Rotor Wing April 2014

April 2014 Serving the Worldwide Helicopter Industry rotorandwing.
com
Bell Jet Ranger
Returns in X Form
New Era in Simulation
Inside AgustaWestland
GPS Approach at Home
*Optional HTAWS, NVG, radar altimeter, and satellite datalinks all sold separately.
2014 Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries
Now, the tools for
better decision-making
are right at your fingertips:
Garmin GTN
series for helicopters.

Enhanced safety. Mission response. Situational awareness. With our
GTN 750/650 touchscreen avionics, youll see all the benefits of faster,
more intuitive access to the flight information you need. Plus, you can upgrade
RIGHT NOW with approved installations for a wide range of popular helicopters,
including: The Bell 206 and 407 series; Eurocopters AS 350B2/B3, EC 130B4, and
EC 130T2; plus MD Helicopters 369E/F/FF models. Technology highlights include
control-mounted remote frequency/waypoint activation, as well as available HTAWS alerting
with 5-color terrain shading and altitude callouts on descent; radar altimeter interface;
worldwide weather, voice/texting and position reporting links, night vision goggle (NVG)
compatibility, and much more*. To learn more, visit: Garmin.com/helicopters
GTN SERIES
Access Intelligence, LLC
4 Choke Cherry Rd., 2nd Floor
Rockville, Md. 20850 - USA
Phone: 1-301-354-2000, Fax: 1-301-354-1809
E-mail: rotorandwing@accessintel.com
For photocopy or reuse requests:
1-800-772-3350 or info@copyright.com
3 APRIL 2014 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE
For photocopy or reuse requests:
1-800-772-3350 or info@copyright.com
EDITORIAL
Andrew Parker Editor-in-Chief, aparker@accessintel.com
Andrew Drwiega International Bureau Chief/Consultant,
adrwiega@accessintel.com
Ernie Stephens Editor-at-Large, estephens@accessintel.com
Claudio Agostini Latin America Bureau Chief
Contributing Writers: Rick Adams; Chris Baur; Lee Benson;
Igor Bozinovski; Keith Brown; Keith Cianfrani; Steve Colby; Dan
Deutermann; Peter Donaldson; Ian Frain; Pat Gray; Emma Kelly;
Frank Lombardi; Elena Malova; Vicki McConnell; Robert Moor-
man; Douglas Nelms; Mark Robins; Dale Smith; Terry Terrell;
Richard Whittle.
ADVERTISING/BUSINESS
Jennifer Schwartz Senior Vice President and Group Publisher,
jschwartz@accessintel.com
Randy Jones Publisher, 1-972-713-9612, rjones@accessintel.com
Eastern United States & Canada
Carol Mata, 1-512-607-6361, cmata@accessintel.com
International Sales, Europe/Pac Rim/Asia
James McAuley +34 952 118 018, jmcauley@accessintel.com
DESIGN/PRODUCTION
Rob Hudgins Graphic Designer
Tony Campana Production Manager,
1-301-354-1689 tcampana@accessintel.com
David Hurwitz Web/E-letter Production Associate,
1-301-354-1459 dhurwitz@accessintel.com
AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT
George Severine Fulfillment Manager, gseverine@accessintel.com
Jonathan Russo Marketing Manager, jrusso@accessintel.com
Customer Service/Back Issues 1-847-559-7314 rw@omeda.com
LIST SALES
Statlistics
Jen Felling ,1-203-778-8700, j.felling@statlistics.com
REPRINTS
Wrights Media, 1-877-652-5295
sales@wrightsmedia.com

ACCESS INTELLIGENCE, LLC
Donald A. Pazour Chief Executive Officer
Ed Pinedo Executive Vice President/Chief Financial Officer
Macy L. Fecto Executive Vice President, Human Resources &
Administration
Heather Farley Divisional President, Business Information Group
Sylvia Sierra Senior Vice President of Corporate
Audience Development
Robert Paciorek Senior Vice President/Chief Information Officer
Michael Kraus VP, Production, Digital Media & Design
Steve Barber Vice President, Financial Planning and Internal Audit
Gerald Stasko Vice President/Corporate Controller
Alison Johns Vice President, E-Media, Business Information
Group
For more information, call Wrights Media at 877.652.5295 or
visit our website at www.wrightsmedia.com
Logo Licensing | Reprints
Eprints | Plaques
Leverage branded content from Rotor & Wing to create a
more powerful and sophisticated statement about your
product, service, or company in your next marketing
campaign. Contact Wrights Media to fnd out more about
how we can customize your acknowledgements and
recognitions to enhance your marketing strategies.
Content Licensing for
Every Marketing Strategy
Marketing solutions ft for:
Outdoor
Direct Mail
Print Advertising
Tradeshow/POP Displays
Social Media
Radio & Television

Visit us today at www.aviationtoday.com.
For over ten years, Aviation Today has been your Internet-hub for
market intelligence and business resources, oering up-to-the-minute
news and expert analysis in all aspects of the world of aviation.
17279
By Andrew Parker
4 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | APRIL 2014 WWW. R OT O R A N D WI N G . C O M
aparker@accessintel.com
O
f course its preposterous to
think that the worlds larg-
est helicopter tradeshow
could be summed up in
less than say, 10,000 words, but
due to space constraints, theres a
lot of material that didnt make it
into the April print edition of Rotor
& Wing.
Thats why we created our Post-
Show Wrap digital edition, for
more news and photos from the
show. The Wrap can be found
at: http://accessintelligence.
imirus.com/Mpowered/book/
vheli14/i1/p1
There were also more than 100
stories, photos and news releases
posted online during the week
of Heli-Expo 2014, including a
selection of headlines below. See
the full list at Rotor & Wings Event
Coverage page online: www.avia-
tiontoday.com/rw/event-cov-
erage/
Happy Hunting!
Headlines from the Show
(in no particular order):
Enstrom Takes Wraps Off Two-
Seat TH180 Trainer
Thales Group Reveals Avionics
2020 for Helicopters
New Identity Hallmark of Air-
bus Helicopters at Heli-Expo
Sikorsky Reaches Deal with
Thommen for Searchlights and
Laser Systems
United Rotorcraft Strikes Agree-
ments for AgustaWestland, Bell
and Sikorsky Completions
DropCam From I ntegr at-
ed Microwave Technologies
Emerges at Heli-Expo
Bell Helicopter Brands 505 X
With Proven Name: Jet Ranger
All-Metal Moves Into New Las
Vegas Headquarters
Erickson Air-Crane Shortens
Name, Splits Into Divisions
Turbomeca, Ramco Systems
Forge Boost Agreement
EuroAvionics Purchases Flori-
da-based LCX Systems
Kamans Legacy K-Max Poised
to Rise Again
ASU Demonstrates Unfilmed
Intensified Tubes
Universal Point & Click Func-
tion Available on MD Explorer
Guidance Louisiana Becomes
Latest Robinson Dealer
AW109 Trekker Aims at Rug-
ged, Reliable Operators
Ti l ton Fuel s Devel opment
Dreams with Niche Military
Contracts
Avpro Completes Bell Transac-
tion for Jet Ranger X Trio
PremiAir, ASU to Sell Night
Vision Technology in Europe
Legendary Bell 47 Gets New
Pair of Boots from Scotts
Vector, Sunshine Helicopters
Ink MRO Agreement
AS350 Duo Enters Service with
Liberty Helicopters
Turbomeca Signs SBH Contract
with ADAC Luftfahrt Technik
Breeze-Eastern Adds Inventory
to Spare Parts Network
Mi l estone Buys Fi ve More
AW139s, Three AW189s
Pr att & Whi t ney Canada
Secures Milestone Engine Sup-
port Deal
Able Aerospace to Distribute
Bell PMA Parts for Northwest
Dynamics
Jeff Pino on Macquarie Rotor-
craft Leasing: $100 Million Pro-
jected By End of 2014
AS350 Pair to Serve U.S. Heli-
copters ENG Fleet
AW189 Level C Sim Headed to
Gulf Helicopters
MD530F Pair Heading to Boliv-
ian National Police
Bell Helicopter Continues to
Move 525 Forward
FAA Issues STC for Air Comm
AS350 Air Conditioner
BLR Aerospace Reports Uptick
In Government Sales
AgustaWestland AW609 Prog-
ress Speeds Up
DAC International Becomes
Regional Distributor for SkyTrac
Systems
North Flight Wins Approval for
CVR/FDR Installs
Donaldson Achieves Approval
for Bell 407 Filter
Shandong Qi Xiang MD500E
Order is First in China
Trakka Inks 10-Year Agreement
with AgustaWestland
Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6C-
67E Powers EC175 in Certifica-
tion Effort
AgustaWestland AW189 Dis-
play System From Rockwell Col-
lins Gains EASA Approval
FAA Certifies Honeywell Sky
Connect Tracker III
Scotts-Bell 47 to Offer Glass
Cockpit in 47GT-6 Helicopter
As cent 50001C Hel i t ank
Achieves FAA Approval
Aero Precision Expands Busi-
ness Alliance with UTC Aero-
space Systems
Los Angeles Police Department
Air Support Chooses Helinet
Microwave Downlink System
FreeFl i ght , UND Achi eve
ADS-B Transceiver Certifica-
tion from FAA
Heli-Expo 2014: A
700-Word Summary
Editors Notebook
Current|y suppornng 26 wor|d-c|ass
operanng partners |n over 20 countr|es on 6 connnents
Near-term de||very pos|nons ava||ab|e for the AW139, S-76D,
AW189, LC17S, LC22S and S-92, so you can b|d contracts and se|ze opportun|nes
Spare parts, 8n, eng|nes, tra|n|ng s|ots, d|sposa|s - we prov|de more than [ust a |ease
|ease contact us to |earn how we can support you.
Lmall: lnfo[mllesLoneavlauon.com
Web: www.mllesLoneavlauon.com
WE PROVIDE HELICOPTER OPERATORS
WITH MORE THAN JUST A LEASE
1. PROVEN ABILITY TO DELIVER
Over 140 helicopters on lease, and over $2.2 billion of assets
3.
100% LEASE FINANCING GLOBALLY
Current|y suppornng 26 wor|d-c|ass
operanng partners |n over 20 countr|es on 6 connnents
ACCESS TO EQUIPMENT
Near-term de||very pos|nons ava||ab|e for the AW139, S-76D,
AW189, LC17S, LC22S and S-92, so you can b|d contracts and se|ze opportun|nes
PARTNERSHIP
Spare parts, 8n, eng|nes, tra|n|ng s|ots, d|sposa|s - we prov|de more than [ust a |ease
|ease contact us to |earn how we can support you.
Phone: +353 1 205 1400 / +1 614 233 2300
Lmall: lnfo[mllesLoneavlauon.com
Web: www.mllesLoneavlauon.com
Public Service Military Commercial Personal|Corporate
THIS MONTH FROM
28
14
(Above) Engineering at AgustaWestland facility in Italy. (Below) Enstrom TH180
cockpit on display. (Right) Heli-Expo show floor. Two photos by Frank Lombardi
DEPARTMENTS
12 Rotorcraft Report
20 People
20 Coming Events
21 Hot Products
45 Classified Ads
47 Ad Index

COLUMNS
4 Editors Notebook
8 Feedback
10 Meet the Contributors
43 Training News
46 Leading Edge
48 Safety Watch
50 Military Insider
On the Cover: Bell 505 Jet Ranger X unveiling at Heli-
Expo 2014 in Anaheim, Calif. Photo by Andrew Drwiega,
International Bureau Chief. Design by Rob Hudgins.
FEATURES
22 New Era of Simulation Training
Around the North Sea and the world, safety and pilot training are
under review. A plethora of new-technology simulators should help
reduce the risk rate. By Rick Adams
28 Delivering Family to the World
Part 2 of Rotor & Wings visit to AgustaWestland headquarters
facilities in Italy. By Andrew Drwiega
32 GPS: Need One, Get One!
The digital world has flooded the market with countless types
of smart devices that rely on small GPS receivers to do an ever-
increasing list of location-based tasks. By Frank Lombardi
36 Essential Equipment
This month we focus on Flight Training Devices and Heliport
Lighting. By Rick Adams and Andrew Drwiega
40 Safety Management Systems
Implementing an SMS program into an organization, large or small,
will help save lives and resources. By Keith Cianfrani
Public Service
7
APRIL 2014 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE
Products Training Services
www.rotorandwing.com
ONLINE
TO SUBSCRIBE TO ANY OF OUR EXCLUSIVE EMAIL PRODUCTS, GO TO:
WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM
2014 by Access Intelligence, LLC. Contents may not be reproduced in any form without written permission.
Publication Mail Sales Agreement No. 40558009
The editors welcome new product information and other industry news. All editorial inquiries should be directed to Rotor & Wing magazine, 4 Choke Cherry Rd., 2nd Floor, Rockville, Md. 20850, USA; 1-301-354-1839; fax 1-301-762-8965. E-mail: rotorandwing@
accessintel.com. Rotor & Wing (ISSN-1066-8098) is published monthly by Access Intelligence, 4 Choke Cherry Rd., 2nd Floor, Rockville, Md. 20850, USA. Periodical postage paid at Rockville, Md. and additional mailing offices. Subscriptions: Free to qualified individuals
directly involved in the helicopter industry. All other subscriptions, U.S.: one year $89; two years $178. Canada: one year $99; two years $198; Foreign: one year $129; two years $258.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Rotor & Wing, P.O. Box 3089, Northbrook, Ill. 60065-3089, USA. Change of address two to eight weeks notice requested. Send both new and old address, including mailing label to Attn: Rotor & Wing magazine, Customer Services,
P.O. Box 3089, Northbrook, Ill. 60065-3089, USA or call 1-847-559-7314. E-mail: RW@omeda.com. Canada Post PM40063731. Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: Station A, PO Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5.
12
Vol. 48
|
No. 4
April 2014
POST YOUR HELICOPTER PHOTOS
Have any breathtaking helicopter photos that can hang with the best of them?
Share them on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/rotorandwing
SIGN UP FOR THE ROTOR & WING COLLECTIVE
Subscribe today for our free weekly e-letter for helicopter newsThe Rotor & Wing
Collective, which features an in-depth Story of the Week, Top News Picks, Helicopter
Jobs and links to Rotor & Wings Facebook and Twitter pages. Sign up now by
visiting: www.aviationtoday.com/rw/collective_form.html
STORIES & PHOTOS ON THE WEB
Go to rotorandwing.com to see more photos and read some of the stories that
didnt make it into this months print edition, for example:
Aero Precision Expands Alliance with UTC Aerospace Systems
All-Metal Maintenance Stands Moves Into New Vegas Headquarters
Operator Cooperation Part of Russian Hour at Heli-Expo
Universal Avionics Point & Click Available on MD Explorer
FreeFlight ADS-B Transceiver Gains FAA Greenlight
FlightSafety to Bring Level D S-92 Training to Sao Paulo
EuroAvionics Buys Florida-based LCX Systems
DIRECT TO YOUR DESKTOP: CHECK YOUR EMAIL
APRIL 1:
Digital edition of Rotor & Wing April 2014. Electronic version with enhanced web
links makes navigating through the pages of Rotor & Wing easier than ever.
WEEK OF APRIL 7:
HOT PRODUCTS for Helicopter OperatorsLatest in equipment upgrades, performance
modifications, training devices and other tools for the rotorcraft industry.
WEEK OF APRIL 28:
Rotor & Wings Helicopter Safety & Training e-letter. Get the latest updates from
helicopter training organizations around the world.
WWW. R OT O R A N D WI N G . C O M
Get connected:
Become a fan of Rotor & Wing on
Follow us on @rotorandwing
8 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | APRIL 2014
Do you have comments on the rotorcraft industry or recent articles and viewpoints weve published? Send them to: Editor, Rotor
& Wing, 4 Choke Cherry Road, Second Floor, Rockville, MD 20850, fax us at 301-354-1809 or email us at rotorandwing@accessintel.
com. Please include a city and state or province with your name and ratings. We reserve the right to edit all submitted material.
Responses Online
The following headlines and
responses appeared on www.
rotorandwing.com
From Aviation Today
(In reference to a story about DAR-
PAs X-Plane program)
What American aviation needs
today is a 1,000 lb, two seat tan-
dem, electric/Hybrid motor glid-
er, mass produced and sold at the
same cost/lb as a compact car...
Neil Cosentino
Robots Building Aircraft
(Response to: Will Airbus Futur-
assy Robots Build Aircraft?
Why not? A robot will not forget
a rivet neither tighten a screw to
the right binary. After all will not
get flu or pain or tendinitis, which
its the most frequent disease for
repetitive tasks.
Look the automotive indus-
tries, they could speed up and
reduce manufacturing costs.
Rui Figueiredo
Safety for All
Let everyone take his/responsibil-
ity and put in practice the 10 com-
mandments of workplace safety
to arrive at a 10 score. Let zero
accident be our target as from this
minute.
Bless Manuel
Air Methods Diversity
(In response to Air Methods Diver-
sifies with Purchase of Blue Hawai-
ian, Sundance Helicopters)
[CEO] Aaron Todd has shown
shrewd business savvy and is to
be commended for navigating
through some very difficult times.
Todd shows an uncanny insight
into future of commercial rotor-
craft operations.
Andrew Leonard
Responses Via Social Media
The following appeared on Rotor
& Wings Facebook page at www.
facebook.com/rotorandwing
Whats the Coolest Place
Youve Ever Flown a
Helicopter?
Twenty feet over a male Alaskan
Brown Bear on the Kenai penin-
sula, after the 9,900-foot volcano,
bear was much cooler.
Larry Peck
For me it was definitely flight in
Grand Canyon to the river and
back!
Juraj Krajcirovic
Ozarks in Missouri!!! and blue
mountains in Jamaica!
Stacey Henry
The Congo River
Patrick Heidenreich
Mountains of Kosovo, fresh snow
on the ground, flying NVGs witht
he fullest, brightest moon I have
ever seen. Incredibly beautiful
night, visibility must have been
100 miles. Will never forget it!
Jim Furlow
Sydney Harbor... spectacular!
Michael Burton
NYC in the 80s, Florida Everglades
and Bahamas.
John Marks
Babylon
Daniel Morris
From Sanaa to Hodeida, Yemen,
from the plateau where Sanaa
is located, down to the Red Sea;
passing the mud skyscraper
villages clinging to the sides of
the mountains, young village
kids waving up from the roofs
as they hear the 212 approach-
ing... like having your own Nat
Geo show ... also flying around
the island of Socotra... amazing,
unspoiled nature.
Tony Beaumont
The football stadium in Nashville,
Tenn.
Cesar A Ramos
A trip from Milan, Italy to Antalya
then Istanbul, Turkey in an Agusta
A109S - amazing!
Christine Lesko

