“You want to do full-motion?” asks American Eurocopter simulator instructor Eric King. “We have this bag right here.” King points to a jumbo sick sack between the two pilot positions in the $6 million Eurocopter AS350B2 and AS350B3 Level B simulator at the company’s Grand Prairie, Texas campus. For a fleeting moment, I focus on the pair of sliders I had for lunch at the nearby Krystal. That was probably not the best choice. However, today motion sickness will be the least of my problems.
Helicopters
April 3, 2012 - 3:45pm
MD Helicopters launched the 540F today. A variant of the 530F turbine single, the new helicopter’s six composite main rotor blades and fully articulated main rotor system will enable it to meet the military’s high/hot benchmark of operating in conditions of 95 degrees F and 6,000 feet msl.
April 3, 2012 - 12:40am
Bell Helicopter CEO John Garrison told AIN that his company deliberately opted to use proven technologies on its recently announced super-medium twin, the 525 Relentless.
April 2, 2012 - 2:10am
The European Commission (EC) has allowed France and Italy to grant aid for the development of two medium twins in the 10,000-pound class–the Eurocopter X4 and the AgustaWestland AW169, respectively.
April 1, 2012 - 5:00am
Russian Helicopters’ production is on the up and the company is modernizing its factories in anticipation of this trend continuing.
Between 2004 and 2011, the company tripled production, from 85 to 262 helicopters, and last year its revenues from both civil and military rotorcraft grew 40 percent, to RUB120 billion ($4 billion).
Claiming a global market share of 14 percent by aircraft value, Andrei Reus, Russian Helicopters chairman and director general of parent company Oboronprom, ranks Russian Helicopters “third by global sales” behind Sikorsky and Eurocopter.
March 29, 2012 - 7:25am
The French helicopter lobbying association, Union Française de l’Hélicoptère (UFH), is voicing strong and growing concern that ever-stricter operational rules are preventing operators from running a sound business and have already claimed victims among the smallest ones. About 600 commercial and private helicopters currently fly in France, according to the association.
March 28, 2012 - 4:14am
Helicopter operators in China face the same regulatory and infrastructure impediments that their fixed-wing counterparts do. To learn more about how helicopters can be better accommodated in the Asian country, AIN sat down with Helicopter Association International president Matt Zuccaro at ABACE 2012.
March 28, 2012 - 2:50am
Last year’s announcement of schemes aimed at opening some lower-altitude airspace (LAA) in China offered a glimmer of hope to the rotary-wing sector that it would soon be easier to operate helicopters in the country. However, there is still some way to go before the industry can grow much further, as officials grapple with how to manage airspace once the experiments finish.
March 26, 2012 - 2:00am
Eurocopter (Booth P616) is the only helicopter manufacturer exhibiting here at the ABACE show in Shanghai. In some respects, it is no surprise that it is here because it has strong ties with China. The company is counting on growing civil sales in the country, especially as general aviation is to benefit from a more open airspace at low altitude. It is also deepening its roots in the country, with training, maintenance and production joint ventures.
March 20, 2012 - 4:02pm
Sikorsky president Jeff Pino presented his company’s 2011 results and 2012 outlook last week, and the outlook suggests that strong deliveries of the S-92 medium twin will boost civil activity this year. Pino is expecting S-92 handovers to leap by 42 percent and overall civil activity by approximately 30 percent, while overall total sales (military and civil) will fall by 5 percent.
