The European Helicopter Association (Booth 7319) is bringing back the European Rotors conference and exhibition in November, following the debut late last year of the VTOL show and safety conference that exceeded expectations.
The second edition of the event will run from November 7 to 10 in Cologne, Germany, with the exhibition portion open in the latter three days. As with the inaugural European Rotors event, the November show will be held in tandem with EASA’s annual Rotorcraft and VTOL Symposium that delves into safety issues.
In addition, EHA executive director Isabella Abbate said this year’s European Rotors is lining up sessions to focus on an array of issues affecting operations, training, and maintenance. Noting that EHA is calling the event a VTOL show rather than a rotorcraft conference, Abbate said plans include a drone pavilion and other activities to reach across a spectrum of vertical flight.
EHA is encouraged that the event will build on the inaugural show, Abbate said. European Rotors was to have launched in 2020 but was postponed in the thick of the pandemic. But when the event did launch in November 2021—while the pandemic was still prevalent—it still drew more than 150 exhibitors from 36 countries.
Abbate added that organizers are hoping that, if the pandemic should continue to ebb and European countries continue to reopen, the November conference and exhibition will continue to expand. This includes bringing in more participation from companies and organizations outside of Europe that were unable to attend last year because of the pandemic.
A promising sign for the show is that 25 percent of exhibitors in 2021 had immediately signed up for the 2022 show.
Plans call to hold the event annually but rotate it to different locations around Europe, with Cologne housing the event every other year. Cologne will be the anchor location because that is where EASA has its headquarters, Abbate explained.
Helicopter Association International is supporting the event as the two associations agreed to more closely collaborate on projects of mutual interest. That collaboration was announced during the 2021 European Rotors show. “This partnership strengthens the already close relationship between HAI and EHA and represents our commitment to work together to meet our aligned goals,” HAI president and CEO James Viola said.
