State-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (Avic, Booth No. C1521) brought its Avicopter rotorcraft unit for the first time to Heli-Expo. Avicopter's product line includes military and commercial helicopters such as the AC313 (28,660 pounds) AC352 (15,432 pounds), AC312 (8,818 pounds) AC311 (4,409 pounds) and ultralight AC310 (2,200 pounds).

At the show the company is putting special focus on its civil helicopters, particularly the AC312/313/352 series, which is well suited for passenger carrying, cargo and aerial firefighting, according to Zhao Lei, general manager of the marketing division of Avicopter. The booth includes a mock-up of the AC313 integrated avionics suite, designed to make the tri-turbine helicopter a versatile player in the all-weather, challenging environments of EMS and maritime operations.

Zhao was quick to invite Heli-Expo attendees who would like to see the Avicopters in action to China’s own Helicopter Exposition, which is to be held from September 5 through 8 at the Tianjin Airport Economic Zone in Tianjin, China. NBAA also confirmed that Avic will be an exhibitor at next month’s ABACE show, to be held in Shanghai, China.