R&Ws Question of the
Month: What elements of a
safety management system
(SMS) work best for your op-
eration? What operators have
done a good job of implement-
ing a strong SMS program?
Let us know, and look for your and others responses in
a future issue. Youll nd contact information below.
Services Products Training Public Service Military Commercial Personal|Corporate
F
eedback
www.aero-access.com | sales@aero-access.com | 1-800-251-7094
2013 Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. All rights reserved.
Innovation. Reliability. Performance.
We take great pride in providing high quality, reliable products that enable our customers to meet
their mission requirements, including products like our high visibility windows. These precision-
crafted windows are optically correct, affordable and easy to install. Experience makes all the
difference, so let us show you how attention to detail has helped make Aeronautical Accessories
an industry-leading brand for over 30 years.
Richard Fine
Quality Inspector
Meet the
Contributors
KEITH CIANFRANI is a retired U.S.
Army lieutenant colonel, master
aviator and Army instructor pilot,
rated in both helicopters and fixed-
wing aircraft. He holds a masters
degree in aerospace safety from Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University. Keith is a certificated flight
instructor and has flown commercial aircraft for
more than 20 years in and around the New York
City area.
ANDREW DRWIEGA, International
Bureau Chief, is a senior defense/avia-
tion journalist with a specialization
in international military rotorcraft.
Based in London, he has reported
from Iraq and Afghanistan on numerous occasions
on attachment with American and British helicopter
forces. Andrew is a member of the Army Aviation
Association of America, the Royal United Services
Institute, the Air Power Association and is an associ-
ate member of the Royal Aeronautical Society. He has
a BA (Hons) degree in War Studies.
FRANK LOMBARDI, an ATP with both
fixed-wing and rotary-wing ratings,
began his flying career in 1991 after
graduating with a bachelors of science
in aerospace engineering, working on
various airplane and helicopter programs as a flight
test engineer for Grumman Aerospace Corp. Frank
became a police officer for a major East Coast police
department in 1995, and has been flying helicopters in
the departments aviation section since 2000.
DOUGLAS NELMS has more than
30 years of experience as an aviation
journalist and currently works as a
freelance writer. He has served as
managing editor of Rotor & Wing. A
former U.S. Army helicopter pilot, Nelms specializes
in writing about helicopters.
MARK ROBINS is an experienced and
accomplished editor who has bylined
more than 50 full-length feature arti-
cles in his career, most dealing with
technical and manufacturing devel-
opments. He has written for such technical trade
magazines as Quality and Electronic Packaging and
Production. He has also worked full-time for the edi-
torial departments of the American Society of Civil
Engineers and Society of Manufacturing Engineers.
DALE SMITH has been an aviation
journalist for 24 years specializing in
business aviation. He is currently a
contributing writer for Rotor & Wing
and other leading aviation magazines.
He has been a licensed pilot since 1974 and has flown
35 different types of general aviation, business and
WWII vintage aircraft.
ERNIE STEPHENS, Editor-at-Large,
spent 27 years with a major county
police department, retiring as a deco-
rated sergeant and chief pilot of its
aviation section in 2006. He began
his flying career in the late 1980s when he earned his
rotorcraft license and incorporated a small aviation
company as a sideline to his law enforcement career.
He has been writing features and columns for Rotor &
Wing since 2003.
TERRY TERRELL gained his early
aviation experience as a U.S. Navy
fixed-wing instructor and U.S. Coast
Guard aircraft commander, where
his service included SAR in Sikorsky
S-61s. Terry served as a cross-qualified captain and
safety special projects officer with Houstons Transco
Energy, and later with Atlanta-based Kennestone
AVSTAT Helicopter Ambulance Program and Geor-
gia Baptist LifeFlight.

When You Choose FlightSafety, You Choose Safety.
Please contact Scott Fera, Senior Vice President, Marketing 718.565.4774
sales@ightsafety.com ightsafety.com A Berkshire Hathaway company
Continues with ongoing investment and innovation
Reinforced in 1 million+ training hours each year

Builds when you train as you fly, fly as you train
Backed up by the industrys best Customer Care

Benets Customers from 167 countries
Advanced with superior simulation technology
Supported by factory-authorized training

Practiced with a high-technology, integrated training system
Expands with a global network of Learning Centers

Focus of 3,500 expertly designed courses
Taught by 1,800 professional instructors
Designed into a eet of 300+ ight simulators

Safety
At FlightSafety International, we center everything we do on helping our Customers operate their
helicopters to the highest level of safety while providing the outstanding service they expect and
deserve. We continually invest in new programs and a growing international network of locations
to meet current and future Customers requirements.
Safety Starts With the Best Training Our outstanding instructors provide helicopter operators the
highest quality, most comprehensive professional training available. We offer courses developed by
our training experts with one overriding goal to enhance safety. Each course leverages todays most
advanced and innovative training systems for instruction thats effective, relevant and clearly presented.
Safety Drives Our Training Technology We design and build Level D helicopter simulators and other
advanced training devices to complement, support and reinforce safety in our training. They replicate the
ying characteristics of the aircraft represented including a full range of environmental conditions such as
whiteouts and brownouts and are qualied to the highest standards by aviation authorities worldwide.
Safety Extends to More Aircraft at More Locations We deliver unsurpassed simulation-based and
mission-specic training for AgustaWestland, Airbus, Bell and Sikorsky helicopters. Training includes
inadvertent instrument meteorological conditions, night vision goggle and other helicopter-specic
scenarios. FlightSafety. Our name is our mission. >>
Services Products Training Public Service Military Commercial Personal|Corporate
PRODUCTS
|
AIRFRAMES
Bell Revamps Jet Ranger Brand
With X for New 505
Bell Helicopter launched, in the words
of President and CEO John Garrison,
the revitalization of the legendary Jet
Ranger during Heli-Expo. The launch
of the 505 Jet Ranger X drew a huge
crowd with Garrison introducing the
new short light single (SLS) helicopter
from a podium among the crowd. He
reviewed the drive of Bell in terms of
pushing forward with the 525 Relentless
and on the military side, the V-280 Valor
(for the Joint Multi-Role) competition.
The previous day, Garrison had
talked about making progress and
gaining momentum in our commercial
business. The OEM delivered 213 civil
helicopters in 2013, up 12 percent from
the 188 in 2012. Bell recorded revenues
of $4.5 billion in 2013. He had referred
to the Bell 505 short light single (SLS)
Jet Ranger X as entering into a market
segment that was incredibly price-
sensitive and that the SLS would sell
for around $1 million. He added that
it would be attractive through its tech-
nology offering, including the Garmin
G1000H avionics and the Turbomeca
Arrius T2 engine.
As far as the Bell 525 Relentless
was concerned, Garrison said that first
flight is expected by the end of the year
and that the super medium helicopter,
with its fly-by-wire technology and
CAT A operational capability, could be
best in class against a very wide range
of competitors AW139, AW175,
AW189, EC225 and S-92 foremost
among them. A strong claim to make
under any circumstances.
Garrison acknowledged the stated
intent of the U.S. Army to retire the
OH-58 and TH-67 from its fleet, but
said that Bell continued to execute on
programs that it had. He balanced this
by saying that the AH-1Z and UH-1Y
were halfway through their delivery
schedules (36 and 87 aircraft, respec-
tively last year from a total program of
record of 349 helicopters 160 UH-1Ys
and the rest new and remanufactured
AH-1Zs). Two U.S. Marine Corps
squadrons are now operational with
both aircraft. By Andrew Drwiega,
International Bureau Chief
Read the full story and see more
photos from Heli-Expo 2014 at www.
rotorandwing.com
Before the curtain fell (left) and after (right). Photos by Andrew Drwiega
Rotorcraft Report
13 APRIL 2014 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE WWW. R OT O R A N D WI N G . C O M
At Heli-Expo 2014 in Anaheim,

