Though its parent company Finmeccanica yesterday reported €786 million in losses last year, subsidiary AgustaWestland posted strong 2012 results that included revenues of €4.2 billion, new orders of €4 billion and an accumulated backlog of €11.87 billion, as well as earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation of €473 million. The helicopter manufacturer’s results reflected marginally improved results over its 2011 performance and also reflected a slight increase in research and development spending, to €506 million.
Rotorcraft
News and issues regarding all manner of civil and military rotorcraft and their powerplants, including helicopters, tiltrotors and unmanned air vehicles.
April 23, 2013 - 3:48pm
AgustaWestland and Embraer have terminated joint-venture discussions for helicopter production in Brazil. The companies issued a joint statement yesterday announcing the decision, but declined to provide reasons why talks collapsed.
April 23, 2013 - 3:30pm
Milestone Aviation Group, the helicopter leasing firm that was co-founded in August 2010 by airplane fractional program pioneer Richard Santulli, has quickly grown to mammoth size. The Dublin, Ireland-based company said its fleet, which ranges from light-twin to heavy helicopters, now includes more than 90 aircraft from AgustaWestland, Bell, Eurocopter and Sikorsky worth more than $1.3 billion.
April 18, 2013 - 1:15pm
The number of Eurocopters based in China for both civil and parapublic operators has now reached the 100-aircraft mark. According to Eurocopter, the milestone helicopter–an EC120 light single–was recently delivered to an investor group that will provide “tailored solutions to support the development of helicopter flying clubs.” The company sold 16 turbine helicopters to Chinese commercial and parapublic operators last year, a 54-percent year-over-year increase. It claims a 40-percent share of the market for helicopters in China.
April 18, 2013 - 1:13pm
Eurocopter is now offering Sandel Avionics SN4500 primary navigation displays and SA4550 primary attitude displays as optional equipment on the EC135. As such, Sandel’s products are offered in Eurocopter’s blue book as part of the mid-life efficiency package for new-production EC135s. The SA4550 and SN4500 units feature LED-backlit display technology and “intuitive pilot controls.” The primary navigation display also includes Stormscope, traffic and datalink weather interfaces.
April 17, 2013 - 10:50pm
At last year’s ABACE show, potential helicopter exhibitors were told that they had to truck their aircraft into the static display because of a ban on helicopters at Hongqiao Airport. That policy changed this year.
“On Sunday, a Bell 407 was the first civil helicopter ever to land here in Hongqiao,” said Roger Whyte, NBAA’s special counsel to the president. “It wasn’t easy to get permission, and it’s taken a long time to go through all the authorities to get permission, but we got it.”
April 17, 2013 - 10:05pm
Hong Kong-based Sino Jet (Booth P222) announced here at ABACE 2013 that it has partnered with charter company Aviation Concepts Inc. (ACI) and helicopter specialist Astro Jet to help it grow in the Asia Pacific region.
ACI has locations in Guam (its main base), Narita and Subic Bay, with full FBO and maintenance services at each. “We want to extend our growth throughout Asia,” said Jenny Lau, CEO and owner of Sino Jet, “all the while minimizing duplication in the market. ACI has been in Guam for 12 years and we welcome its common vision.”
April 17, 2013 - 8:06am
At the ABACE show last year, potential helicopter exhibitors were told that they had to truck their aircraft into the static display because of a ban on helicopters at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport. That policy changed this year.
“On Sunday, a Bell 407 was the first civil helicopter ever to land here in Hongqiao,” said Roger Whyte, NBAA’s special counsel to the president. “It wasn’t easy to get permission, and it’s taken a long time to go through all the authorities to get permission, but we got it.”
April 17, 2013 - 5:40am
Honeywell’s Sky Connect Tracker III combines voice, text and flight-tracking technologies into a single system designed for helicopters. Sky Connect uses the Iridium satellite communications network, and operators can use Sky Connect to make voice calls at the same time as sending text messages and tracking the helicopter’s position anywhere in the world.
April 16, 2013 - 8:30pm
Eurocopter’s presence in China goes back more than 40 years to the first sale of an Alouette III helicopter in the country in 1967. But since then, the European manufacturer has set down much deeper roots in China and the new twin-engine EC175 (or Z15, as the Chinese version is known) represents the latest stage in a wide-ranging cooperation with China’s Avicopter (see box) through the Shanghai-based joint venture Eurocopter China.
