March 2010

Robinson Pegs Price of R66 at $770,000

By Mark Huber

Robinson Helicopter has set an initial price of $770,000 for its Rolls-Royce RR300-powered R66 turbine single. The company has begun accepting $75,000 individual deposits and dealer applications for the helicopter. “We want to create a market for this helicopter,” said company vice president Kurt Robinson, explaining the price decision. The company had said that its goal was to price the R66 a more

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Eurocopter Sells in Spain...

By Thierry Dubois, Mark Huber

Eurocopter has received an order from the Spanish Ministry of the Interior for 12 EC135P2i light twins. They will be operated by the National Police Force and
the Guardia Civil, the country’s two law-enforcement agencies. Eleven of the 12 helicopters will be equipped for IFR. One of the Guardia Civil’s six EC135s will be configured for mountain rescue missions. Four helicopters per year more

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Eurocopter Sells in Asia

Eurocopter has inked a contract with the Ministry of Natural Resources & Environment in Thailand for one EC135 light twin. Delivery is planned for December this year. The helicopter will be used for exploration and surveillance flights. In Vietnam, Vinacopter has ordered four Eurocopters as the launch fleet for its newly created tourism and VIP transport subsidiary, HeliVietnam. An AS355NP lig more

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Court: Helo Pilots Not ‘Professional’

In a decision that could have wide-ranging implications, the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that helicopter pilots for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey are not “professional employees” under the Fair Labor Standards Act and are therefore entitled to mandatory overtime pay. The ruling re-affirmed a lower court’s decision that the pilots are “highly trained techni more

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Border Agency Chooses AW Helos

The Finnish Border Guard has ordered an AgustaWestland AW119Ke for border patrol, special operations and firefighting missions. It will join the agency’s first three AW119Kes, scheduled to enter service during the third quarter. All will operate from Helsinki and Rovaniemi. In Bulgaria, the Ministries of Finance and Interior have ordered two AW109 Powers to provide air surveillance capability on more

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Tailboom AD Issued for AW139

The collapse of a Gulf Helicopters AgustaWestland AW139 tailboom while the helicopter was taxiing last year has prompted issuance of an airworthiness directive (2009-SW-50-AD) for a special repetitive inspection every 50 hours time-in-service to check for delamination on the boom’s composite skins. The helicopter with the failed boom had sustained a boom strike some months before the incident. T more

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Russian Helicopters Wants Piece of U.S. Firefighting

Russian Helicopters has begun marketing the Ka-32A11BC coaxial helicopter for more U.S. firefighting work. The helicopter has been used successfully in Chile and Mexico in this role, and one based in Canada was summoned last year to help battle a blaze in Idaho.  more

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Eurocopter expects ‘unpredictable’ 2010

By Thierry Dubois

Eurocopter in January reported unexpectedly good financial numbers for last year. Revenues stood at a record E4.6 billion ($6.44 billion), while the backlog increased by about E1 billion ($1.4 billion), to E15.1 billion ($21.1 billion), representing 1,300 aircraft. However, the manufacturer sees this year as “unpr more

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CHC named finalist for $10B UK SAR contract

By Mark Huber

The British Government has selected a consortium that includes CHC as the preferred bidder for a 25-year, search-and-rescue helicopter (SAR-H) contract that could be worth as much as $10 billion. CHC, based in Vancouver, B.C., is the world’s largest commercial provider of offshore helicopter services with a fleet of more than 270 aircraft operating in 30 countries.
Other members of the � more

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Erickson Goes for the Gold–in Snow

By Mark Huber

Erickson Air Crane was called in to drop snow on the Vancouver winter games after a week of rain and unusually warm weather melted the white stuff at some elevations below 4,000 feet. Erickson has been using one of its S-64 Air Cranes to move 13,000-pound loads of snow to cover bare ground at several area ski and snowboard venues, including Cypress Mountain and Mount Black. The snow is loaded by a more

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