FOCUS on...LAW ENFORCEMENT This year at Heli-Expo there were plenty of examples of helicopters dressed up with law enforcement credentials of every flavor, but it took a keen eye to spot what was new equipment on these hard-working machines. For 2012, companies brought avionics, airborne computer location equipment, air-to-ground microwave receivers and sophisticated, high-power searchlights.
HAI Convention News
February 14, 2012 - 1:16pm
Marignane, France-based Eurocopter (Booth No. 1917) turned its annual Heli-Expo press conference on Sunday into a 20th anniversary celebration.
February 14, 2012 - 12:39pm
Evergreen International Aviation (Booth No. 4920) is looking to expand its roots. Evergreen began as a commercial helicopter service business in the 1960s but quickly grew into a diversified aviation company that included aircraft charter, salvage, and modification. The company also expanded into heavy-lift helicopters.
February 14, 2012 - 10:50am
Speaking of the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract MD Helicopters signed last year, Lynn Tilton, CEO of Mesa, Arizona-based company, said, “That’s the highlight [of 2011], to serve those who serve for love of country. And it goes back to our roots of 1964, when Hughes Helicopter [predecessor of MD Helicopters] first won a military contract.” She made the comments at a Heli-Expo 2012 press conference in Dallas yesterday.
February 14, 2012 - 10:39am
After a moment of silence in respect for members lost in the past year, Jim Kettles, vice president of the venerable Twirly Birds brought to order the association's annual meeting. It's tradition, he explained, for the Twirly Birds to convene their meeting during Heli-Expo.
February 14, 2012 - 10:20am
Esterline CMC Electronics (Booth No. 9740) is showing how its TacView portable mission display brings numerous capabilities to the helicopter cockpit here at Heli-Expo 2012 in Dallas. It is designed for a range of missions, from search and rescue, close air support, firefighting and police operations to medical and offshore oil and gas transport.
February 14, 2012 - 10:12am
The International Helicopter Safety Team (IHST) has reached a tentative agreement of cooperation with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to enhance the safety of helicopter operations in nine countries that make up the commonwealth.
February 14, 2012 - 10:00am
When many communities view airports and aviation as nuisances at best and dangerous at worst, and pressures grow to close airfields and chase aviation away, the story of Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport (IGA) in Arizona shines like an airway beacon.
February 13, 2012 - 11:40pm
FOCUS on...AUTOROTATION TRAINING “Infrequent autorotation training is dangerous,” said Chad Oakley, chief pilot at the Bell Academy, yesterday at a Heli-Expo training session called, “Autorotations, Reality Exposed.” Other participants at the one-hour session–pilots, instructors, and representatives from the FAA, NTSB, OEMs, and several fleet operators–agreed.
February 13, 2012 - 11:40pm
Jeffrey Pino, CEO of Sikorsky Aircraft was all smiles as he delivered the State of Sikorsky Briefing at Heli-Expo 2012. Orders are up overall, as of December 2011, and with the worldwide fleet of large helicopters now averaging 30 years old, or older, he expects more helicopter orders are imminent. Here are a few of the highlights from Pino's briefing.
* Sikorsky sold $7.4 billion in helicopters in 2011.
