Rotorcraft
News and issues regarding all manner of civil and military rotorcraft and their powerplants, including helicopters, tilt rotors and unmanned air vehicles.
Rotorcraft
Rotortrade Posts 'Resilient' 2020 Results
International helicopter reseller Rotortrade said it completed 27 transactions last year.
Rotorcraft
CHC Buying Babcock's Offshore Aviation Unit
CHC is purchasing Babcock's offshore aviation business in the UK, Denmark, and Australia.
Rotorcraft
Leonardo Delivers First Trekker in Indonesia
Customer FlyKomala will use the aircraft there to carry out a range of missions including passenger transport.
Rotorcraft
Babcock Offshore Posts Larger 2020 Loss
Babcock Mission Critical Services Offshore said it had a pre-tax loss of $30.285 million.
Rotorcraft
Bell Moves To Remedy Cracked 505 Collectives, Restrictions
Bell said corrective actions for cracked collective sticks on its model 505 light single helicopter are currently in engineering review.
Rotorcraft
Aero Asset: Heavy Twins Lead Used Helicopter Market Rebound
Consultancy Aero Asset said the used helicopter market showed "incredible resiliency" in the last half of 2020.
Rotorcraft
Construction Begins on Dubai Expo Helicopter Terminal
Leonardo, Falcon Aviation Services building new rotorcraft terminal for Dubai Expo 2020
Rotorcraft
USHST Calls for Light Helo Stability, Autopilot Systems
The USHST has unveiled recommended practices document for developing stability augmentation systems and autopilots in light helicopters.
Rotorcraft
Turkey Unveils Unmanned, Electric Attack Helicopter
Turkish Aerospace Industries expects to fly the new, electric-powered, unmanned T629 attack helicopter later this year.
Accidents
AINsight: Just Land
The crash that killed Kobe Bryant could have been avoided if the pilot just decided to land the helicopter instead of continuing the flight.
Rotorcraft
Aireon To Provide ADS-B for Helos in North Sea
Aerion ADS-B system will monitor helicopter operations in the Bodo Oceanic flight region to altitudes of 10,000 feet.
Rotorcraft
Israel Selects Sikorsky’s King Stallion Helicopter
Sikorsky’s latest heavylift helicopter has been chosen over the CH-47 to replace first-generation CH-53s in service with the Israeli Air Force.
Maintenance and Modifications
Cracked Collective Prompts Bell 505 Emergency AD
Transport Canada issues emergency airworthiness directive mandating inspection of collective sticks in Bell 505s.
Rotorcraft
U.S. Army Retires Bell TH-67 Trainers
The Bell 206 derivative served as the U.S. Army's primary training helicopter since 1993.
Rotorcraft
Blade Expands Helicopter Rideshares into Chicago
Blade Urban Air Mobility announced that it would base helicopters at Vertiport Chicago.
Rotorcraft
NASA Helicopter Lands On Mars
NASA's Ingenuity micro copter was parachuted onto the planet’s surface from the belly of the Perseverance rover.
Accidents
USHST Issues Guidelines To Combat Inadvertent IMC
The U.S. Helicopter Safety Team (USHST) has developed a list of recommended practices focusing on spatial disorientation.
Aircraft
United Airlines to Operate eVTOL Aircraft As SPACs Hover For Merger Deals
United Airlines to Operate eVTOL Aircraft As SPACs Hover For Merger Deals
Rotorcraft
Airbus Racer First Flight Pushed to 2022
Airbus will begin final assembly of the first Racer compound helicopter in the coming weeks.
Rotorcraft
PHI To Operate Airbus H160s in Gulf of Mexico
Airbus Helicopters has broken into the U.S. offshore market with a deal to provide four H160s to PHI and Shell.
Maintenance and Modifications
Air Methods Expands Airbus HCare To EC135 Fleet
A new Airbus HCare support contract will cover Air Methods fleet of 80 EC135 light twins.
Rotorcraft
Milestone To Lease 11 Airbus H225s to Air Center Helos
The leasing deal will bring Air Center Helicopters' leased Airbus H225 fleet from Milestone Aviation to 18 aircraft.
Rotorcraft
HAI Safety Programs Help Reduce Operational Risks
HAI encourages industry to use its vast menu of helicopter safety programs that address culture, processes, training, and technology.
Accidents
'Fifty-Six Seconds To Live'
U.S. Helicopter Safety Team releases video on the perils of flying VFR into IMC.
Accidents
NTSB: Bryant's Pilot Disregarded Training
Pilot, operator faulted by NTSB in Kobe Bryant helicopter crash.
Finance, Taxes, Insurance
Bristow Sees No Recovery for Offshore Helicopters in 2021
Helicopter services company Bristow continues fleet downsizing, quarterly losses.
Rotorcraft
Bell Marks First European Delivery of 505 NXi
Bell recently delivered the first European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)-certified Bell 505 NXi.
Rotorcraft
Highly-modified Kopter Begins Flight Testing
The flight test crew of a modified Kopter SH09 reported improved handling and stability.
Regulations and Government
Trump Helipad in Palm Beach To Be Demolished
The helipad at former President Trump’s Florida Mar-a-Lago club is being removed.
Rotorcraft
Leonardo's AW139 Helicopter Turns 20
The worldwide fleet of 1,100 AW139 twin engined rotorcraft have amassed more than three million flight hours since the model was placed into service.
