 80 42 LEONARDO AW189 66 31 MD MD EXPLORER 110 59 SIKORSKY S-76A 71 0 SIKORSKY S-76A+ 19 1 SIKORSKY S-76A++ 30 0 SIKORSKY S-76B 67 7 SIKORSKY S-76C 16 4 SIKORSKY S-76C+ 134 2 SIKORSKY S-76C++ 207 20 SIKORSKY S-76D 71 1 SIKORSKY S-92A 292 108 T otal Multi Turbine 9,1 81 2,647 Grand Total 32,1 1 3 7,030

AGILITY The MD 600N is a proven performer for various missions (left). The Bell 407 GXi (right).

piston helicopters in service worldwide standing at 3602, up by 44 on 2018, and not surprisingly with highest usage in the North American region. The R44 Cadet had the biggest percentage increase at 56%, mainly in North America and Europe, as many training schools start to adopt the type as their training aircraft of choice.

Robinson also had comparable success with the turbine R66 which recorded a 6% rise in aircraft use in 2019. The company ended the year with the R66, powered by the RollsRoyce RR300, worldwide fleet surpassing 1 million flight hours without a single reported in flight engine failure.

But the winners by far are the multiengine models with 225 aircraft added in 2019, up overall by an impressive 2.4%. The best performing company was Leonardo Helicopters with their AW139 adding 88 in total across the globe, bringing the number in operation to 967 aircraft ranging from models in SAR, HEMS, firefighting, offshore support and VIP configurations. The AW139 has proved to be a versatile and reliable model now having logged almost 2.5 million flight hours since the first delivery took place at the beginning of 2004. The company delivered the 1000th production model to Italy’s Guardia di Finanza in 2019. Asia operates the largest number of AW139s, 370 across the region, up by 52 on 2018 figures. Europe is the second largest operator of the type and the delivery of 21 aircraft brought the regional total to 242. But up take in North America was slow with only a single model added to the 2018 figure of 143. At the heavy end of the aircraft scale Sikorsky S-76 numbers went down from 652 to 615 across all models but the S-76C++, with 207, is still the highest utilized variant worldwide. Fortunes for the S-92A improved with an additional seven operating globally by the end of 2019, with most of these flying in Europe predominantly supporting the oil platforms of the North Sea and in the SAR role.

Overall North America remains the biggest global helicopter user of helicopters in the league table of coun

Airbus Helicopters had its biggest success with the H135 and H145 increasing the global numbers to 27 and 29 respectively. Both helicopter types are cited by the company as being the two most popular HEMS platforms in their portfolio. The H145 is becoming the popular choice in North America amongst parapublic operators and the region added 27 during 2019 bringing the regional total to 575. Interestingly the company is also predicting that the H160 may be embraced by the HEMS community once it enters full production with operators replacing and upgrading their fleets in the future.

But a change in fortunes may be on the horizon for both European companies as they await further clarification on Presidents Donald Trump’s proposal, in early 2019, to increase tariffs on helicopters manufactured in the European Union, supported by the World Trade Organization. According to a list published by the Office of the United States Trade Representative the tariffs would affect new civil helicopters in all the manufacturer’s empty weight ranges starting from 998 kg. tries with a total number of 12,659 aircraft, but this figure is slightly down by 55 helicopters on the previous year.

Europe is maintaining its second position with a total of 7,030 helicopters operating across the region but Asia, at third place with 4,286 helicopters, recorded the largest gains increasing the fleet by 6.3%. This was achieved with the addition of 253 aircraft across both piston and turbine powered helicopters and within these figures the number of multi-engine powered helicopters increased by 7% following the addition of 136 aircraft taking the total number to 2,062. This is a reflection of how light twin engine helicopters have become an essential part of HEMS, law enforcement, SAR and off shore support missions.

This regional figure is heavily influenced by China which has seen a 7.5% growth in total helicopter numbers entering the market, up by 71 aircraft, representing 24% of Asia’s overall fleet, this is all set against the Chinese GDP slowing from a 6.2% to 6% by the end of 2019.

A few Asian countries have seen the benefits of having an established and funded HEMS system and China is rapidly trying to develop its capability. This potential for significant market growth has been recognized by the major OEMs who have invested in developing working partnerships, infrastructure and also benefited from some large orders over the last few years.

Airbus Helicopters has now started full production of the H135 at its 6,500 sqm final assembly line in Qingdao, Shandong province and is the first helicopter final assembly line built by a foreign manufacturer in China. The opening of the assembly line is the result of an agreement in 2016 for the purchase of one hundred H135s for the Chinese market. Initially the first five will be assembled in Germany and then the main fuselage, main gearbox kits and rear fuselage will be shipped to Qingdao from Donauwörth, Germany and Albacete, Spain respectively. When the assembly line is at full production Airbus Helicopters expects to manufacture 18 helicopters per year.

“Manufacturing the H135s in Qingdao marks the start of a new chapter in Sino-European collaboration and is a testament to our continued commitment to the Chinese helicopter industry and the strong spirit of cooperation that exists between us and our Chinese partners,” said Marie-Agnes Veve, general manager of Airbus Helicopters China.

