Russian Helicopters is relaunching production of the Mi-34S1 light piston helicopter and simultaneously working on a turbine version, the Mi-34S2 Sapsan, powered by a Turbomeca Arrius 2F. The Sapsan (Russian for peregrine falcon) is expected to be certified under U.S. FAR 27 and European CS 27 regulations.First delivery is pegged for the fourth quarter of...
moreIndia’s Pawan Hans Helicopters (PHHL), a government enterprise that claims to be the largest helicopter operator in the country’s civil and parapublic market, signed a $9.8 million contract for three AS 350B3 Ecureuils in June. Chairman and managing director R. K. Tyagi told AIN the company expects delivery of the helicopters around August or September next...
moreA recent study of the transportation infrastructure in Italy determined the nation needs a means of effecting a major improvement in the flow of traffic between its densely populated urban areas, and the country is testing opening low-level air routes to rotorcraft as a way of improving mobility. The Italian civil aviation authority– Enac–is scheduled to...
moreFalcon Aviation Services, a charter operator based in Abu Dhabi, has placed its Eurocopter EC 135 “L'Hélicoptère par Hermès” on the market, less than five months after taking delivery. UK-based PremiAir is marketing the luxurious light twin. Although Falcon Aviation is “operationally very happy with the aircraft,” CEO Philip Markham told AIN, it fills a...
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The future of the VH-71 presidential helicopter program neared the wire last month as Congress worked to pass a final 2010 defense appropriations bill that the President would sign before the start of the fiscal year on October 1. If the bill is not signed into law by then, Congress would need to pass a continuing resolution to temporarily fund the...
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Boeing took a long-expected order from Canada for 15 CH-47F Chinook helicopters worth $1.15 billion. These will be new-build helicopters, to enter service in 2013 and 2014. Boeing said it would offset the entire contract value with contracts and partnerships in Canada. Canada already operates six CH-47Ds that it acquired urgently last year from the U.S....
moreDuring a Textron business update yesterday, company chairman and CEO Lewis Campbell said he is seeing trends of economic stabilization, though he admitted that subsidiary Cessna Aircraft is still “fighting its way through the most difficult down cycle, maybe in the history of the business jet industry.” While he added that 2010 is going to be a “tough year”...
moreMarket conditions for pre-owned rotorcraft are “below normal levels and falling,” according to a monthly rotorcraft survey published last week by UBS Investment Research. The firm’s latest rotorcraft composite index, which measures overall business conditions, came in at 40, some 5 percent higher than UBS’s previous survey but still 10 points below...
moreOn Tuesday, the NTSB issued 19 recommendations for helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS), addressing pilot training; safety management systems; collection and analysis of flight, weather and safety data; flight data monitoring; development of a low-altitude airspace infrastructure; and the use of dual pilots, autopilots and night vision goggles. HEMS...
moreComprehensive changes for the helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) industry are contained in the U.S. Senate’s proposed FAA authorization legislation. Under the bill, HEMS operators would be required to comply with Part 135 for all flights; however, destination weather reporting would apply only after the FAA determined that reliable and portable...
moreAn exemption that allows helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) operators to conduct Part 135 EMS departures under IFR rules in VFR conditions and in the absence of approved weather-reporting sources has been extended to Sept. 30, 2011. To qualify to fly under Exemption 6175, an operator must be a member of both the Helicopter Association International...
moreFour new AW139s destined for Trinidad and Tobago are the latest in a series of U.S.-manufactured helicopters whose export loans are being backed by the U.S. Export-Import Bank. The Ex-Im reports guaranteeing through July more than $200 million in U.S. commercial helicopter export loans for aircraft destined for markets in the Americas and Asia. This...
moreNew York’s airspace could be changing. The Hudson River VFR corridor came under fresh and vociferous political attack in the wake of the August 8 fatal midair between a Piper PA-32R piston single and a Liberty Helicopters Eurocopter AS 350BA. The accident killed nine. Following the crash, the FAA announced that it is studying possible changes to the...
moreThe greater Las Vegas area has the highest and most competitive concentration of helicopter tour operators in the U.S. They have traditionally survived with heavy discounting, under-the-table commissions paid to tour bookers and concierges, low pay, high employee turnover and aging aircraft. Maverick Helicopters is bucking that trend. Its formula...
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