Enstrom Helicopter of Menominee,
Mich., pulled the wraps off of a
brand new design a two-seat,
piston helicopter. The aircraft,
dubbed the TH180, shares the same
general shape of the larger three-
and five-seat Enstrom products,
but scaled down to accommodate
just two people.
The TH180 is designed primar-
ily as a training helicopter, said
Orlando Alaniz, Enstroms direc-
tor of marketing. In addition, the
TH180 will be well suited for other
missions, such as patrol, surveil-
lance, or personal transport.
A fuel-injected, Lycoming HIO-
390 piston engine will drive the
TH180s high inertia main rotor.
And in the companys attempt to
appeal to helicopter flight schools,
the designers included an engine
governor, shock-absorbing skids,
sturdy airframe, and what Alaniz
described as excellent autorotation
capabilities. The TH180 is also
designed with the flight instruc-
tor in mind, Alaniz added. It has
a quiet cabin with plenty of head
and leg room. Alaniz did not say
what the TH180 would cost, but
did say that maintenance would be
economical. Enstrom has already
received orders from launch cus-
tomers Indiana Helicopters in Gos-
hen, Ind., and Sharkeys Helicopters
of West Lebanon, N.H. By Ernie
Stephens, Editor-at-Large
TRAINING
|
AIRFRAMES
Enstrom Takes Wraps Off TH180 Two-Seater
PRODUCTS
|
AVIONICS
Thales Reveals Avionics 2020 for Helicopters
One of the most jaw-dropping
pieces of technology on display
at Heli Expo was Avionics 2020;
whi ch can l egi t i matel y be
described as a new generation
cockpit for helicopters. Basically
it is an intuitive, all touchscreen
cockpi t di spl ay that Thal es
marketing director Richard Perrot
demonstrated.
Using only fingertip control,
he accessed the avionics and mis-
sion management on the large
display panels, demonstrating the
programming of a route to a search
area while selecting the transit
path, then the programming of a
search pattern.
There is not a single button to
press it is all touch-screen alone
and the standby aid is a roll-
tracker pointer incorporated as an
alternate mode that would be used
exactly the same as a computer
mouse and pointer.
Thales Avionics division is
designing the suite and Perrot said
that it will be based on open sys-
tem architecture with a Thales
electronic backbone, but that will
be compatible with mission soft-
ware allowing third-party systems
or functions to be added into the
architecture. The displays will not
be restricted by size and discus-
sions are being held with all of the
OEMs regarding its introduction
date, which will be 2020. Perrot said
that part of the system had already
been involved in flight trials, but
would not say which OEM or event
aircraft type. By Andrew Drwie-
ga, International Bureau Chief
Enstrom TH180. By Frank Lombardi
Thales Avionics 2020. Graphical image
courtesy of Thales Group
Rotorcraft Report
Erickson Air-Crane is now Erickson
Incorporated, but has several
divisions, announced Udo Rieder,
the organizations chief executive
at a media briefing related to Heli-
Expo. Following the acquisitions
last year of Evergreen Helicopters
and Air Amazonia, the companys
share price rose from $8 to $21 per
share (a 163 percent growth). The
group now comprises: Erickson
Air Crane; Erickson Helicopters;
Erickson Transport; Air Amazonia;
Canadian Air Crane; European Air
Crane; and Malaysian Air Crane.
We were giving a lot of the mar-
ket to light and medium helicopters
as well as fixed-wing aircraft, said
Rieder, explaining the need to grow
the organization. As a consequence
Ericksons fleet has expanded from
20 air-cranes to 90 diversified air-
craft. Most of the divisions will fly a
mix of aircraft.
Prior to the acquisitions, over
50 percent of our revenues came
from firefighting and 95 percent
of Evergreens revenue came from
Department of Defense (DoD)
work. Air Amazonia had 100 per-
cent revenue from oil and gas,
revealed Rieder.
Now, he said, the company had
doubled its financial size from $200
million to $400 million in revenues.
The total business today comprises
around 30 percent DoD, firefight-
ing/oil and gas around 25 percent
each, with the remainder coming
from commercial activities (includ-
ing logging). He said the diversity
meant that the company could bet-
ter withstand up and down cycles
in any particular sector.
The MRO side has also been
strengthened, added Rieder. We
know how to maintain and manu-
facture legacy components. We are
now the largest Bell 214ST opera-
tor and there is no reason why we
shouldnt be the largest provider
of third-party maintenance for the
Bell 214ST. The new logo repre-
sents the new composite rotor
blade system developed for the
S-64. Its a multi-million dollar
investment and we will start fly-
ing by the end of the year. It will
give 10-15 percent improvement
in lift capability and a decrease in
MRO and manufacturing costs,
and a 3-5 percent decrease in fuel
burn, confirmed Rieder.
Erickson is the type certificate
holder not only for the S-64 but
also has bought the type certificate
for the Pratt & Whitney T73 engine
used on the Air Crane and the
intention is to have its engineers
improve engine performance.
Rieder said that there were
opportunities in the oil and gas
sector within Peru, Ecuador and
domestically in Alaska.
The European Air-Crane divi-
sion supports four S-64s that are
owned by the Italian government,
but there are opportunities for
expansion, according to Rieder. He
said that aircraft operated in Africa
and the Middle East could now go
to Europe for their repair and over-
haul. He also said that there were
work opportunities in Switzerland
as well as the more traditional
firefighting markets of Spain and
southern France. By Andrew
Drwiega
Erickson Shortens Name,
Splits Into Divisions
AW109 Trekker Aims at Rugged, Reliable Operators
During Heli-Expo AgustaWestland introduced what CEO Daniele Romiti
called the new member of the AW109 family, the light twin AW109
Trekker. Performers, whose representation of rugged dance, heralded the
unveiling of the helicopter.
Geoff Hoon, managing director for international business, said that
there had been market pressure for a rugged, reliable and as cheap as it is
going to be helicopter. The production aircraft will be based on the cabin
of the AW109 Grand.
Bob Price confirmed that the AW109 Trekker would be initially built at the companys Philadelphia facil-
ity in the U.S., another addition to the already promised AW169. The aircraft would be certified this year and
its first flight would be in 2015. Hoon said that customers had been pressurizing the OEM for a version of the
AW109 with skids. By Andrew Drwiega
Erickson S-64. Photo courtesy of Erickson
AW109 Trakker at Heli-Expo. By Andrew
Drwiega, International Bureau Chief
Rotorcraft Report
Exelis F4949s IN STOCK
www.transaeroinc.com
Exelis is a registered trademark and The Power of Ingenuity is a trademark, both of Exelis Inc.
Copyright 2012 Exelis Inc. All rights reserved.
Exelis F4949
Aviator Night Vision System
Brings you the power of sight for
your most critical night missions.
R & W 1 2 pg island_Layout 1 9/6/13 10:02 AM Page 1
the success of the one remaining
unmanned K-Max flying with the
U.S. Marine Corps should not be
underappreciated. The Marines have
continually extended their field trials
of the aircraft, which was first taken
to Afghanistan in late 2011. Starting
with two unmanned K-Max, the
second has not operated since an
accident in June 2013.
The K-Max production line could
be brought back to life if there
are enough orders to make it
cost-effective, said Terry Fogarty,
Kamans general manager for
unmanned systems. Although
he admitted that the company
regularly gets requests for its
veteran intermeshing rotor
helicopter, which obtained its type
certificate back in 1994, Kaman
used Heli-Expo to gauge just how
serious potential customers were
and getting them to state whether
they would commit to a deposit.
Unlike many companies who
divest themselves of production
line tooling, Kaman has kept its
K-Max machinery in relative-
ly good storage conditions. We
could turn on the production line
in around 15-18 months, said Fog-
arty, adding that a more accurate
forecast would depend on how
quickly its suppliers could also
stand up and deliver to Kaman.
The company is believed to be
looking for around 10 firm com-
mitments for it to make a positive
decision by the end of the year.
Of the 35 K-Max originally
manufactured, only around 20 are
still flying (including that oper-
ated by the USMC). Fogarty said
that the company would make a
decision about whether to restart
the production line by the end of
the year. I always thought it was
going to be a pause in produc-
tion, albeit one that has lasted
for 13 years, said Fogarty. It will
be the same aircraft with the
same design, engine and blades,
confirms Fogarty, adding that
any changes would necessitate a
re-certification that the company
would not wish to go through:
Potential customers want it for
exactly what it does now.
While the aircraft is highly
valued by civil customers in the
firefighting and logging sectors,
PRODUCTS
|
AIRFRAMES
Kaman Gauges Interest in Restarting K-Max
Rotorcraft Report
COMMERCIAL
|
LEASING
Pino on Macquarie: $100 Million By End of 2014
Jeff Pino, the ex-president of Sikorsky Aircraft who retired in 2012, is back
in the helicopter business, this time as CEO of newly formed Macquarie
Rotorcraft Leasing, part of the U.S.-based Macquarie Group.
Leasing reduces risk and improves operator balance sheets, stated Pino.
Having served at the pinnacle of one of the world major helicopter manufac-
turers, his experience leads him to believe that the growth of the leasing sector
should not be seen by OEMs as a sudden growth in the market: The OEMs
must not see leasing as an increase in demand. There is a glut in money, not
in helicopters. But OEM forecasting models are mature. He believes that the
OEMs will ensure that the residual value of helicopters will be maintained.
With the increase in the price of oil, operators can lease equipment but
they dont need to own it, he said. With longer range offshore developments
poised to expand the type and range of helicopters required, he said that the
energy sector could hedge its options with smart risk management over a
set period of time. Pino believes that around 75 percent of the leasing business
will be in the oil and gas sector, although there are also growing opportunities in the EMS sector.
MD Helicopters owner Lynn
Tilton believes, or rather dreams,
of taking her once-ailing company
forward to rapid manufacturing
and production of existing and new
helicopters.
A self-confessed obsessive for
technology and innovation, Til-
ton believes that one of the ways
to get her company back into the
mainstream of helicopter produc-
tion will be through the use of 3D
printing. With many companies
under her control, she has been
particularly interested in the auto-
motive sector and other specialist
applications.
If we can put out a new aircraft
designed in the 3D space it will
deliver us a quicker time to market,
she stated, reflecting on the prob-
lems the company continues to
have in logistical fulfillment.
Her ideas for a hybrid helicopter
would include the use of electric
motors. We may try to do a single-
engine helicopter for propulsion
and an electric motor for systems,
but it is realistic enough to real-
ize that such a concept is not just
around the corner. Whatever is the
result of her research, she assures
that it will be a brand new design.
MD is currently selling between
50-100 helicopters per year and
Tilton has directed the company
toward its own niche in supplying
smaller military customers in the
international market.
Down to earth and away from
dreaming, the company showed
its MD530G on the stand, which
is an armed aerial scout helicopter
precisely for that foreign market.
Tilton acknowledges that it would
not be considered by the U.S. Army
(I think I know them pretty well by
now), but that if the company can
keep selling her armed scout fam-
ily to foreign militaries in numbers
of around 12-18 helicopters, that
would not only please her but give
the company much more financial
flexibility to spend on R&D. Expec-
tations were that the company
would deliver 50 or more aircraft in
2014, depending on how success-
ful the company is in getting the
MD530G to market. By Andrew
Drwiega
Manage all of your content in one place
Create | Distribute | Measure your content
cost effectively
Expose your content to targeted audiences
Trace your marketing ROI and distribute
your content anywhere
Create content once, distribute to multiple
outlets
Update your content and social media
efforts any time you want
Be fully searchable from Aviationtoday.com
, National Sales Manager
sjoyce@accessintel.com
, Publisher
rjones@accessintel.com
MILITARY
|
AIRFRAMES
MD Helicopters Aims 530G at International Militaries
MD530G at Heli-Expo 2014. Photo by Frank Lombardi
Jeff Pino.
When Lives
Are on the Line,
Use Rescue
Hoists You
Can Trust.
Goodrich & Hamilton
Sundstrand are now
UTC Aerospace Systems.
UTC Aerospace Systems rescue
hoists are trusted by rescue
specialists worldwide. No matter
what you fy, we have a hoist
that is right for your platform.
Our hoists provide long-term
operational effciency with the
lowest life-cycle cost in the
industry. But most importantly,
our hoists help save lives.
To fnd out more visit
www.utcaerospacesystems.com
or email sis@utas.utc.com
UTAS_SIS_Rescue.Hoist.Law.Enforcement.Ad_Vertical_2012Nov6Rev2.indd 1 11/12/2012 11:11:37 AM
Rotorcraft Report
SERVICES
|
FINANCING
Amur Financial to
Purchase Bristows
Bell 206 Fleet
Amur Hel i copter Fi nanci al
Services has agreed to a major fleet
transaction with Bristow Group
Inc. The transaction involves
purchasing the entire Bristow fleet
of 28 Bell 206-L4 helicopters. As
part of completing this transaction,
Amur HFS provided short-term
operating leases to Bristow for
several aircraft still required
under customer contracts in the
Gulf of Mexico. Bristow may
extend these leases as needed to
meet its customer obligations. In
addition, several of the aircraft
will be delivered to and purchased
by Amur HFS in the 4th quarter
of 2014 when they come off the
current contract with Bristow.
(Source: Amur HFS)
COMMERCIAL
|
AIRFRAMES
Milestone Buys
Eight More S-92s
Milestone Aviation Group has
increased its S-92 order book with
Sikorsky Aircraft by eight units. The
company has increased its firm and
option S-92 orders to 37 aircraft
valued at more than $1.2 billion.
The forward orders are scheduled
to deliver over the next five years,
with 15 scheduled for completed
delivery in 2014 and 2015; more
than half of which are already on
lease or under letter of intent.
Milestone already has 73 Sikorsky
aircraft in its fleet, including 45
S-92s and 28 S-76 family aircraft,
including four S-76Ds. These
aircraft are on lease to operators
in Asia, Australia, Europe, North
America and South America
serving the offshore oil and gas,
search and rescue and emergency
medical service industries. (Source:
Milestone)
PRODUCTS
|
AIRFRAMES
Scotts Gives Bell 47 New Pair of Boots
One a nnounce me nt
during Heli-Expo 2014 that
brought the past right up to
the present was that which
saw engine manufacturer
Rolls-Royce signing a multi-
engine contract with Scotts
Bell 47, the owner of the
Bell 47 type certificate since
2009.
This brings Rolls-Royces
RR300 light turboshaft
powerplant to the Bell
407GT-6 light utility heli-
copter. We will deliver an
engine for the first flight test
in June, said Greg Fedele,
senior vice president Helicopters for Rolls-Royce. The engine integration
only took a small amount of work, he added.
The RR300 was launched in 2007 based on the M250, of which 30,000
engines were produced. It has been optimized for performance between
240-300 shp with a recommended 2,000-hour heavy maintenance inspec-
tion (HMI). It also powers Robinsons R66.
With more than 1,000 Bell 47s still flying, despite production being
closed 40 years ago, Scotts Bell owner Scott Churchill has positioned his
company to be the established OEM with the production of the Bell 47GT-
6 and for spare parts for other variants.
With the RR300 we can target the entry level turbine market where
few aircraft fit that niche, explained Fedele. It has already enjoyed strong
growth through our business with Robinson. When asked whether there
was a potential opportunity in the rising aerial unmanned vehicle (UAV)
sector, Febele replied: While growth [in this sector] is small it is still a
growth area that we will monitor. The Rolls-Royce M250 powered the
original Northrop Grumman RQ-8A Fire Scout UAV and is the current
powerplant on AgustaWestlands SW-4 Solo (now in a UAV trial program
for the UKs Royal Navy). By Andrew Drwiega
(Left) Scotts Bell
47 during Heli-Expo
2014. Photo by
Andrew Drwiega
(Below) Rolls-Royce
RR300 at the engine
makers booth. Photo
by Frank Lombardi
Rotorcraft Report
COMMERCIAL
|
AIRFRAMES
Airbus Gets Large Order for
37 From Waypoint Leasing
Two major Waypoint Leasing orders with Airbus
Helicopters were announced Tuesday as the global
helicopter lessor intends to acquire 37 EC225
and EC145 T2 rotorcraft. These key transactions,
Waypoints first deliveries in 2014, were detailed at
the Heli-Expo in Anaheim, where Airbus Helicopters
President Guillaume Faury and Waypoint Leasing CEO
Ed Washecka confirmed the bookings. With deliveries
planned through 2017, Waypoint Leasing will further
expand its portfolio of Airbus Helicopters rotorcraft
which already includes two EC225s purchased last year
for offshore operations in Australia through sale and
leasebacks with oil and gas operator Bond Helicopters
Australia. Waypoints EC145 T2s will receive power
from Turbomeca Arriel 2E engines, and delivered in
a versatile configuration to address multiple markets
primarily offshore missions and emergency medical
services. (Sources: Airbus Helicopters and Waypoint
Leasing)
SERVICES
|
FINANCING
LCI Inks Deal for 20-Plus
Helicopters from Airbus
Lease Corporation International has reached an
agreement to acquire as many as 21 new Airbus
Helicopters rotorcraft in a contract involving both
the EC175 and the newly unveiled EC225e. The total
contract value is estimated in commercial terms to
be around $645 million, with delivery scheduled to
commence in 2016.
The major commitment marks Lease Corportation
Internationals initial transaction with Airbus Helicop-
ters. It involves up to six orders for the EC175, along
with as many as 15 of the Super Puma familys EC225e
version when it becomes available.
New Turbomeca Makila 2B turboshaft engines will
power the EC225e for improved performance and a
range-of-action extended to 180 nautical miles with
10 passengers. Certification of the EC225e is targeted
for late 2015, followed by the start-up of deliveries in
mid-2016. (Sources: Airbus Helicopters and Lease
Corporation International)
AgustaWestland
P h i l a d e l p h i a
has appoi nted
Michael Hotze
as vice president,
customer support
and training. He will manage
product support engineering,
t e chni c al r epr es ent at i ves ,
customer support managers, the
fleet operations center (24/7 AOG
help desk), Part 145, and customer
training. Hotze previously worked
i n customer support at Bell
Helicopter for 24 years, both for
the domestic and international
markets.
Metro Aviation has selected two
new directors. Jim Arthur joins as
director of operations while Mark
Breton takes up the role of direc-
tor of maintenance. Arthur comes
from California Shock Trauma Air
Rescue (CALSTAR) where he was
aviation training manager and,
most recently, director of opera-
tions. Having recently contracted
for six new EC135 helicopters from
Metro, Arthurs experience will be
valued in customer relationships
and managing flight operations.
Breton has over 25 years experience
in the aviation industry with a long
list of licenses and certifications.
Most recently he was vice president
and director of maintenance for the
Air Medical Resource Group.
Glen Girard has joined the
Helicopter Flight Training Center
as assistant director of training from
Bristow U.S., where he was flight
safety manager. His responsibilities
will be concerned with instruction
for ground and simulators, crew
and air medical resource manage-
ment, course development and
records review. He has over 15,000
hours experience and has trained
both military and civil pilots.
Daniel Korte has replaced
long-time chief executive officer
Ronald Saks after he retired from
LMI Aerospace in mid-March.
Korte is the former president of
defense aerospace at Rolls-Royce.
Saks said that as a board mem-
ber (non-executive chairman) he
would continue to offer advice to
Korte and the management team.
Under Sakss 30-year leadership,
LMI has grown into a premier sup-
plier of complex sheet metal and
high speed machined components
with revenues of over $400 million
and more than 2,400 employees
based at several facilities.
Airbus Heli-
copters Inc. has
restructured its
senior manage-
ment team mak-
ing Peter Cutler
(above) vice president of customer
support, reporting directly to presi-
dent and CEO Marc Paganini.
Cutler will oversee all customer
support functions for both the
government and commercial busi-
ness segments.
Treg Manning
be comes vi ce
president of sales
and marketing,
responsible for all
U.S. sales and marketing for both
the commercial and military mar-
kets, including sales of aftermarket
services and products. Manning
had been VP of commercial sales
since 2011.
PEOPLE
c
o
m
i
n
g