The Bell 407GXi, fitted with the Garmin G1000H NXi integrated flight deck and dual-channel FADEC Rolls Royce M250-C47E/4 turboshaft engine, received type certification from the Civil Aviation Administration of China during the last quarter of 2019. This now opens the way for the company to start production and deliveries of an order it secured in 2017 from Shaanxi Helicopter Co. (SHC) for one hundred aircraft, aimed at building an air rescue, medevac and law enforcement network. The company has also supported an EMS training exercise in collaboration with SHC and the Shaanxi Provincial People’s Hospital. It has also set up a bonded spare parts service center in Shanghai Pudong Airport, which will be operated by DB Schenker, to support critical spare parts for Bell’s fleet in China. Airbus Helicopters recently published its nine month 2019 results which showed that its order intake had dropped by 25% compared to the same period in 2018, with 173 units against 230. The results also revealed a marginal dip in helicopter deliveries with only 209, compared to 218 during the equivalent period in 2018. The companies EBIT (Earnings before interest and taxes) remained stable at 205 million (2018: 202 million), this reflected an increased contribution from the services sector of the company.

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) also published its industry update which also

TOP TEN FLEETS BY COUNTRY United States 9,348 Canada 2,303 Australia 1,939 Brazil 1,798 United Kingdom 1,062 China 1,026 South Africa 954 France 889 Japan 806 Germany 786

PISTON VERSUS TURBINES World Area Pistons Single Multi Total Africa 571 647 460 1,678 Asia 789 1,435 2,062 4,286 Central America 295 643 260 1,198 Europe 2,065 2,318 2,647 7,030 North America * 3,729 6,360 2,570 12,659 Oceania 1,418 980 401 2,799 South America 892 1,374 802 3,068 Unknown 0 354 239 593 Total 9,464 1 3,468 9,1 81 32,1 1 3

* North America includes Central America counts.

shows the number of rotorcraft delivered during the first nine months of 2019 was down compared to 2018. During the nine months of the year 434 turbine powered rotorcraft were delivered and 136 piston engine powered rotorcraft were delivered. Both figures give an early indication that the commercial civil helicopter industry did not grow as fast as predicted following the oil and gas price decline.

Although Asia is seen by most OEMs as a lucrative market to maintain civil helicopter sales and the figures show the region has benefitted from the increase use of helicopters in the market, the uptake is still relatively slow. Sectors like HEMS and law enforcement operations are still finding their way and in their early stages of development in countries like China who are actively working to build up a HEMS network. Investing in one particular sector has proved to be problematic in the past for the helicopter industry and with the current global dynamic political environment at present 2020 could prove to be another uncertain time for civil helicopter industry with many OEMs continuing to look to military orders to maintain profit margins.

RELIABILITY The R44 Raven II police helicopter combines high performance with state-ofthe-art law enforcement tech.

MERGERS AND ORDERS

Heli-Expo 2020 was a

resounding success, with

manufacturers adding orders

to backlogs and suppliers

launching innovative

equipment and enhancements.

Volker K. Thomalla reports

from Anaheim

OEMs Announce Orders Bell sent its newest flagship, the flyby-wire Bell 525 Relentless, to Anaheim for the show, interrupting its busy flight test schedule. It flew in from Fort Worth, Texas. The 525 on display is the fifth flying Relentless and the first one in an oil and gas industry cabin configuration with seats for 16 passengers. Bell hasn’t published any schedule for entry-intoservice but said the flight test program is in its final stages.

Bell also used the occasion to announce several new orders. The Alameda County Sheriff’s office signed

TREND Bell sent its newest flagship, Bell 525 Relentless (left), to Anaheim (right).

In late January, the global helicopter community gathered in Anaheim for the annual Heli-Expo event. This year’s edition brought nearly 700 exhibitors to Southern California, including the main helicopter manufacturers and major suppliers. But Heli-Expo is more than just a tradeshow, it’s also the place for professional training, networking, and learning about the latest trends.

Whereas urban air mobility and autonomous flight were the hot topics last year, this year was all about mergers. This should come as no surprise considering that the helicopter industry is in the middle of a consolidation phase, both on the operator and manufacturer sides.

The biggest surprise of the show came from Italy’s Leonardo, who announced that it had signed a contract to acquire Kopter Group AG from Lynnwood AG. According to Leonardo, this move allows them to further strengthen their worldwide leadership and position in the rotorcraft sector by leveraging the innovation and engineering skills developed by the young Swiss Company.

Kopter’s single engine helicopter SH09, which is in the certification process, is a perfect fit for Leonardo’s portfolio. Speaking at a press conference, Gian Piero Cutillo, Managing Director of Leonardo Helicopters, said that Kopter will act as an autonomous legal entity and competence center, working in coordination with Leonardo. Leonardo CEO Alessandro Profumo added that although he was skeptical in the beginning, he became more and more enthusiastic during the negotiation process.

