Rotorcraft

In a ceremony at the Sikorsky exhibit yesterday, the company celebrated its 90th anniversary in homage to its founder and aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky. The crowd of some 300 at Booth No. C5028 listened to Sikorsky’s story in his own words, words that still resonate in the industry and that included the admonishment, “In aviation, use the word ‘impossible’ with the greatest care.” Sikorsky president Mick Maurer concluded the ceremony by offering his own view of the future, saying the obligation of Sikorsky over the next 90 years is to continue to push the boundaries.

American Eurocopter chose Heli-Expo ’13 as the venue to announce the appointment of Brian K. Reid as director of support and service sales. As such Reid will oversee and grow the marketing efforts of American Eurocopter’s customer support and service division, which focuses on the aftermarket segment. Reid has a background in helicopter manufacturing, having held positions in business development, sales, marketing and management.

Avincis Group has taken delivery of the first of its record order of 16 new Sikorsky S-92s. The order, placed in December 2011, is the largest single purchase of S-92s ever made, according to the UK-based operator. The Avincis fleet is expected to provide offshore oil and gas worker transportation and serve in a search-and-rescue role.

Today at Heli-Expo, Enstrom Helicopter announced that it selected the Garmin G1000H integrated digital flight deck for its Rolls-Royce 250-powered 480B. The Garmin panel integrates all primary flight information, navigation data, communications, terrain awareness, traffic, weather, and engine parameters on two 10.4-inch displays. It also incorporates a large moving map and supports a wide array of safety enhancing features, including synthetic vision, helicopter Taws, datalink weather and traffic awareness and collision avoidance system, among others.