e
v
e
n
t
s
Rotorcraft Report
March 31April 2: 2014 CHC Safety & Quality
Summit, Vancouver, BC, Canada. For more details
visit www.chcsafetyqualitysummit.com
April 810: Aircraft Interiors Expo, Hamburg
Messe, Germany. Visit www.aircraftinteriorsexpo.com
April 1517: Asian Business Aviation Convention
& Exhibition (ABACE), Shanghai, China. Contact
NBAA, phone 1-202-783-9000 or visit www.abace.
aero
May 46: Quad-A Annual Convention, Gaylord
Opryland Hotel, Nashville, Tenn. Contact Quad-A,
phone 1-203-268-2450 or visit www.quad-a.org
May 1215: Association for Unmanned Systems
International (AUVSI) Unmanned Systems 2014,
Orlando, Fla. Visit www.auvsi.org
May 2022: European Business Aviation
Convention & Exhibition, Geneva, Switzerland.
Contact NBAA, phone 1-202-783-9000 or visit www.
ebace.aero
July 1920: Farnborough International Airshow,
Farnborough, UK. Visit www.farnborough.com
July 28Aug.3: Experimental Aircraft Association
(EAA) AirVenture, Oshkosh, Wis. Contact EAA,
phone 1-920-426-4800 or visit www.airventure.org
Sept. 1719: ATC Global, Beijing, China. Contact
ATC Global, phone +44 (0) 207 921 8149 or visit
www.atcglobalhub.com
Oct. 1416: Helitech International, Amsterdam,
Netherlands. Contact Reed Exhibitions or visit www.
helitechevents.com
Nov. 1719: National Business Aviation
Association Convention & Exhibition, Orlando, Fla.
Contact NBAA, phone 1-202-783-9000 or visit www.
nbaa.org
2015:
March 7-10: HAI Heli-Expo 2015, Orange Country
Convention Center, Orlando, Fla.
Contact HAI, phone 1-703-683-4646 or visit
www.rotor.org
for Helicopter Operators
500-32 Series Personal Locator Beacon with Speech
Re-introducing the 500-32 Series Personal Locator Beacons; now available with
full speech capability on the standard frequency of 121.5 MHz. The 500-32 retains
its simple, compact 132mm x 72mm x 34mm lightweight form, weighing in at less
than 370gms, making it one of the smallest and most effective beacons on the mar-
ket. The PLBs are compatible with the majority of search and rescue equipment
including the COSPAS/SARSAT satellite-based survivor location equipment. Ver-
sions are available featuring embedded 12 channel GPS with data burst transmis-
sion on 406MHz, further improving location accuracy and detection time.
The fully certified PLB is a one piece unit with the transmitter housed in a
moulded thermoplastic non-slip compact case, incorporating user replaceable
batteries mounted within the overall package. Standard features include an audible
tone indicating live beacon transmissions with GPS Lat/Long position and a full
self-test capability. An operator may reprogram the PLB using an optional repro-
gramming adaptor.
Find out more online at www.hr-smith.com
ASU Demos Next Step in Night Vision Technology
Aviation Specialties Unlimited (ASU), distributor of NVIS equipment, gave Rotor & Wing a look at the next step
in night vision technology at the companys Heli-Expo booth. ASU demonstrated new unfilmed image intensifier
tubes (made by L-3). The unfilmed tubes provide greater reliability and enhanced low light level performance
with better resolution, smaller halos, and increased clarity. The familiar green image is now more blue-grey due to
the use of white phosphor, improving perception and decreasing eye strain, according to ASU. Its the completion
of a circle that was started 10 or 15 years ago, noted Joe Estrera, vice president and chief technology officer. The
robust nature of the new design will increase the time between overhaul, reducing maintenance costs while at the
same time increasing safety, he added. By Frank Lombardi
DropCam From IMT Emerges During Heli-Expo
Integrated Microwave Technologies, a business unit within the Vitec Groups Videocom division, has introduced
its DropCam Tx-II/Mini MobilCMDR surveillance kit at Heli-Expo 2014 in Anaheim. The IMT DropCam
Tx-II/Mini MobilCMDR surveillance kit is a rapid deployment video/audio surveillance solution that includes
the DropCam Tx-II Transmitter with integrated camera and microphone, along with IMTs Mini MobilCMDR
receiver/monitor. Using COFDM digital RF transmission enables superior non-line-of-sight performance in
buildings, culverts and urban environments, DropCam gives users a level of performance unattainable with con-
ventional analog or 802.11 (Wi-Fi) products.
EC225e Intended for Extended-Range Oshore Ops
The new EC225e version of Airbus Helicopters Super Puma product line was formally launched Tuesday, offer-
ing an enhanced rotorcraft that responds to operators requirements for extended-range missions particularly
in support of deep-water oil and gas airlift missions. Details on the EC225e were outlined at Heli-Expo 2014, along
with the first orders. Features of the twin-engine EC225e include more payload, an additional fuel tank, a new
cabin layout and new avionics. Certification of the EC225e is targeted for late 2015, followed by the start of deliv-
eries in mid-2016.
TRAINING
By Rick Adams
T
he North Sea, in many respects, is the
epicenter of civil helicopter operations
in the world. Since the ignition of the
oil exploration boom in the area a half-
century ago, Norway and the UK have become the
primary users of helicopters, operating nearly 70
percent of the total fleet in Europe and 95 percent
of airframes with more than 18 passenger seats. In
the Norwegian and UK Continental Shelf sectors,
there are more than 300 helideck-equipped fixed
exploration platforms and more than 100 mobile
helidecks. In 2012, over helicopter 200,000 sectors
THE NEW ERA OF
TRAINING | SIMULATORS
Around the North Sea and
around the world, helicopter
safety and pilot training are
under review. A plethora of new-
technology simulators should
help reduce the risk rate.
FlightSafety International Sikorsky S-92 simulator.
Photo courtesy of Sikorsky Aircraft
were flown, carrying nearly two
million passengers mostly plat-
form shift workers encompass-
ing nearly 150,000 flight hours.
The area can be harsh, no ques-
tion, with extremely challenging
weather, winds, and waves. One
pilot described winds enroute
close to 70 knots with drift angles
of 25-plus degrees landing on
a heaving deck on a black night
and violent windshear and tur-
bulence when passing through
weather fronts.
In the wake of five accidents in
four years, the most recent of which
in August claimed four lives when
a CHC-operated Eurocopter Super
Puma crashed into the sea off the
Shetland Islands, the civil aviation
authorities of the UK and Norway
launched a review of the risks and
hazards of operating in the North
Sea and consider how these can be
managed more effectively. Capt. Bob
Jones, the UK CAAs flight operations
head, led the review along with Geir
Hamre, head of helicopter safety for
the Norwegian CAA.
In February, the results were
published, titled, Safety review of
offshore public transport helicop-
ter operations in support of the
exploitation of oil and gas. They
included recommendations heav-
ily focused on water ditching situ-
ations. The UK CAA, for example,
plans to prohibit flights in the most
severe sea conditions to improve
the chances of accident survivor
recovery. The review urged the
European Aviation Safety Agency
(EASA) to make safety and survival
training for passengers a require-
ment. And they suggested that heli-
copter operators worldwide imple-
ment lightning forecast systems.
The British Air Line Pilots
Association (BALPA), which incor-
porates professional helicopter
pilots, had criticized the planned
review when it was announced in
September, questioning the cred-
ibility of the governments regulator
to review itself. But once the find-
ings were released, BALPA general
secretary Jim McAuslan lauded
it: The CAA has recognized that
independently setting and pro-
tecting decent helicopter flight
safety standards in the North Sea
is more effective than a light touch
approach. Pilots particularly wel-
come the ban on flying in adverse
conditions and the recommenda-
tions on how the chances of surviv-
ing an incident can be improved.
The UK/Norway CAA review
scrutinized pilot training, not-
ing that 44 percent of accidents
between 1992 and 2013 were
attributable to operational causes,
the majority of which the reviewers
labeled pilot performance issues.
One area of significant weak-
ness: training/checking require-
ments are heavily biased to run-
way-based, one-engine inoperative
flight, and this does not adequately
prepare a pilot for the environment
in which the types are to be oper-
ated. Likewise, the annual license
proficiency check and six-month
operator check perpetuates this
historical focus.
Instead, training should reflect
the offshore operating environ-
ment. Some operators who input to
the review suggested an alternative
training and qualification program
that would draw on flight data
monitoring (FDM) information to
align the curriculum to real-world
line operations.
Another area of concern, which
has afflicted the commercial fixed-
wing pilot community as well, is
reliance on automation. There is a
well-recognized dichotomy affect-
ing both airplane and helicopter
operators known as automation
dependency, which affects those
who operate these highly complex
types, the review stated. BALPA
had expressed concerns about new
helicopter pilots joining the indus-
try who rely too much on auto-
mated systems, and tend to focus
on managing the systems rather
than flying the aircraft.
The CAA promised to review,
by second quarter 2014, all helicop-
ter recurrent training programs to
ensure that basic instrument flight
skills are maintained so that crews
can readily deal with manual flight
if required.
A third area of pilot training
concern is recency. Currently,
there are no explicit requirements
for pilot recency in helideck oper-
ations. The oil and gas industry
does, however, place recency con-
tractual obligations on helicopter
operators. Pilot requirements for
helideck operations are incorpo-
rated into the draft EASA require-
ments specific to offshore helicop-
ter operators.
Not surprisingly, the northeast
shore of Scotland and southwest
coast of Norway have likewise
become the axis of the helicopter
simulation world.
Airbus Helicopters (formerly
Eurocopter) installed a new Indra-
built EC225 full-flight simulator at
its new North Sea Service Center in
Aberdeen, Scotland at the worlds
busiest heliport, three years ago.
They also established a long-term
training agreement with CHC
Helicopter. Sufficient space is avail-
able to add another simulator in
the future, perhaps for the Airbus-
AVIC EC175 helicopter.
The Airbus-Indra EC225 full-
Simulation Era