The purchase price, on a cash and debt free basis, consists of a $185 million fixed component plus an earn-out mechanism over the life of the program, starting from 2022.

Just prior to the trade show’s opening, ERA Group and Bristow Group, two of the world’s largest commercial helicopter operators, announced that they had entered into a definitive agreement to combine the two companies in an all-stock transaction, creating a single company. The combined company will be named Bristow. It will offer a broader range of solutions to customers through an enhanced fleet size and diversity. It intends to invest in new technology and safety features to meet the needs of its customers and governmental agencies. an order for the first Bell 505 Jet Ranger X with a Bell-developed public safety configuration. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) signed contracts for four Bell helicopters, including two Bell 429 and the first two IFR configured Bell 407GXi aircraft for their fleet, bringing their total to six Bell helicopters. The non-profit air ambulance provider Halo Flight ordered a Bell 407GXi with Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) kit to add to its existing Bell aircraft fleet.

Heli-Expo proved to be an order bonanza for Airbus Helicopters. No less than 38 new orders, as well as 20 retrofits for the new five-bladed H145 and several service contracts, were added during the show. German air rescue and ambulance provider DRF Luftrettung placed an order for 15 H145s, while the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will add 16 new H125 helicopters to their fleet.

The manufacturer will produce these helicopters at its Columbus, Mississipi, facility. Another H125 order was signed with Ascent Helicopters in Western Canada.

Airbus also received an order for three new H135s from NASA, marking the first-time that the agency had ordered an aircraft from Airbus Helicopters. NASA will use the H135 for a variety of missions, including missile launch security at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, emergency medical services and qualified personnel transport.

MD Helicopters, Inc. (MDHI) of Mesa, Arizona, made a U-turn in terms of avionics for its new twin engine MD 900/902 NOTAR equipped helicopter. At Heli-Expo, the company announced that is com“We are impressed by the capability and flexibility of UA’s InSight Display System,” adds Lynn Tilton, CEO of MD Helicopters, Inc. “As the product roadmap for this highly capable light, twin-engine platform evolved, we recognized the need for a robust and adaptable solution, capable of meeting the current and future requirements of our global operators. The InSight Display System is that solution.”

Service and Support Rolls-Royce celebrated the delivery of its 250th engine to Enstrom Helicopter Corporation, which celebrates its 60 th

anniversary this year. The RR M250-C20W has reliably powered the Enstrom 480B heli

ing back to Universal Avionics (UA) and has formed a partnership with UA to integrate Universal’s full-digital InSight Display System into the cockpit of production and retrofit MD 900/902 Explorer. The new avionics system for the MD 900/902 Explorer replaces steam gauge displays with two portrait format high-resolution LCD displays with LED backlighting. The 10.4-inch InSight Displays are compatible with Night Vision Goggles (NVG) and provide the latest in Synthetic Vision (SVS), 2D moving maps, electronic charts, checklists, systems synoptics, engine instruments, rotor data, and more.

“InSight was designed to bring the most advanced capabilities while maintaining a friendly human-machine interface,” says UA CEO Dror Yahav. “This technology will put the MD 900/902 Explorer on the front line of the light helicopters segment.” FlightSafety International announced a further expansion of its helicopter training programs and services with new Level D qualified simulators for the Airbus Helicopters EC145 and Leonardo AW139. The EC145 simulator is scheduled to enter service in March this year at the FlightSafety Learning Center in Denver, Colorado. The simulator that is being built for the Leonardo AW139 is expected to be completed by the end of 2020. It will enter service in Lafayette, Louisiana early in 2021 following Level D qualification.

copter for more than 25 years now. Engine number 250 will power a helicopter for the Botswana Police-Air Support Branch, which will be delivered later this year. Honeywell highlighted its RDR7000 weather radar, which is being introduced for helicopters. It will be compatible with Leonardo’s AW139, Sikorsky’s S-76 and S-92, Bell’s 429 and 525, as well as with Airbus’s H135/145. The radar is well-proven in fixed-wing applications. It enhances safety and reduces pilot workload by offering new features and a high degree of automation to the users. It features automated 3D volumetric scanning up to 60,000 feet and out to 320 nautical miles. The RDR-7000 is the first weather radar to detect turbulence out to 60 nautical miles. It is capable of predicting wind shear out to 10 nautical miles and detects hail and lightning. Safety on the Mind

This year’s show as overshadowed by the crash of a Sikorksy S-76B in Calabasas, California, that took the lives of nine people, including U.S. basketball legend Kobe Bryant. Despite that tragic event, U.S. helicopter safety has improved over recent years, according to data provided by the United States Helicopter Safety Team (USHST). Over the past two decades, the fatal accident rate has been cut in half, from 1.27 fatal accidents per 100,000 flights to 0.63. But the USHST doesn’t stop there. They continue to work with regulators, flight crews and operators to raise safety awareness to even cut further the accident rate.

✈

SURPRISE The Airbus H125 (top). Leonardo announced its acquisition of Kopter (center right). The Sikorsky Firehawk (left).