Suspicious activity over the last two weeks reported near critical infrastructure and helicopter bases serving the Gulf of Mexico’s oil and gas industry has prompted law enforcement agencies to issue a fresh security alert. On Monday, the Louisiana State Analytical and Fusion Exchange (LA-Safe) issued a notice to all Gulf operators titled “Suspicious...
moreBell Helicopter’s new CEO, John Garrison, is expecting 2010 to be a flat year in terms of civil deliveries, but he said he sees significant growth on the military side, thanks to a production ramp-up for the V-22 tiltrotor and the H-1. Military revenues should jump by 50 percent, he added. Bell is here on Stand Q01 and on the static display with the new...
moreSikorsky has launched a technology development organization called Sikorsky Innovations, whose mission is to develop and mature technologies, products and processes. Sikorsky Innovations, a “virtual organization,” will strive to shorten execution timelines and reduce costs, the U.S. helicopter manufacturer announced this week.Among those technologies are...
moreEurocopter’s revenues in Asia grew by 58 percent in 2009, to ?896 million ($1.25 billion)–20 percent of the group’s total. In fact, CEO Lutz Bertling is so optimistic that on Tuesday here at the show he predicted the Asian helicopter market one day will be the size of that of the U.S., which today ranks first by far. “Growth rates here in the region are...
moreNBAA and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) were pleased to learn that the Obama Administration’s Fiscal Year 2011 federal budget proposal–released yesterday–does not include new user fees for general aviation. The previous proposal, issued a year ago, contained a provision that would “replace some aviation excise taxes with direct user...
moreThe Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) will step up plans this year to expand its operations with the delivery of three new helicopters. First Admiral Zammani Mohd Amin, the agency’s director of Air Wing operations, told AIN that it will continue to grow.Before forming MMEA in 2004, the Malaysians studied maritime enforcement agencies in...
moreEurocopter received net orders for 344 helicopters last year, down from an expected 450 one year ago, but kept deliveries at a high level. The France-based manufacturer inked contracts for 449 helicopters but received cancellations for 105. According to Eurocopter, the market segments that have suffered the most are the corporate and charter operators. In...
moreOperators using the newly activated automatic dependence surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) ATC and information system in the Gulf of Mexico will likely see flight leg times cut by an average of 15 to 25 minutes and individual IFR routes shortened by at least 30 miles, compared with using the old grid ATC system in the Gulf, according to the FAA and individual...
moreAspen Avionics is exhibiting at this month’s Heli-Expo convention in Houston, marking the first time the six-year-old company has had a presence at a helicopter show. The Albuquerque, N.M. avionics maker started out with a line of flat-panel displays for light general aviation airplanes and has slowly expanded its product portfolio since then to include...
moreSandel Avionics is concluding certification flight testing of its helicopter-specific terrain awareness warning system and plans delivery of the $18,950 H-Taws shortly after TSO issuance and certification, expected by early April. Sandel president Gerry Block told AIN that with radio altitude and air data computer inputs the panel-mounted H-Taws will meet...
moreThe court-appointed trustee in the 2008 Silver State Helicopters (SSH) collapse has filed suit against the company’s ex-CEO, Jerry Airola, and his top deputy, Steve Pickett, charging that the two used a complex shell game to fraudulently transfer $8.2 million out of the company in the months immediately before it declared bankruptcy.
The trustee also...
moreCertification and delivery deadlines slip to the right for new helicopters
moreEurocopter (Stand H23) has chosen a strategy of partnerships in Asia. In Japan, the helicopter manufacturer wants to grow its subsidiary, notably through its maintenance joint venture with All Nippon Airways (ANA). In Korea, it is supporting Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI, Stand T87) in the design of the Korean Utility Helicopter (KUH), also known as the...
moreEurocopter has improved its Dauphin to offer more modern avionics and enhanced passenger comfort. Certification of the new model, dubbed the N3+, is pegged for late this year. Visually on the outside, the medium twin will differ from the previous models, as the installation of new radar equipment has prompted a redesign of the nose, which will now resemble...
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