motion simulator features a visual
system field-of-view of 210 degrees
horizontal and 80 degrees vertical,
including 50 degrees below the hori-
zon look down capability for search
and rescue (SAR) and night helideck
landing training. The visual database
covers one million square kilome-
ters from Scotland to Norway, and
is compatible with forward-looking
infrared (FLIR) and night vision
goggle (NVG) operations.
CAE operates a simulator in
Aberdeen for the Airbus AS332 L2
variant of the Super Puma, inher-
ited as part of its 2011 acquisition of
CHCs training operations.
Frasca International has deliv-
ered two EC225s and a Sikorsky
S-92 Level B simulator to Bristow
in Aberdeen.
Rotorsim, a joint venture of
AgustaWestland and CAE, will
install an AW189 simulator in
Aberdeen in 2015, designed spe-
cifically to support Bristow Heli-
copters and other operators. We
are excited to introduce AW189
simulator training in the United
Kingdom to support search-and-
rescue operations, said John Pon-
sonby, AgustaWestlands senior
vice president of customer support
and training.
Airbus Helicopters and CAE are
collaborating on an EC225 simula-
tor to be deployed in Stavanger,
Norway, where Montreal, Canada-
based CAE already has devices for
the AS332L/L1 and Sikorskys S-61
(also via the CHC partnership).
Airbus and its local representative,
stnes, intend to also install an
AS350 helicopter FFS at the facility.
CAE has a further presence in
Scandinavia with EC225 and Sikor-
sky S-92 simulators in Oslo, Nor-
way, and a Bell 212/412 trainer in
Stockholm, Sweden, owing to their
mid-2012 acquisition of Oxford
Aviation Academy.
In September, Sikorsky and
FlightSafety International opened
a new FlightSafety Learning Center
at Aircontact Aviation Center at the
Stavanger Airport in Sola. Bristow
Norway has signed on to train its
S-92 pilots there. The fact that our
pilots will no longer have to travel
abroad for training entails signifi-
cant efficiencies for us in terms of
reduced time-consumption and
travel costs associated with train-
ing, noted Renee de Jong, CEO of
Bristow Norway.
Flightsafety also has an S-92
simulator in Farnborough, UK.
Paris, France-based Thales is
planning a new helicopter training
center in southern Norway as well,
scheduled for the second half of
2015. The Reality H simulator may
feature training for multiple aircraft
types using roll-on/roll-off technol-
ogy which allows different cockpits
to use the same base motion and
visual systems. According to Thales
Norway CEO Glenn Pedersen,
Norwegian oil and gas helicopter
pilots operate in one of the worlds
most challenging airspaces for
rotorcraft, requiring outstanding
skills, response times, and attention
to ever-changing weather patterns.
Further afield, the oil and gas
industrys trend toward deepwa-
ter drilling further from shore is
fueling demand for longer-range,
large transport helicopters, and
the training industry is ramping
up deployments of simulators to
address demand.
FlightSafety will install a Level D
S-92 simulator in Sao Paulo, Brazil
in third quarter 2014. CAE and
joint venture partner Lider Avia-
cao are servicing S-76C++ pilots
of state-owned Petrolio Brasileiro
(Petrobas) who traverse offshore
platforms in the 350,000-square-
kilometer Santos Basin. CAE is
planning an S-92 device in Sao
Paulo, and also has a Bell 412 simu-
lator in Toluca, Mexico.
Helibras (Helicopteros do Brasil),
an Airbus-owned helicopter manu-
facturer, is building a new train-
ing center in Rio de Janeiro with a
combination simulator for the civil
EC225 and EC725 military version.
In Asia, Airbus Malaysia Train-
ing Center recently installed the
first EC225 FFS in the region. The
company also has an EC225 Level
B device in Beijing. CAE has a
new S-76C++ simulator in Zhuhai,
China, and is planning an S-92.
They will also deploy an S-92 in
Rimba, Brunei, as part of a broader
government-military-commercial
training complex.
CAE has a presence in India in a
joint venture with Hindustan Aero-
space Ltd (HAL), including AS365
Frasca Airbus Helicopters AS350 trainer. Photo courtesy of Frasca
N3 Dauphin, Bell 412, and HAL
Dhruv simulators in Bengaluru. In
Dubai, CAE offers a Bell 412 device
at its JV with Emirates.
The AgustaWestl and-CAE
Rotorsim collaboration, which
began in 2001, features simulators
for several models at a relatively new
training academy and support cen-
ter in the historic old SIAI Marchetti
plant in Sesto Calende, Italy, north
of Milan. Simulators for the A109E,
Nexus, and Power variants are avail-
able, as well as AW139 and AW189.
The joint venture has further
AW139 capability in Morristown,
N.J., near New York City. The part-
ners have discussed AW169 and
AW189 training in North America.
AgustaWestland is also expand-
ing its global network of authorized
training centers with AW109 train-
ing in Zurich, Switzerland and
AW139 courses in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia. A joint venture with
Mubadala Aerospace intends to
launch AW139 training in Abu
Dhabi this year.
FlightSafety dominates the U.S.
Gulf Coast and corporate helicopter
markets with its training centers
in Lafayette, La., West Palm Beach,
Fla. and Dallas, Texas. At Lafayette:
AW139, Bell 206, Bell 407, S-76C+/
C++, and a new Sikorsky S-92 Level
D qualified simulator by Q3 with
the new Vital 1100 visual system and
Crewview glass mirror display. At
West Palm: S-70, S-76C/C++, and a
new S-76D. In Dallas: a new EC135
in April with Garmin avionics suite,
Bell 212, Bell 412, Bell 430 (close to
Bell Helicopters Fort Worth head-
quarters), S-76B, and in 2014 a new
NVG-capable Bell 212/412EP Level
D full flight simulator.
In Shreveport, La., FlightSafety
installed a Level 7 AS350 flight
training device in November at
Metro Aviations center. The high-
end FTD includes night vision
goggle (NVG) and inadvertent
instrument meteorological condi-
tions (IMC) training.
Airbus Helicopters plans a Level
D EC175 FFS by 2016 at a location
to be identified in North America,
citing the rotorcrafts introduction
in the Gulf of Mexico.
Frasca will be delivering a 407
GX FFS to the Bell Training Acad-
emy in Alliance, Texas.
The proliferation of new-tech-
nology simulators, which is in its
relative infancy, should pay off
with improved flying skills and
situational awareness in the com-
ing years, traits the civil helicopter
needs to help reduce the accident
and incident rate.
Several decades after the air-
line industry embraced high-end
simulation for the bulk of pilot
training, its difficult to understand
why theres a need for the U.S.
National Transportation Safety
Board (NTSB) to issue a Safety
Through Helicopter Simulators
alert but it is. Far too much train-
ing is still done in the aircraft, and
one-quarter of helicopter accidents
occur during the training phase.
FAA issued new rules in Febru-
ary, among them a requirement
that pilots are tested to handle flat-
light, whiteout, and brownout con-
ditions, as well as and demonstrate
competency in recovery from inad-
vertent IMC. The agency will also
require that aircraft be equipped
with a flight data monitoring sys-
tem by 2018, and (in what seems a
no-brainer) the FAA wants pilots to
identify and document the highest
obstacle along their planned flight
path before departure.
Coming sometime over the next
few years is the expected implemen-
tation by various national aviation
authorities, such as FAA, EASA,
and others, of new helicopter flight
simulation training device (FSTD)
guidelines published last year by
ICAO. Unfortunately, ICAOs role
is only advisory, and it is up to each
NAA to work the often excruciat-
ingly slow process to convert the
guidance into regulation.
The International Helicopter
Safety Team (IHST) says that from
1997 thru 2005, the average num-
ber of annual civil helicopter acci-
dents worldwide was trending
upward at a rate of 2.5 percent.
Since 2006, the average has been
trending downward at about 2
percent. Thats good, but no one
considers it good enough.
AgustaWestland flat panel trainer. Photo by Rick Adams
COMMERCIAL | PRODUCTS
By Andrew Drwiega,
International Bureau Chief
A
gust aWestl and CEO
Daniele Romiti wants
to keep the speed of
the company at the
highest value possible but like
when you drive a car, if you start
exceeding its performance, then
there must be a safety device to
ensure you do not lose control.
We have to ensure that we have
the ability to keep the company
safe. Romiti made the remarks
while explaining the need to bal-
ance innovation and the need to
cooperate with other industries
on the world stage, while provid-
ing increased customer service
and support. We have a compli-
ance officer to monitor ongoing
our relationships. We want to be a
responsible company, he adds.
At the beginning of the 1990s,
Romiti was part of a team that
looked into the future to plan
where the company was heading.
They foresaw competition that
was beginning to rise from coun-
tries that were looking to increase
their own industrial capability to
become players in the aerospace
sector. Their ambition was not
just to complete and assemble
their own orders, but to grasp a
slice of the technology cake and
create their own competencies
that could be sold into the interna-
tional market.
We put all our effort into keep-
ing control of the jewels of the
family dynamic components,
avionics, integration and this
was the core of the company,
reveals Romiti. Every time some-
one wants some of this technology
then our aim is to keep a step ahead
In the second of a two-part feature
from AgustaWestlands home in
northern Italy, the companys attitude toward
world markets is examined, along with the
importance of introducing technology to improve
responsiveness and availability to the customer.
AgustaWestland Visit
in what we have. For example, the
new generation of gearboxes is not
similar to the old ones, so I may
accept to offer the old technology
outside the company as part of a
larger agreement. In this way, he
explains, AgustaWestland can
incorporate the lessons learned
from correcting mistakes made in
previous systems, or simply add
in a new generation of design or
aspect of manufacture that allows
the company to retain and protect
its position as a knowledge owner
for future developments.
You cant always apply the 50
minute run dry capability [as in
the AW189] across all the existing
gearboxes, but knowing the ingre-
dients to shape the architecture is
the key factor for future transmis-
sion development. You may take
pictures of it but you still cant repli-
cate how it works, he said.
Roberto Garavaglia, senior vice
president of strategy and business
development, is quite certain of
the companys corporate technol-
ogy plan. There are a number of
technologies being explored with
the idea of fielding them over time.
If it is an airframe technology it is
something we would mature; if it is
a technology component or a piece
of a sub-system we can make agree-
ments with others.
Emphasizing Romitis earlier
point, Garavaglia notes: We see a
growing number of countries who
have an appetite to create their
own technologies. Up to 20 years
ago they simply bought something
sophisticated now they buy and
have a share [in the technology].
The value chain has been split
we all [OEMs] now have differ-
ent approaches. The U.S. is more
restricted because of their activities
in military markets, although the
civilian sector is marginal in the
composition of their revenues. In
Europe we cannot sustain the size
we are through military sales so we
need growth in the civil market,
together with support and train-
ing. But even in support you will
compete with other players the
battlefield changes in terms of
actors [in each sector].
The growth for AgustaWestland
is clearly going to come from the
continued enlargement of the civil
market, particularly with the fam-
ily approach to operators gathering
momentum. He acknowledges the
strengthening of the energy sector
and is also aware of the numbers of
aircraft in the replacement market:
We are second [in terms of civilian
aircraft sold] and can grow further.
Although all of the OEMs have
experienced a decline in potential
military sales Garavaglia says the
business is solid and that mili-
tary operators have moved from
modularity of inventory to capa-
bility. While there may be fewer
helicopters in number, he considers
that there is a longer value chain of
services associated with increased
capability. We can also penetrate
into training which adds to that
value chain.
In terms of both the military and
civil markets, Garvavalia states that
it is no longer about just delivering
airframes. We will grow less from
big contracts, but more though our
wider ability to serve our custom-
ers, he concludes.
In terms of international coop-
eration, one of the most significant
is the joint-venture agreement with
Russian Helicopters over Heli-Vert,
the organization that will assemble
the AW139 helicopter for the Rus-
sian and CIS markets. Russian
Helicopters comes from a different
culture. They are very good build-
ers of helicopters but are cultur-
ally different to the attitude of the
west and the U.S. approach, said
Garavaglia. Russia has tradition-
ally been more driven by military
requirements and folding back into
civil as needed. They can have very
long prototype lives. We have much
respect for their different approach
and helicopter manufacture is part
of their culture.
At the end of January, HeliVert
gained a Certificate of Approval
from the Aviation Register of the
Interstate Aviation Committee (AR
IAC) allowing it to begin produc-
tion of the AW139 as a commercial
helicopter. The certificate is valid
for two years.
Russian Helicopters CEO Alex-
ander Mikheev stated that the
AgustaWestlands booth at Heli-Expo 2014.
Photo by Frank Lombardi
COMMERCIAL | PRODUCTS
HeliVert project has enabled us
to create one of the most modern
and high-tech production facilities
in Russia, referring to the Tomilino
plant near Moscow.
The success of the AW139 and
the establishment of HeliVert has
allowed AgustaWestland access
into a market that ripe for this
medium twin helicopter. Romiti
said that the expansion of the cus-
tomer base into this new region
with its own operating challeng-
es would ultimately benefit all
AW139 operators.
The first Tomilino-produced
AW139 flew in December 2012,
one of the first five built after
the initial AR IAC audit in May
of that year. The second audit,
conducted in November 2013,
resulted in the approval for com-
mercial production.
A joint venture in China with
the Chinese Aviation Industry
Corporation (AVIC II) has also
been established in the form of
Jiangxi Change Agusta Helicopter
(CAH). This aims to license the
production, sale and support of
the AW109 Power for the Chinese
commercial market. However, the
slowly evolving legislation to open
up airspace and allow the interna-
tional helicopter community to up
gears on this potentially huge mar-
ket has been frustrating. We have
a joint venture but we are in a wait
and see situation, Romiti observes.
Think Customer and
Training
Apart from designing new air-
craft, AgustaWestland is grasping
technology in a variety of different
ways; from training though logis-
tics support and on to its direct
interaction with its customers.
At the Training Academy Aes-
sandro Marchetti, Rotorsim cus-
tomer training manager Michele
Sorice explained that the vision
is to establish the worlds premier
training facility for AgustaWestland
aircraft. The training and simulator
facility at Sesto Calende can trace a
history of pilot training back to the
mid 1960s and even further back
to the beginnings of SIAI (Societa
Italiana Aeroplani ed Idrovolanti
the original seaplane company).
However now Rotorsim, a co-
development company between
AgustaWestland and CAE, is devel-
oping Level D full flight simu-
lator (FFS) for the new range of
AgustaWestland helicopters.
With a CAE Series 3000 AW189
simulator already in place, as well as
the AW139 simulator, during Heli-
Expo AgustaWestland announced
that they would be joined by a
similar Series 3000 FFS AW169
simulator that would be available
by mid-2015. In addition, a second
AW189 simulator would be pur-
chased and located in Aberdeen to
serve the UKs Search and Rescue
helicopter crews.
But the depth of pilot and main-
tenance training at Sesto Calende
is impressive. Operators of the
AW189 can train their employees
on a virtual maintenance trainer,
ground maintenance trainer, vitu-
al interactive procedural trainer,
flight training device and of course
the full motion FFS. The detail of
the virtual maintenance trainer is
particularly proactive, allowing the
trainee to open maintenance bays,
plug and unplug items that they
would do on the real aircraft, but all
in a virtual environment.
Alongside the physical training
aircraft, whether it is an AW189
or AW109, instructors or students
can use the electronic board that is
AW139 training maintenance simulator. Photo courtesy of AgustaWestland
AgustaWestland Visit
the Multimedia Interactive Main-
tenance Environment for Training
(MIMET). This board provides
students with immediate access
to coursewear, technical publica-
tions and other information as they
stand beside the aircraft.
AgustaWestland has also been
designing training scenarios to
run on its 3000 Series simulators.
Through four different Visual
Databases (VDBs) urban and
mountain (summer and winter),
Caribbean area and desert area
there will be four types of mission
for various user profiles. These
include: HEMS mission; police
chase; battlefield, search and res-
cue; and oil rig operations.
The logistics and distribution
center at Lonate Pozzolo is one
of three around the world the
other two being in Yeovil, UK and
in Philadelphia, Pa. The centers are
in continuous operation with three
shifts working 24/7. Alessandro
Baricci, vice president of customer
support and services said that the
real impact in the way AgustaWest-
land addressed logistics came with
the success of the AW139. That
changed our perspective on how
to serve the market. The growth of
the product has been so impressive
over the last six years, he said.
At the time of Rotor & Wings
visit, the average closing time on a
customer service requirement was
24.78 hours. He said the ambition
was to ship to customers within
24 hours, but delivery times still
depended on the type of product
being shipped and the country the
receiver was based in. Baricci said
that they were achieving a 92.5
percent delivery of goods within
72 hours. However, that could slow
significantly if the part was a fire
extinguisher or bottle of air for a life
raft to cite a couple of examples.
The center breaks its track-
ing down to items sent within 24
hours, up to 72 hours and then over
72 hours. Some customers are
served within a few hours, others
take longer.
Leonardo Whats in
a Name?
Another technology upgrade can
be seen in the newly launched
Leonardo customer portal, revealed
at this years Heli-Expo, which is the
next step forward from the MyFleet
web application. Designed with the
participation of customers, it is
intended to allow operators to cre-
ate online profiles of all users from
the same organization.
It has several access areas with
several features that include: a
f low of documents published
by AgustaWestland; a Myprofile
area for customers to manage and
update their details; a Myfleet
option where customers list their
helicopters and can access rel-
evant information on them from
AgustaWestlands database; and
Mycommunications, which lets
customers create service requests
directly into the companys SAP
Customer Relationship Manage-
ment (CRM) system, then monitor
the progress of the request through
a tracking number including tech-
nical queries, support requests,
warranty claims and other reports
and job requests.
John Ponsonby, senior vice
president, customer training and
support said that the Leonardo
portal offered a wider range of
web-based services which should
del iver faster response times
and quicker solutions. Further
enhancements including e-com-
merce options are expected dur-
ing the coming year.
Screens at AgustaWestlands facility in Italy. Photo by Andrew Drwiega
SERVICES | AVIONICS
GPS Approach
Need One? G
GPS Approaches
The digital electronic world has flooded
the market with countless types of
smart devices which rely on small GPS
receivers to do an ever-increasing list
of location-based tasks.
ch:
? Get One!
By Frank Lombardi,
Technology Editor
P
eek into the cockpit of
any aircraft on the ramp
today, and you will be
hard-pressed to find one
whose panel does not contain a
GPS, the common reference to
global positioning system.
At a time seemingly not long
ago, GPS was a new device that, to
the pilots on the front end, was not
much different than the terrestrial-
based LORAN navigation systems
they were replacing.
But as the sun rises on airports
all over the globe these days, the
digital electronic world has flooded
the market with countless types
of smart devices which rely on
small GPS receivers to do an ever-
increasing list of location-based
tasks, such as geo-tagging the
location at which you snapped
some photos, finding the nearest
coffee shop, helping you find your
car, your spouse, or even just keep-
ing really accurate time. Oh how far
weve come.
With all the new uses that
advances in GPS technology have
given us, its easy to overlook the
fact that we also have improved the
ability to navigate from point A to
point B in the safest most accurate
manner ever possible.
What GPS Is
The Global Positioning System
is a constellation of 24 satellites
placed in orbit around the Earth
at an altitude of approximately
12,000 miles, and a world-wide
network of ground facilities that
track the GPS satellites, monitor
their transmissions, correct errors,
and send commands and data to
the constellation.
It was put in place by the U.S.
Department of Defense in the 1980s
Garmin booth at Heli-Expo 2014. Photo by Frank Lombardi
SERVICES | AVIONICS
for military purposes, but eventu-
ally was made available for public
use. From their precise orbits, GPS
satellites circle the globe twice a day
and transmit signal information to
Earth. The satellites contain very
accurate atomic clocks.
Essentially, the GPS receiver
compares the time a signal was
transmitted by a satellite with the
time it was received. This time
difference tells the GPS receiver
how far away the satellite is. The
GPS receiver needs to be locked
onto at least three satellites to
calculate the two-dimensional
position of latitude and longitude,
and track movement. Locking
onto four or more satellites allows
the receiver to calculate the third
dimension of altitude.
In 2000, the government
turned off what they termed
Selective Availability, which was
a Department of Defense inten-
tional degradation of the GPS
signal designed to thwart potential
military adversaries. This greatly
improved the accuracy of the GPS
signal to its current average of
about 15 meters.
What GPS is NOT
GPS receivers are passive. They do
not transmit signals. While GPS
receivers may contain a database
of obstructions, they do not pro-
vide standalone ground proximity
