Turboshaft engine manufacturer Turbomeca, a Safran company, reported at Heli-Expo yesterday that it delivered more than 1,000 engines in 2012, a 7-percent increase over the previous year. In addition it posted strong growth (12 percent) in engines under its Support By the Hour (SBH) contracts, yielding $1.5 billion revenue for the year.
HAI Convention News
March 6, 2013 - 3:30pm
“An organized attack by the administration on business aviation,” was among the topics under discussion at the General Aviation Association CEO Town Hall moderated by HAI president Matt Zuccaro yesterday. Panelists–the leaders of AOPA, GAMA, NBAA, NASAO and NATA–also discussed topics ranging from the effects of sequestration to efforts to revisit aircraft certification standards.
March 6, 2013 - 3:30pm
Two years after its purchase of CHC Helicopter’s pilot training operation, flight and maintenance training provider CAE said that the model of partnerships between operators and training companies is gaining momentum in the industry. “We’re seeing more interest in a CHC-type level of partnership,” said Rob Lewis, CAE’s recently named v-p and general manager for business aviation, helicopter and maintenance training. “We are in the middle of training outsourcing discussions with three of the large helicopter operators around the world right now.”
March 6, 2013 - 3:15pm
As the first new model introduced since Lynn Tilton’s Patriarch Partners bought MD Helicopters (MDHI) in 2005–and rescued the manufacturer from the brink of collapse–the MD 540F armed scout helicopter not only marks the continued evolution of a storied platform that traces its lineage back to the Hughes 500D. It also symbolizes renewed hope for the company’s future.
March 6, 2013 - 3:00pm
Revue Thommen unveiled a new, compact searchlight with optional infrared (IR) filtering and laser-designator capability here at Heli-Expo.
March 6, 2013 - 2:30pm
Helicopters and airplanes can fly virtually anywhere in the world, but sometimes the most reasonable way to move them across oceans is by ship. That’s part of what Bruzzone Shipping does and the reason the company is here at Heli-Expo’13, but it’s not all it does.
In business for 44 years, the company started as a U.S. Customs House broker and international freight forwarder, which it still does, along with warehousing and international shipping by surface vessels and cargo airplanes.
March 6, 2013 - 2:25pm
Robinson Helicopter announced Tuesday at Heli-Expo that it is working with Lycoming and the FAA to have unleaded fuels approved for use in piston engines installed in its R22 and R44 models.
CEO Kurt Robinson said the FAA had issued the company a project code for the effort and made it a priority. He said he hoped to have all the necessary approvals from engine maker Lycoming in the first half of this year. “It’s environmentally the right thing to do and it bothers me that it hasn’t been done,” Robinson said.
March 6, 2013 - 2:25pm
Blue Sky Network unveiled the new HawkEye Portable Tracker (PT) Plus fleet management tool at Heli-Expo ’13, which offers more consistent, accurate and reliable connectivity throughout a customer’s multimodal network.
“We sell not just the hardware, but also software, service and airtime,” said Paul Duran, v-p of marketing and sales. “We have customers with fleets in the Gulf, in Canada–all around the world–so we’re growing to help manage our customers’ fleets, wherever they may be and whatever types of assets they may have: air, sea, or ground.”
March 6, 2013 - 2:20pm
Following a successful inaugural display at last year’s Women in Aviation International (WAI) conference, the “Heli-Center” will return to WAI’s 24th Annual Conference, to be held from March 14 to 16 at the Gaylord Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn.
March 6, 2013 - 2:20pm
Sparrow Aviation has become Advanced Helicopter Services (AHS, Booth No. C3407) and is exhibiting for the first time at Heli-Expo’13.
“We’re always looking for ways to improve our services and support with new innovations and ideas,” said company founder Sparrow Tang. AHS is also continually looking for motivated, talented A&P mechanics with previous experience on Bell, Agusta, and Eurocopter helicopters.
