London Heliport Opens New Terminal
The new passenger terminal at the London Heliport opened just in time for the Farnborough airshow. Managed by business aviation services group PremiAir, the terminal is described as a “major improvement” on the original facilities, which were built in 1959. A new luxury hotel is due to open next to the terminal in September. Both the hotel and heliport are owned by PremiAir’s parent company, von Essen.

Bombardier Plans Service Network in Asia
Having long recognized the importance of developing a strong presence in the Asia-Pacific region and the recent rapid growth in the area’s aviation market, Bombardier Aerospace plans to invest $30 million as a first step in building a comprehensive hub-and-spoke service network. Support will be centered in China, with complementary facilities throughout the region.

‘We expect our [Asia-Pacific] fleet to grow significantly over the next five years,” said James Hoblyn, Bombardier president of customer services and specialized and amphibious aircraft. By year-end, the OEM plans to open a parts depot in China to support facilities in Tokyo, Beijing, Sydney and Singapore.

Bell Strengthens Collaboration with NRC
The National Research Council Canada (NRC) and Bell Helicopter have signed a 10-year framework agreement to identify and undertake work of mutual interest in the research and development of technology solutions. John McDougall, NRC president (left), and Michael Kohler, president Bell Helicopter Canada, signed the framework agreement here. With this pact, the two organizations will continue their productive relationship well into the future, they said. Projects include the continued exploration of the use of composite materials for aircraft structures. Flight testing of new avionics systems is under way, and wind-tunnel testing of proposed design modifications is slated to begin in the fall of this year.

Noranco Nets Spirit AeroSystems Contract
Canadian manufacturer Noranco has been awarded a long-term contract from Spirit AeroSystems of Wichita, Kansas, to provide wing box components for the Boeing 737NG airliner. Noranco is a leading manufacturer of fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft aerostructures, landing-gear components and assemblies, and sheet metal fabrications. The contract covers an eight-year period from 2010 through 2017. The components will be manufactured at Noranco’s Pickering division, one of three divisions in the Greater Toronto area.

Noranco (Hall 4 Stand C18) also picked up another new contract here, this one from Honeywell Aerospace for the manufacture and assembly of forward and aft bypass ducts on the HTF7500E engine–a deal estimated to be worth $7 million annually. at peak production rates.