warning (GPWS) or terrain aware-
ness (TAWS). These awareness
systems use GPS location data
along with their own database to
look ahead of the aircraft and warn
the pilot of impending impact with
the ground.
Avoiding controlled flight into
terrain (CFIT) is still the pilots job
and remains as such regardless
of any of these systems.
GPS and WAAS
As if the accuracy of standard
GPS isnt impressive enough, the
advent of the Wide Area Aug-
mentation System, or WAAS,
improves on the current accuracy
by about five-fold. Whereas basic
GPS gets you within 15 meters of
accuracy, WAAS brings that num-
ber to within 3-5 meters. It accom-
plishes this by doing even more
error correction of atmospheric
disturbances via multiple ground
stations with very precise known
locations. These corrections are
sent via ground to a WAAS master
station, where they are beamed to
two geostationary satellites over
the equator, which in turn send the
more accurate position updates to
GPS WAAS receivers.
So WAAS the Big
Deal, You Say?
Ok, so that wasnt very funny. But
neither is the seriousness of flight
in Instrument Meteorological
Conditions (IMC). The ability to
operate under instrument flight
rules (IFR) is the mainstay of the
U.S. National Airspace System. For
years, the system has seemed to
cater to aircraft of the fixed-wing
variety. There are literally thou-
sands of departure, enroute, and
instrument approach procedures
designed for airplanes that are
flown by helicopters. Although
this has continued to work as
helicopters gain ground in the
world of instrument flight, the
true advantages of the helicopter
as an IFR platform are only begin-
ning to be realized. WAAS will
surely change all that.
Instrument approaches are
usually grouped into one of two
categories: precision and non-
precision.
The precision approach is one
that incorporates vertical guid-
ance as well as lateral. The tradi-
tional non-precision approach
offers only lateral guidance via a
VOR, NDB, or DME, and without
the vertical portion, is accom-
plished with a step-down proce-
dure, beginning from the Final
Approach Fix, and halting at a
Minimum Descent Altitude, flown
to the Missed Approach Point.
Pilots like to call this approach
the dive and drive technique.
Because of the inaccuracy and
length of time exposed to low alti-
tudes, the possibility of controlled
flight into terrain is increased, and
so the Minimum Descent Alti-
tudes of non-precision approaches
are decidedly higher than preci-
sion approaches. The lowest non-
precision approaches terminate at
about 500 feet AGL.
For years, the Instrument Land-
ing System (ILS) has been the most
recognized method of providing a
precision approach procedure to
an airport. Its sensitive electronics
can bring an aircraft down a sloped
path, providing obstacle clearance
while tracking the localizer and
glideslope, and terminate at a Deci-
sion Height (DH) of as low as 200
feet AGL.
A key point here is that these
forms of instrument approaches all
rely on ground-based equipment
and infrastructure to operate. This
makes them expensive, inconve-
nient, or impossible to incorporate
at locations suited specifically for
helicopter operation, such as hos-
pitals, government facilities, or
private helipads.
GPS Approaches
Enter the GPS WAAS
Approach
GPS approaches have redefined
what can be an acceptable loca-
tion for the development of an
approach procedure. With GPS
being essentially space-based,
there is no equipment or infra-
structure to contend with at the
intended site. And while stan-
dard GPS can be used only for
supplemental navigation if used
on a precision ILS approach or fly
non-precision approaches down
to basic non-precision minimums
on a GPS (LNAV) approach,
WAAS accuracy makes your GPS
a primary navigational instru-
ment not just a supplemental
source like approved non-WAAS
GPS receivers.
WAAS approaches have
Localizer Performance with Ver-
tical Guidance, hence their acro-
nym LPV. They have the ability
to take an aircraft down to a DH
of 200 feet AGL, along a sloping
path as a typical ILS system can,
but with essentially nothing more
than a WAAS-enabled GPS in
your aircraft.
The implications to helicopter
operators are huge. No one knows
this better than Steve Hickock, of
Hickock and Associates. He has
been developing IFR procedures for
helicopters for over 20 years. Hick-
ock reviewed some of his accom-
plishments, which include: initiat-
ing the first GPS approach to be
approved by FAA, developing the
first helicopter GPS airspace sys-
tem, developing the first approved
helicopter GPS departure, and
developing the first WAAS LPV
procedures. Not surprisingly, Hick-
ock was the first FAA-approved
non-federal developer.
Hickock said that the pri-
mary impetus for developing
helicopter instrument approach
and departure procedures is to
increase safety, especially in the
enroute phase, with an empha-
sis on eliminating CFIT. But an
ancillary benefit is that having an
approved LPV approach allows
operators to recover some of the
costs of their operation.
IFR helicopters are expensive
to maintain, not to mention the
cost of keeping their IFR pilots
current. An operator who has to
turn down flights because they
have no instrument procedure
at all, or just a non-precision
LNAV procedure with higher
minimums, is losing revenue.
So How Do You Get
One?
There are many challenges to
overcome if youd like to have a
custom-made approach set up at
your location. By far the easiest
route to take would be to contact
a service provider such as Hick-
ock and Associates, who would
discuss the feasibility, all your
options, and guide you through
all the steps necessary. They con-
fidently claim to be the only true
sole-source 100 percent turnkey
provider of helicopter instrument
procedures.
No matter who you seek out
to design your approach, it will
most certai nl y have to begi n
with an on-site evaluation. Data
col l ecti on on obst acl es and
heliport evaluation will affect
the design of the approach and
your options. Flight validation
and flight inspections must be
carried out, basic maintenance
should be anticipated, and final
approach charts and procedures
are drawn up.
According to Hickock, plan on
it taking an average overall of one
year to develop and approve a GPS
LPV approach to your private heli-
pad or facility.
With the advent of NextGen
and automatic dependent sur-
veillance-broadcast (ADS-B) air-
space system changes, a WAAS-
enabled GPS will be part of the
mandatory equipment required
to provide ADS-B out informa-
tion to ATC. Although WAAS
only exists in North America at
this point in time, it seems that
with the widespread success and
future implementation of WAAS
in every cockpit, there is no bet-
ter time than the present to take
advantage and have a GPS LPV
approach designed which you can
call your own.
The primary impetus
for developing helicopter
instrument approach and
departure procedures is to
increase safety, especially in
the enroute phase, with an
emphasis on eliminating CFIT.
Expanding Bidders List: With the
market pickup up worldwide, there
may be more helicopter simulator
suppliers than you think.
By Rick Adams
A
fter a long lean period when high-end Level D full-
flight simulators were out of reach of most operators
budgets and low-end broomstick and a bucket limit-
ed-capability flight training devices seemed the norm,
helicopter training equipment is now every bit as sophisticated
as that used for airline pilot training, if not moreso, particularly
the new visual systems and motion/vibration platforms.
ESSENTIAL EQUIPMENT:
FTDs and Heliport
Lighting
CAE 3000 Series. Photo courtesy of CAE
PRODUCTS | SERVICES
The two dominant helicop-
ter training companies, both in
terms of simulator manufacturing
and independent training centers,
are FlightSafety International and
CAE. Theyre not the only game in
town, however.
The latest enhancements to
FlightSafetys current helicopter
simulators include the Vital 1100
visual image generation system
with an increased level of fidelity,
particularly in near-ground areas
with enhanced effects such as rotor
wash and wave actions, according
to Steve Phillips, vice president of
communications.
To display the new high-resolu-
tion graphics, which FlightSafety
says are five times as powerful as
the previous generation, the com-
pany has opted for a glass mirror
known as Crewview.
At 310 degrees, its the widest
horizontal field-of-view on the
market. The expanded field of
view eliminates edge distortions
common in legacy soft-film [mylar]
display systems.
This allows pilots to train with
virtually the same out-the-window
view in the simulator as the heli-
copter, Phillips says.
In addition to Level D full-flight
simulators, FlightSafety produc-
es Matrix flight training devices,
computer-based training, distance-
learning, and the gamut of solu-
tions for a turnkey solution.
CAEs 3000 Series full-flight
simulator product was designed
specifically for the helicopter mar-
ket with large, direct projection
domes and all-electric cueing,
says Peter Cobb, global operations
leader for helicopter training. The
use of common motion, vibra-
tion, and visual systems across the
range of civil helicopters we simu-
late, along with the possibility of
using multiple helicopter cockpits
using just one platform, helps keep
both acquisition and operating
costs down.
CAEs visual display is a direct-
view dome, 10 feet in diameter for
small and mid-size helicopters and
12 feet for larger aircraft. The com-
pany launched its third-genera-
tion image system, Tropos-6000,
in 2011. CAEs Simfinity line of flat-
panel displays complements and
uses much the same software as the
Level D FFS.
High-End Players
Other manufacturers capable
of producing high-end Level D
and Level B full-motion simula-
tors include Indra (Spain), Thales
(France), and Frasca (U.S.).
Indra is one of the top technol-
ogy companies based in Europe,
operating in more than 120 coun-
tries and with over 40,000 employ-
ees. They leverage their work in the
defense sector (as do Flightsafety,
CAE, Thales, and others) into the
civil helicopter training business.
Indra has been most closely associ-
ated with Airbus Helicopters (for-
merly Eurocopter), producing FFSs
for the AS350, EC225, and EC175
in recent years.
Thales has three training cen-
ter projects in the works: with
SAF in Albertville in Frances Alps,
in Norway with an undisclosed
partner, and an FFS in China with
a local partner. Spokesperson
Joshua Valanzuolo notes that Thal-
es offers comprehensive training
solutions, such as full mission
preparation and rehearsal across
many areas, including oil and gas,
search-and-rescue, firefighting,
mountain flying, night flying, and
urban security.
Frasca, which sometimes gets
tagged with a low-end label for
having produced thousands of
desktop and flight training devices,
also has a range of capabilities up
to Level D. Randy Gawenda points
out that the central Illinois, family-
run company built its first helicop-
ter simulation device more than
40 years ago. One rare capability:
We can plan and implement our
own flight test program to design,
deliver, and qualify a very highly
accurate simulator.
Rockwell Collins produces one
of the industrys leading image gen-
erators, the EP-8000, widely used in
commercial aviation training, and
they have created military helicop-
ter flight simulators; however, they
do not seem to be pursing the civil
helicopter simulator space at this
time.
Special Purpose
FlyIt, a small American company
(Carlsbad, Calif.) has shipped over
120 Professional Helicopter Simu-
lators (PHS) to 26 countries, focus-
ing on light helicopters such as the
AS350 B2 and Bell 407. Compared
to several million dollars for a
Level D device, their generic avia-
tion training device (ATD) costs as
low as $150,000 and a cockpit-spe-
cific model still under a million.
Chairman Terry Simpkins claims
FlyIts PHS is the only ATD ever
authorized for 7.5 hours of hover
training and that the student is
able to hover the real helicopter in
1.5 to 2 hours.
Environmental Tectonics Cor-
poration (ETC) of Southamp-
ton, Pa., offers computer-based
systems, basic, and procedur-
al trainers, but is perhaps best
known for spatial disorientation
devices and scenarios, enabling
aircrew to experience a full range
of motioned-based SD illusions.
Another name youll occasion-
ally see on a bidders list is Cuesim
(Oakley, UK). Theyve produced
a mix of trainers for military and
civil customers, mostly Level A, B,
and Level 3 multi-crew coordina-
tion devices.
Essential Equipment
T
he drive to ensure that
safety remains uppermost
in the minds of helicop-
ter operators becomes
ever more challenging when the
industry continues to expand
into relatively new international
market sectors. When operators
are involved in challenging mis-
sions where their capabilities are
often pushed towards extremes,
particularly in those new and/or
developing markets, safety prac-
tices reach out beyond the actual
aircraft and many of the new inte-
grated systems such as HUMS
and on-board cameras.
There is a recognized steady
growth around the worl d i n
the HEMS market. This is now
spreading beyond traditional
operators into countries with rela-
tively modest services or, in fact,
those wishing to launch their first
HEMS operations. One of the
major problems in such countries
is often the lack of infrastructure
and it particular helicopter landing
zones away from recognized air-
fields. One of the biggest dangers
to any HEMS operator is landing
a helicopter in an unfamiliar loca-
tion, especially away from helipads
in the case of medical emergency
crews and those specializing in air
rescue. This also applies to certain
industry sectors, such as mining,
where locations are often remote
and away from ambient lighting.
As Fraser MacKay, director FEC
Heliports Worldwide, explains:
Helipads are small and compact
and can be surrounded by poten-
tial obstacles. It is here that good
lighting in particular can be effec-
tive, particularly flashing beacons
that can attract the pilots attention
from a distance.
Portable systems can now pro-
vide a quick and effective solution,
particularly for temporary landing
zones. FEC Heliports has devel-
oped its own portable system that
can be deployed from a briefcase.
There are up to eight lights in a
case and MacKay says that two
cases would provide sufficient
units for any emergency helipad.
Each light features white, green
and blue lights together with an
infrared (IR) capability. Both visible
and IR lighting can be switched on
at the same time. The use of NVG
seems to be increasing leading to
a greater demand for NVG visible
lights, MacKay said.
Other portable lighting sys-
tems include that from Aerolight-
ing Switzerland. It comprises six
LED omnidirectional lights that
are powered by built-in batter-
ies. There is an option of 14-hour
operation with 100 percent inten-
sity or a longer duration of 40 hours
with 30 percent intensity. Although
military use of NVGs is common
among leading air forces around
the world, use in the civil com-
munity is still patchy. MacKay has
noticed that in the UK there is an
increasing need for HEMS opera-
tors to fly at night. He said that this
would have an effect on the need
for equipment and training for air-
crew and ground support.
Australia-based Avlite has devel-
oped products for both the military
and commercial markets. Standard
incandescent lighting is visible to
NVG wearers though the heat that
they emit, but any location that has
changed to LED lighting will see a
problem due to the lack of heat in
these lights. LED lighting produces
no significant heat signature and
Heliport and Portable Lighting
Avlite helipad lighting. Courtesy of Avlite
Heliport Lighting Companies
Aerolighting Switzerland http://www.aerolighting.ch/j/
Astronics Corporation www.astronics.com
Avlite Systems www.avlite.com
DeVore Aviation Corporation www.devoreaviation.com
Downing Heliport Systems www.downingheliport.com
FEC Heliports www.fecheliports.com
Flight Light Inc www.heliportlighting.com
Holland Aviation www.hollandaviation.com
Point Lighting Corporation www.pointlighting.com
PRODUCTS | SERVICES
emits colored light at a single wave-
length which is typically outside
the NVG reception range, explains
Tara Steward, head of global sales at
Avlite. LED lighting not only reduc-
es power consumption against that
of incandescent lamps, it also has a
much longer lifespan.
Reduced power requirements
have led to the adoption of renew-
able energy alternatives, states
Stewart, adding that solar power is
available for both permanent and
portable systems, although there
are a range of power options.
One of the most di f f i cul t
aspects of owning a heliport is to
keep abreast of regulatory devel-
opments.
With manufacturers common-
ly having to be aware of any chang-
es, says Stewart, lighting OEMs
will ensure that their customers
retain product compliance and
will ensure that installations that
feature their product are kept up
to the regulatory standard set by
bodies such as ICAO or FAA.
In June l ast year, RACQ
Careflight Rescue opened a helipad
landing site (HLS) at Toowoomba
in southern Queensland. The heli-
pads construction included Avlites
solar powered flood lights (white
light with an adjustable head to
vary the lighting across the helipad
when needed) and bordered by
ICAO compliant green solar pow-
ered perimeter lights.
Ashley van de Velde, CEO
CareFlight Group Queensland,
stated that the lighting would
further enhance the safety of the
HEMS operation, which would
lead to improved service delivery to
the local community.
According to MacKay, products
such as FECs digital Remote Light-
ing Controller (RLC) integrate tra-
ditional VHF PCL with SMS con-
trol and monitoring. More remote
heliports may be operated on an on
demand basis, adds Stewart. Avlites
solar heliport lighting system offers
wireless monitoring of individual
fixtures and other elements such as
Heliport Approach Path Indicators
(HAPI) and Windcones. But flood-
lights around a helipad can have
their downside, particularly on a
small helipad: There is growing
recognition that there are some-
times conflicting requirements for
pilot oriented verses passenger/
ground staff lighting floodlights
to help the latter can blind the for-
mer. So planning illumination for
any helipad needs careful consider-
ation. By Andrew Drwiega
Powered by
Aviation Professionals Network has been created
to bring together aviation insiders across all aspects of
the industry including commercial, corporate, private
and military sectors.
Make connections, share your expertise,
search career opportunities and industry events.
Where insiders go
to get the know.
Join today at
www.avpronet.com
14688
Essential Equipment
TRAINING | SMS
By Keith Cianfrani
S
afety Management Sys-
tem (SMS) i s the new
standard of safety man-
agement programs that
has officially been approved by
the FAA for use in aviation opera-
tions. Right now, its use is manda-
tory for Part 121 air carriers but
for the rotary wing community it
is voluntary and recommended
but not mandatory.
FAA Advisory Circular 120-
92A provides a framework for SMS
development by aviation service
providers. It contains a uniform set
of expectations that align with the
structure and format of the Inter-
national Civil Aviation Organiza-
Implementing a Safety Management System into an
organization, large or small, will help save lives and resources.
SMS Success
tion (ICAO) SMS Manual and FAA
Safety Policy.
SMS is a risk management pro-
cess that many military services
used effectively for years, but may
have called it by a different name.
There are a few differences with the
military program but the basis of
indentifying hazards and taking the
appropriate action to mitigate these
hazards remains the same. SMS is
divided into four building blocks or
Pillars and are essential for a safe-
ty-oriented management system.
They are Safety Policy, Safety Risk
Management, Safety Assurance
and Safety Promotion.
First, lets look at Safety Policy.
This establishes senior manage-
ments commitment to continu-
ally improve safety, it defines the
methods, processes, and organi-
zational structure needed to set
standards and meet safety goals.
Its design expectations are to
continually improve the level of
safety, comply with applicable
regulatory requirements, estab-
lish clear standards for accept-
able operational behavior for all
employees, identifies responsibil-
ity and accountability of manage-
ment and employees with respect
to safety performance. It also
requires the appointment of key
safety personnel. Finally, it also
must include a commitment to
encourage employees to report
safety issues without reprisal.
Next, Safety Risk Manage-
ment determines the need for and
adequacy of new or revised risk
controls based on the assessment
of acceptable risk. Its a formal sys-
tem of hazard identification and
is essential in controlling risk to
acceptable levels. It works together
with Safety Assurance, which eval-
uates the continued effectiveness of
implemented risk control strategies
and supports the identification of
new hazards. It strives to continu-
ally improve the SMS process.
Fi nal l y, Safety Promoti on
includes training, communica-
tion and other actions to create a
positive safety culture within all
levels of the workforce. It assesses
climate, evaluates training and
observes communication. It re-
emphasizes the top down bottom
up safety module.
SMS has four levels of imple-
mentation. Level One begins
when a service providers top
management commits to provid-
ing the resources necessary for
full implementation through-
out the organization. Level Two
specifies that the service provider
develop and implement a basic
Safety Risk Management (SRM)
process and plan, organize and
prepare the organization for fur-
ther SMS development.
Level Three promotes proac-
tive processes and incorporates
a fully-functioning SMS compo-
nent. It involves careful analysis
of systems and tasks involved
such as identification of potential
hazards in these functions, and
development of risk controls.
Level Four involves continuous
i mprovement and conti nued
assurance. Processes are in place
and their performance effective-
ness has been verified. This is the
final level of SMS maturity.
At the recent HAI Heli-Expo
i n Anahei m, Cal i f. , SMS was
presented in many of the Rotor
Safety Challenge sessions and
there were several SMS courses
conducted by contracted ven-
dors. The Squadron was one of
these companies teaching applied
risk management and facilitation
of a safety culture and awareness
into various organizations. Other
SMS sessions were directed at
small fleet or private operators.
The SMS function does not
need to be extensive or complex to
be effective. Smaller organizations
may use a paper log to document
safety issues and paper system or
simple spreadsheet or to track them
to resolution. Also, in smaller orga-
nizations the owner and company
leadership may elect to conduct
internal audits and internal func-
tions themselves in conjunction
with the management review func-
tion. It is these smaller organiza-

