The helicopter industry isn’t immune to the terrible trouble affecting the global economy, but if Heli-Expo’09 is any indication, the greater diversity among operators of the world’s helicopter fleets helped deliver record high attendance and exhibitor activity. Traveling to the Anaheim Convention Center in Southern California for the Helicopter Association International’s February 22 to 24 Heli-Expo were 17,995 attendees, up from last year’s record total of 17,373. Exhibitor numbers climbed 12 percent, to 585 from last year’s 523, and 65 helicopters decorated the show exhibit area and static display.
Vendors on the show floor reported plenty of activity, and many attendees attributed that to helicopters’ primary use as working machines, especially those operated by government operations in public service. People might have a hard time understanding how a business jet can help make a company more efficient, but when helicopters pick up injured people, help catch criminals and put out fires, the benefits are obvious.
