Rotorcraft
News and issues regarding all manner of civil and military rotorcraft and their powerplants, including helicopters, tilt rotors and unmanned air vehicles.
Rotorcraft
Airbus Corporate Helicopters Cheers Rising Orders
ACH at EBACE reported a significant demand boost for corporate helicopters and its bespoke designer interiors.
Regulations and Government
EASA To Improve Integration of Rotor Health Systems
An EASA notice of proposed amendment aims to improve the ability to integrate the use of vibration health monitoring systems for helicopter rotors.
Rotorcraft
International Hotelier Setting Up Luxury Helicopter Service
Erwin Jager, chairman of Barrows Hotel Enterprises, is entering the luxury helicopter charter business.
Rotorcraft
Malaysia's Weststar Aviation Considers IPO
Weststar operates Southeast Asia’s largest offshore energy helicopter fleet.
Rotorcraft
EASA Studying Helicopter Underwater Escape
EASA has contracted with the CAAi for a new study on helicopter underwater egress which will be used to validate or amend EASA CS-27 and CS-29 standards.
Rotorcraft
Avic Sees Progress On Two Civil Helicopter Programs
The Avicopter AC313A heavy lift helicopter makes its first flight and AVIC's AC352 super-medium is expected to be certified later this year.
Maintenance and Modifications
Vita Inclinata Quadruples Production
Vita systems has quadrupled its manufacturing lines and integrated new technologies to ramp up production in order to meet global demand for products.
Rotorcraft
RotorTech UK Show Canceled
RotorTech UK organizers pulled the plug on next month's show after losing indoor exhibit space.
Rotorcraft
South Korean Forces Place Order for 40 Bell 505s
The Bell 505 will be the new military training helicopter for the South Korean Army and Navy.
Charter & Fractional
Surack Buys Enstrom Helicopter
Indiana-based Surack Enterprises bought Enstrom Helicopter Corporation after a previously-announced deal to sell the company collapsed.
Rotorcraft
Embraer’s Eve Boosts Plans For Urban Air Mobility Revolution With Wall Street Cash
Embraer’s Eve Boosts Plans For Urban Air Mobility Revolution With Wall Street Cash
Accidents
NTSB Cites VFR-into-IMC in Fatal Hawaii Helitour Crash
NTSB reports concluded that the fatal 2019 Safari Aviation Helitour crash was a result of the pilot continuing flight into IMC and called it "preventable."
Rotorcraft
Blade's Q1 Revenues Jump 187 Percent
Blade Air Mobility said revenues from organ transports, short-haul passenger flights spurring growth.
Rotorcraft
Leonardo AW169 Turns 10
Leonardo is marking the 10th anniversary of the AW169 on May 10, 2012, it has since delivered 140 of the light intermediate helicopters.
Environment
Joby: NASA Test Flights Prove eVTOL's Low Noise Levels
Results from recent NASA-backed flight tests with Joby’s eVTOL prototype demonstrate that its noise would be barely audible from city streets below.
Rotorcraft
Savback Campaigning Two-seat Zefhir Copter in UK
Savback Helicopters will display the turbine-powered, two-seat Curti Zefhir at Wycombe Air Park during this year's Private Flyer luxury brand show.
Rotorcraft
Army Selects Icarus For Black Hawk IFR Training
The U.S. Army will use Icarus's smart view limiting device for helicopter IFR training.
Rotorcraft
Helinet Joins L.A. Urban Air Mobility Partnership
Helinet will explore eVTOL applications to traditional helicopter missions.
Rotorcraft
Bristow Acquiring British International Helicopter Services
Bristow Group to acquire British International Helicopter Services, a company that provides services to the UK military.
Rotorcraft
Rocket Lab S-92A Catches, Drops Booster Stage
Sikorsky S-92A snagged the first-stage booster of Rocket Lab's Electron midair but dropped it after the pilot noted "different load characteristics."
Rotorcraft
Resurrection of the Super Puma
Airbus H225 helicopters have found new life and missions in the wake of the 2016 offshore accident.
Rotorcraft
Company Seeks Partner To Build Certified S-52 Helo
Vertical Aviation Technologies is seeking a strategic partner to produce an updated, certified version of the Sikorsky S-52.
Rotorcraft
Bell Delivers More Helos but Revenues, Profit Slip
Commercial helicopter deliveries at Bell rose to 25 units in the first quarter of 2022.
Charter & Fractional
Bell Sells Two More 505 Singles into Switzerland
Bell has signed a purchase agreement with Swiss helicopter services company Karen for two Bell 505 helicopters for charter and flight training.
Avionics
Air Methods Selects Skyryse for Flight Controls
Air Methods will retrofit its air ambulance fleet with Skyryse FlightOS flight controls.
Airports
Air-One eVTOL Transportation Hub Makes Debut in UK
Urban-Air Port and eVTOL developer Supernal unveiled in the UK a fully functional example of a “multimodal infrastructure hub” to support eVTOL ops.
Rotorcraft
Vita Delivers Helo Load Stabilization System to Ukraine
The CEO of Vita has hand-delivered the company's Vita Rescue System for helicopter rescue load stabilization into an active war zone in Ukraine.
Rotorcraft
Bell Manufacturing Technology Center To Modernize Production for Next Gen Rotorcraft
Bell Manufacturing Technology Center To Modernize Production for Next Gen Rotorcraft
Rotorcraft
Helicopter Thief Convicted for Flying without a License
A Massachusetts man who had his license revoked in 2000 following a conviction for helicopter theft has now been found guilty of flying without a license.
Rotorcraft
Sikorsky S-92 To Recover Rocket's First Stage in Midair
A Sikorsky S-92 helicopter will be used in an attempt to recover Rocket Lab's reusable Electron satellite booster mid-air following the rocket launch.