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University booth
at Heli-Expo 2014. Photo by Frank Lombardi
TRAINING | SMS
tions that I believe the focus needs
to be on. A recent HAI survey
indicated that 43 percent of small
operators or private owners are not
using any type of risk assessment
tool in their operations. To me, this
was quite alarming considering the
availability of safety programs in
the industry today.
Internal evaluation and man-
agement reviews may consist of
periodic conferences between busi-
ness owners or top management
and other employees to review
information and to track progress
toward resolution. An integral part
of SMS to identify risks and hazards
are gathered by internal or external
audits, incident investigations, and
employee reporting systems. After
this information is gathered it is
analyzed and assessed.
A larger organization may need
more sophisticated resources such
as web-based data systems and
trained safety personnel to manage
the details and a more formal com-
mittee system to accomplish the
same functions. Implementing an
SMS program from an operators
perspective involves a commit-
ment from all involved. It involves
much work, but its necessary to
establish a good safety management
program. First, a draft SMS imple-
mentation plan must be developed
then the costs need to be identi-
fied, followed by a funding plan
and approval by the accountable
executive. An SMS organizational
structure must also be in place
and includes a safety office, safety
manager, safety review boards and
safety action groups.
Why do some pilots not buy
into the SMS program? I believe
there is no safety culture mentor-
ship practiced when a young stu-
dent pilot is receiving flight instruc-
tion. Mainly because many new
flight instructors are conducting
the training and they do not have a
safety culture established yet. Certi-
fied flight instructors (CFIs) are the
closest link to the development of
pilots in training.
Bringing forward an SMS or
Personal Risk Management sys-
tem will prepare pilots to apply
industry best practices in safety
throughout a flying career. With all
the information about SMS avail-
able today, adding SMS instruc-
tion to a pilot in training may seem
overwhelming but it doesnt
have to be, and the CFIs respon-
sibility is to train and produce safe
pilots. The U.S. Helicopter Safety
Team (USHST) has recently pub-
lished a document to aid CFIs with
SMS. This document explains how
to bring SMS Risk Management to
the training of all pilots, ab initio to
advanced levels.
Another issue is that some
smaller operators do not fully
understand SMS and how it they
can benefit from it. However, I
was glad to see Heli-Expo attend-
ees from various aviation orga-
nizations such as the oil and gas
industry, law enforcement, other
government agencies, utility orga-
nizations and helicopter opera-
tors with less than five aircraft
participating in SMS training.
Operators face challenges with
implementing SMS such as per-
ceived extra work, employee buy
in and funding, to name a few.
It takes time to establish a safety
culture and many operators just
do not understand this.
As we look at the helicopter
industry as a whole, there are many
operators that are successfully
using SMS in their daily operations.
Metro Aviation is one of these
companies. Metro initiated its
SMS program in 2009 and is now
at Level Four. The company is one
of the few rotary wing operators
who achieved this level. Metro has
a safety commitment from leader-
ship that permeates throughout
the organization. This is evident as
the owner of the company has his
cell phone number in every aircraft
operators manual. This aids in
employee involvement and buy in.
Metros employee reporting system
is effective and management always
responds to the reports. The com-
pany also promotes a just culture
and employee accountability for
safety management.
Another commercial oper-
ator who has an extensive and
effective SMS program Phoenix
Heli-Flight, which has been using
SMS since 2009. SMS has helped
the company gain transparency
throughout the company when
practicing safety management.
Phoenix Heli-Flight has an excel-
lent hazard employee reporting
system that covers hazards, occur-
rences and non-compliance. They
too, promote a just culture and
employee accountability.
Conclusion
Impl ementi ng a Safety Man-
agement System into an organi-
zation, large or small, will help
save lives and resources. It will
also help pilots, young and old,
develop Risk Management skills
which are in great demand in the
helicopter industry. SMS is not
a stand-alone program. It must
include many other factors of
managing safety, such as flight
data monitoring (FDM), crew
resource management (CRM),
maintenance safety and the most
recent initiative from HAI Land
and Live, among others. SMS is
part of a safety culture a company
must have. SMS does not have to
be complex to be effective. SMS
is here to stay and may be man-
datory within the rotary wing
industry in the near future, so lets
get on board and use it. As always,
Take Action to Fly Safe!
TSI Presents
Second Annual
Moral Courage
Award to Operators
The 2014 Moral Courage Award
was presented to three recipients at
HAIs Heli-Expo in Anaheim, Calif.
during the Safety Committees
Town Hall Meeting.
The U.S. Transportation Safety
Institute (TSI)s Aviation Safety
Division is the proponent of the
award, presented by D. Smith,
senior air safety investigator and
the originator of this award.
The award is given to individu-
als and organizations in the avia-
tion community who put safety
over all aspects of an operation
and who have made difficult, and
sometimes unpopular, decisions
to ensure safety is not only pro-
moted, but also acted upon. This
is the second year this award was
presented.
This years recipients were
Sam Egli of Egli Air Haul, Brandt
Swigart of Hawaii Power Labs,
and Air Care and Mobile Care.
The awards committee received
many nominations that all indi-
cated a positive safety culture in
their organizations, which is what
this award promotes.
Each recipient received a plague
with a certificate from TSI.
The plagues were sponsored by
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Uni-
versity. Nominations are now open
for next years award to be present-
ed at Heli-Expo 2015 in Orlando,
Fla. By Keith Cianfrani
Military to Civil Transition Explored
During Heli-Expo 2014 Seminar
Among one of first workshops to open at Heli-Expo 2014 was a military-
to-civilian transition seminar. Stacy Sheard, Sikorsky production test pilot
and former Army aviator, filled a room to maximum capacity as she ran
a workshop for former or soon-to-be former military aviators looking to
enter the world of the civilian aviation job market.
The presentation highlighted the fact that the road to success is often
long and twisted, but not unattainable. Tips on resume writing, networking,
and possible venues to seek employment were discussed. A panel of civilian
mentors currently employed in various aviation positions including cor-
porate, human resources, EMS and law enforcement, was on-hand to field
questions and provide input as well as inspiration to those who might see
entry into the civilian world as a daunting task. By Frank Lombardi
Essentials of a Good SMS Program 40
Airbus Plans U.S. EC175 Sim Boost 44
Safety Watch column by Terry Terrell 48
TRAINING NEWS
Enstrom Obtains Order for 16 480Bs
from Venezuela Defense Ministry
Enstrom Helicopter Corporation has received a signed contract from the
Venezuela Ministry of Defense for 16 training helicopters.
The aircraft will be delivered within the next 18 months and will be
used for training by the Venezuelan Air Force and Navy. The contract
includes 16 standard model 480B helicopters as well as spare parts and
tools, pilot and maintenance training, and in-country technical assistance
during the life of the contract.
The Venezuelan National Guard operates Enstrom helicopters pur-
chased in the 1970s; they expanded their fleet in 2001. Contract negotia-
tions were coordinated through Helinautica, which represents Enstrom in
Venezuela. (Source: Enstrom)
Metro Aviations
booth during Heli-
Expo 2014. Photo by
Frank Lombardi
Airbus Helicopters Plans EC175
Simulator Increase in North America
Ai rbus Hel i copters
plans to provide a new
level of support for the
EC175 rotorcraft i n
North America, with
a Level D full-f light
simulator located in the
United States as part of
a commitment to opera-
tors serving the offshore
oil and gas industry.
The Level D full-
flight simulator will be operational in 2016 at a location to be identified,
providing pilot training at the highest standards. To recreate the most real-
istic flight conditions, the simulator is to utilize a motion system, computer-
generated visual scenes and accurate representations of cockpit instrumen-
tation allowing specific mission scenarios to be flown, including landings
on offshore platforms.
In addition to the flight simulator, Airbus Helicopters has committed
to expanding and tailoring its customer support operations for helicopter
transport providers serving the growing oil and gas production and explo-
ration sector for which the company is the leading rotorcraft supplier.
This will involve new resources for the EC175s introduction in the Gulf
of Mexico, including parts and spare supplies available at the Dallas/Fort
Worth, Texas depot of the companys U.S. subsidiary, Airbus Helicopters,
Inc. (Source: Airbus Helicopters)
Metro Air Support of Saint Louis
Receives ALEA Accreditation
The three agencies that make up Metro Air Support of St. Louis were
presented with a plaque signifying their satisfactory completion of the Air-
borne Law Enforcement Accreditation (ALEA) program. The Standards
for Law Enforcement Aviation Units were developed and are maintained
by the ALEA Commission, Inc. dba, Public Safety Aviation Accreditation
Commission (PSAAC) under contract to ALEA.
The standards are intended to provide a foundation of safe operating
practices in the performance of the units mission. ALEA has adopted the
standards as best practices and supports the need for the standards to be
used as a guide for new aviation units, and as recommended practices to
be reviewed and adopted by all law enforcement aviation units.
Sgt. Dino Orlando of the St. Louis Metro PD said, Accreditation is a
great way of synchronizing all three of the departments standard operat-
ing procedures into one manual.
Metro Air Support of St. Louis is made up of officers from St. Louis
Metro PD, St. Louis County PD, and the St. Charles County Sheriff. Collec-
tively they operate two OH6As and four MD500Es, out of one common
hangar in Chesterfield, Mo. By Frank Lombardi
HAI Initiative
Reminds Pilots to
Land and Live
Land and Live is a new safety
initiative revealed HAI during
Heli-Expo 2014. This is a follow-up
to last years HAI safety promotion
Just Land the Damn Helicopter.
This initiative focuses on the
decision-making process to either
not depart at all on a flight or to ter-
minate a flight with a precautionary
landing due to weather conditions,
fuel concerns, mechanical concerns
or a pilot is just not feeling well. It is
based on an assessment of the pilot
that the flight is not going well.
Pilot concerns on taking such
action are due to various percep-
tions such as FAA enforcement,
company, customer or local police
reaction, negative press, peer pres-
sure, local zoning and property
owner reaction.
14 CFR 91.3 and 135.19b allows
pilots to make precautionary land-
ings if necessary as they have the
sole responsibility to do so. This is a
professional decision that involves
humility, flexibility and a Just Cul-
ture.
The biggest threat to this would
be Planned Continuous Bias or
get-home it is.
A pilot should have an action
plan that includes commitment to a
change of plans, if necessary, assess-
ing the urgency of the flight to be
yellow or red.
This cultural change to make this
decision must be in all pilot plans. It
must be emphasized in initial and
recurrent training, discussed during
hangar talk and supported by the
industry. HAI intends to continue to
promote this program through the
safety outreach program and personal
testimonials from pilots. By Keith
Cianfrani
EC175 full flight simulator. Courtesy Airbus Helicopters

I
n
t
e
r
n
a
t
i
o
n
a
l

M
a
r
k
e
t
p
l
a
c
e
www.MachidaScope.com 800.431.5420 www.MachidaScope.com 800.431.5420
Borescopes Borescopes
Videoscopes Videoscopes
Borescope Kits Borescope Kits
Accessories Accessories
#
1 for Dauphin Parts
Phone : +41 52 345 3605
Fax : +41 52 345 3606
US-Phone : +1 207-513-1921
E-Mail : mail@alpine.aero
Web : www.alpine.aero
We own and stock the largest inventory
of independently held Dauphin
helicopter spare parts available on the
market today.
Rotables, hydraulics, avionics &
instruments ready to ship worldwide.
Parts for exchange and outright sales.
The Industrys Most Preferred Solution
MRO & Logistics Software Solutions
Integrated with
componentcontrol.com
Please visit us at MRO Americas 2014
April 8th-10th Booth #2115 Phoenix, AZ
46
By Frank Lombardi
T
he Power Required curve
is not typically included in
the rotorcraft flight manu-
al, but contains a wealth of
information and can help to explain
some of the mannerisms of the
helicopter. It plots the amount of
engine power required to maintain
level flight at various airspeeds for
a given weight and altitude (see fig-
ure). It can be created by recording
a series of airspeed and power set-
tings in level flight. Add up the indi-
vidual power required to overcome
profile, induced, and parasite drag
(including ancillaries like genera-
tors, transmission drag, etc.), and
this curve would be the result.
Air friction on the skin of the
rotor blades creates profile drag.
Profile power is what is needed to
keep full RPM at flat pitch on the
ground. It remains fairly constant
until speeds get very high.
Induced drag is created when
the blades produce lift. As air is
forced down through the rotor and
lift is created, the resultant lift vec-
tor is tilted somewhat aft. This aft
component acts as drag, requiring
additional power. Induced drag is
highest in a hover and decreases
rapidly as speed increases.
Parasite power is the power
required to overcome any other
drag not associated with the spin-
ning rotors, i.e., the fuselage, land-
ing gear, etc. It is zero in a hover and
increases very rapidly as airspeed
increases, at the rate of velocity
cubed. A cleaner fuselage design
will have less parasite drag.
Summing up the three drag
cur ves i nto one total power
requi red curve reveal s some
important points. The lowest
point on the curve occurs at the
bucket speed (point 1), where
total power required is a mini-
mum. Flying at that speed will give
maximum endurance in level-
flight, being at/near minimum
fuel flow. As that speed also gives
the greatest surplus of available
power, it will produce the best rate
of climb (VY) when the collective
is pulled in. Since the rotor power
requirements remain essentially
the same when unpowered, it is
also the speed that will produce
the minimum sink rate, should
you find yourself in autorotation.
To maximize range, you need
the best combination of maximum
speed at minimum power (actually
min fuel flow, which is at a slightly
higher speed in turbines, to be
perfectly correct). This is found by
drawing a line from the origin of the
graph tangent to the curve (point
2). Since lift-to-drag is a maximum
at this point, this airspeed will
also be the best range glide speed
when the engine quits. Maximum
horizontal speed is reached when
power required meets power avail-
able (point 3).
If power is limited due to an
inoperative engine or high-density
altitude, then the power available
line drops down and two points
of intersection dictate your speed
range (points 4 and 5). If unable
to hover/takeoff vertically, the
speed for best angle of climb (VX)
happens at a combination of max
power margin and minimum
speed, found by drawing a line from
the beginning of the limited power
available, tangent to the power
required (point 6).
The shape of the curve reveals
some characteristics as well. In the
bucket speed range from approxi-
mately 75-45 knots, the curve is
fairly flat, as the power required to
maintain level flight in that range
doesnt change drastically. This is
why on an approach it can seem
difficult at first to get the aircraft to
descend as it slows, but once you
get to about 40 knots the bottom
drops out. At that point you are on
the backside of the curve, where
aft cyclic increases your descent
rate. On either side of the bucket
speed, the power requirements
rise rapidly within a given airspeed
range. Because of this, youll find
that in these speed ranges, you can
control your vertical flight path
with small cyclic changes much
more effectively.
Next time, whether you are try-
ing to fly a precision instrument
approach, steep approach, or some
advanced autorotational spot land-
ings, picture the power curve. It
may come in handy.
COMMERCIAL | TECHNOLOGY
Leading Edge
ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | APRIL 2014
Picture the Power
advertiser index
Page# ...........Advertiser ....................................................................................................................................................Website
9 ..........................Aeronautical Accessories ...................................................................................................................................................................www.aero-access.com
52 ........................Airbus Helicopters ...............................................................................................................................................................www.airbushelicoptersinc.com
45 ........................Alpine Air Support ..................................................................................................................................................................................... www.alpine.aero
51 ........................CHC Summit ................................................................................................................................................................. www.chcsafetyqualitysummit.com
47 ........................Chopper Spotter ..........................................................................................................................................................................www.chopperspotter.com
45 ........................Component Control ............................................................................................................................................................... www.componentcontrol.com
27 ........................Farnborough International .............................................................................................................................................................www.farnborough.com
39 ........................FEC Heliports .......................................................................................................................................................................www.heliportsequipment.com
11 ........................FlightSafety ....................................................................................................................................................................................... www.flightsafety.com
19 ........................Frasca International ................................................................................................................................................................................... www.frasca.com
2 ..........................Garmin International ...............................................................................................................................................................................www.garmin.com
25 ........................HeliRussia 2014 ........................................................................................................................................................................................www.helirussia.ru
45 ........................Machida Inc. ................................................................................................................................................................................. www.machidascope.com
5 ..........................Milestone Aviation ................................................................................................................................................................. www.milestoneaviation.com
47 ........................Survival Products .................................................................................................................................................................www.survivalproductsinc.com
15 ........................Transaero ......................................................................................................................................................................................... www.transaeroinc.com
17 ........................UTC Aerospace Systems ..................................................................................................................................................... www.utcaerospacesystems.com

I
n
t
e
r
n
a
t
i
o
n
a
l

M
a
r
k
e
t
p
l
a
c
e

I
n
t
e
r
n
a
t
i
o
n
a
l

M
a
r
k
e
t
p
l
a
c
e
Helmets
ANVIS 6 HELICOPTER HELMETS (Kevlar helmets and
spares including: HGU models). NOMEX coveralls, jackets,
gloves, etc. factory new, in stock. Sage green and desert
tan. GOVERNMENT SALES, INC., 69 Francis Ave. Hartford,
CT 06106, Tel: (860) 247-7787, Fax: (860) 586-8020.
Catalogue on website: www.aviationhelmets.com
HELIPORT LIGHTING FAA-approved equipment.
MANAIRCO, INC. (419) 524 - 2121, www.manairco.com
Heliport Lighting
48
Safety Watch
By Terry Terrell
TRAINING | SPECIALTY
L
ate one night, not many
years ago, we were deliver-
ing a patient to a large met-
ropolitan medical com-
plex. Since we were flying during
the quiet hours after midnight, my
highly experienced medical crew
and I were enjoying the smooth
winter air and sharp city skyline
lightscape only offered up to heli-
copter occupants on rare occasions.
We had made our standard radio
calls, and had finished a routine
safety reconnaissance overflight of
the hospital helicopter deck and
surrounding airspace. Just starting
our final descent profile out of 300
feet AGL, however, my flight nurse
and I caught a fleeting, blurred flash
of unexpected fast movement in
peripheral vision, darting under our
chin bubble from an unexpected
direction to our left. Almost as a
remembered image remaining on
the retina for only a moment, we
realized that it was a small, darkly
colored, unlighted helicopter shape.
I arrested our descent and rolled in
the direction the interloper seemed
to have been flying, and was able to
confirm that it was indeed a small,
R22-type helicopter, proceeding
away from the area at very low level,
and that it showed no sign of chang-
ing course or altitude, presumably
unaware of its proximity to the
helicopter traffic density inherent
with a medical activity center, and
almost certainly oblivious to our
particular presence.
During that period of helicopter
history in our area we supported a
very active locally organized heli-
copter pilots association, and our
very next meeting began with a
review of the importance of talk-
ing among ourselves on 123.025,
our regularly observed universal
communications helicopter air-
to-air frequency, for the inarguably
critical purpose of maximizing
the chances of accomplishing
safe helicopter traffic separation.
We also revisited our associa-
tions strong recommendation that
casual helicopter traffic specifi-
cally avoid medical center over-
flights. Finally, we reviewed the
importance of using all available
recognition airframe lighting, and
flying deliberate reconnaissance
and approach patterns.
Things improved after that
meeting, as we seemed to have
some success in orchestrating a
comfortable period during which
helicopter traffic around our city
behaved in orderly fashion, with
the TV news aircraft observing a
practically effective discipline in
using airspace between 800 and
1000 feet AGL in their Class G
activities, allowing EMS traffic to
enter and exit accident scene zones
at between 300 and 600 feet, and
casual traffic steering clear of hot
airspace altogether. Then, on one
otherwise unremarkable evening,
we were reminded that keeping
helicopters separated from each
other is apparently destined to con-
tinue as an ongoing challenge.
On this occasion it turned out
that an alert flight nurse, spot-
ting a collision threat during an
approach into another major medi-
cal center, injected a perfectly deliv-
ered Abort call, and proved to
be the integral component in the
safety equation that should have
been unnecessary if the radio call
function had been fully in place.
Meetings were once again held,
aviation safety articles written, and
procedures reviewed, and another
long period of safe operations was
produced, during which very good
radio habits, accommodating both
ATC and air-to-air requirements,
seemed to be correctly observed.
Ultimately, though, as a function
of occasional less-than-pleasant
reminders, we continue to be
prompted to recognize that reliably
safe helicopter separation, accom-
plished largely through the main-
tenance of good radio habits by all
participants, continues to require
constant attention and discipline.
Just last month, while transporting
a gravely injured patient, we and
another EMS aircraft were advised
by our dispatch authority that we
were converging on a certain medi-
cal center complex, with similar
estimated times of arrival. I advised
the admirably alert dispatcher that
we would arrange coordination by
talking to each other, but it turns
out that I was prematurely opti-
mistic. I attempted several times to
raise the other aircraft on 123.025,
but was unsuccessful until he came
up on frequency too late in his
arrival to be effective.
Helicopter communities oper-
ating in most urban settings have
done a good enough job providing
their own air traffic separation
that the freedom Mr. Sikorsky
intended for the miracle of rotary
wing flight has proceeded with-
out compromise by mandatory
canned routes and other infringe-
ments to efficiency, and without,
by and large, disaster by collision.
Lets talk among ourselves and
keep it that way.
Talk Among Yourselves
Safety Watch
Note from the Publisher
Very few companies today have the manpower available to
effectively take advantage of the new business opportuni-
ties that inevitably come from attending important trade
shows hosted in 5 different countries on 3 unique continents
in 1 single month. So we have specially planned and com-
piled this issue to allow our advertisers to have the next best
thing an advertising presence, wrapped in quality content
specifically tailored to the thousands of potential new cus-
tomers who will be attending these shows all over the world
in the month of May.
Stop the Presses! Rotor & Wing Flies the
AW609Editor-at-Large Ernie Stephens took the
controls of AgustaWestlands AW609 tiltrotor during
Heli-Expo in Anaheim. Ernie files a Pilot Report on the
experience, which also involved AW609 training in Texas
prior to the California flight in late February.
Eastern InnovationThe rotorcraft business has
been a global business from its very earliest beginnings,
and the needs of operators spread out in unique environ-
ments all across the planet have long fueled the develop-
ment of innovative solutions and products to meet those
unique challenges. We cast our net this month to round
up and present innovative new ideas and new products
coming to the rotorcraft market from Europe, Russia, Asia
and Australia/Oceania.
Engineering Change(s)We take a look at
how the changing military procurement process with
its heavy reliance on quasi off-the-shelf solutions and
increasing reluctance to fund rotorcraft R&D, together
with an ever more complex regulatory environment and
bogged-down approval process in the commercial mar-
ketplace is impacting the future of the rotorcraft market
for better and worse.
Unmanned OptionsWell examine a number
of unmanned helicopter applications and assess the
impact on the commercial airspace system, specifically
focusing on the Sikorsky autonomous research aircraft
(SARA). The platform is part of Sikorskys Matrix Technol-
ogy effort. Dale Smith reports.
Essential EquipmentThis month we present
primary product options when you are in the market to
purchase the following equipment:
Synthetic Vision Systems
Health & Usage Monitoring Components and Systems
ColumnsPublic Service by Lee Benson; Law
Enforcement Notebook by Ernie Stephens; and Military
Insider by Andrew Drwiega
May 2014: Rotorcraft Innovation
and AW609 Pilot Report
Bonus Distribution: Quad-A from May 4-7 in Nashville, Tenn. EBACE from May 20-22 in Geneva. AHS Forum
from May 20-22 in Montreal. ILA Berlin from May 20-25. Heli-Russia from May 22-28 in Moscow.
50
By Andrew Drwiega
Military Insider
MILITARY | TECHNOLOGY
G
ood news on the Science
and Technology (S&T)
front in terms of push-
ing forward the perfor-
mance envelope for vertical take-
off and landing combined with
speed and range. The U.S. Defense
Research Advanced Projects Agen-
cy (DARPA) announced in mid-
March that Boeing and Karem
Aircraft will now join Sikorsky and
Aurora Flight Sciences in the Phase
1 of DARPAs VTOL Experimental
Plane (X-Plane) project.
VTOL X-Plane is seeking to find
a hybrid aircraft design that can
achieve much more performance
and range than the standard heli-
copter design. The requirements
that DARPA is looking for are
speed (achieve a top sustained flight
speed of 300-400 knots); hover effi-
ciency (raise hover efficiency from
60 percent to at least 75 percent);
cruise efficiency (present a more
favorable cruise lift-to-drag ratio of
at least 10, up from 5-6); and useful
load capacity (maintain the ability
to perform useful work by carrying
a useful load of at least 40 percent of
the vehicles projected gross weight
of 10,000-12,000 lbs).
According to program manager
Ashish Bagai, the Phase 1 awards to
the four selected companies are for
the preliminary concept design and
technology maturation. According
to the current schedule, the com-
panies will submit their designs by
late 2015. At this point DARPA will
select one design to take forward
to Phase II (design, development
and integration) then on to Phase
III, which will be an initial flight test
around 2017-18.
Bagai said the designs proposed
from all four companies were
focused on unmanned vehicles,
but he adds that the technologies
that DARPA is looking for in regard
of the X-Plane could also apply to
manned vehicles.
The four designs received were:
Boeings Phantom Swift; Auroras
Lightening Strike; an unnamed
design from Sikorsky Innovations
teamed with Lockheed Martins
Skunk Works; and an unnamed
design from Karem Aircraft.
Dan Newman, Boeing Phan-
tom Works Advanced Vertical
Lift capture team lead, said that
the challenge of providing all of
DARPAs requirements in a single
aircraft has been the holy grail for
tactical military aviation.
He continued: Designing an
aircraft to perform a vertical take-
off, while maintaining adequate
low-speed control, is challenging.
Sustaining efficient hover is also
difficult, and adding a high cruis-
ing speed is even more challeng-
ing.
Chris Van Buiten, vice president
of Sikorsky Innovations, said that
the X-Plane program explores
a generation of innovation that
has yet to be introduced. Mark
Miller, Sikorskys vice president of
research and engineering, added
that the Sikorsky/Lockheed Martin
proposal was based on a non-
traditional technical solution.
According to Sikorsky, a scaled
down version of its Phantom Swift
flew last year. The aircraft features
two large lift fans within the fuse-
lage which are covered when the
aircraft is in cruise mode. Wingtip-
mounted ducted fans will provide
the forward thrust and additional
hover lift.
Auroras LightningStrike will
incorporate aspects of the com-
panys VTOL technology. The
company has worked with DARPA
for well over a decade on projects
including GoldenEye 100, Gold-
enEye 80 and the Excalibur UAV
proof-of-concept for the US Army
between 2005 and 2010. The latter
combined hybrid-electric propul-
sion for VTOL and high-speed
horizontal flight.
There seem to be slightly differ-
ent financial awards from company
to company. Boeing says it has a
$17 million agreement with DAR-
PAs Tactical Technology Office,
while Sikorsky states that the pro-
posed effort is valued at $15 million
to develop the preliminary design.
While there is no official state-
ment linking this program to the
U.S Armys Future Vertical Lift
(Heavy) requirement, it should
be noted that Sikorsky, Boeing
and Karem are all participants
in the Joint Multi-Role program
which will eventually lead to the
Future Vertical Lift (Medium)
aircraft, which will replace the
Armys medium helicopter fleets
of AH-64 Apaches and UH-60
Black Hawks.
Picking Up the VTOL Pace
Thank you to our sponsos
Save the date
Sponsors correct at time of publication
Thank you to our sponsos
for making the 10
th
Anniversary Summit
event so successful
P
L
A
T
I
N
U
M
G
O
L
D
S
I
L
V
E
R
B
R
O
N
Z
E
S
A
F
E
T
Y

O
F
F
I
C
E
R
S
P
A
R
T
N
E
R
S

I
N

S
A
F
E
T
Y
M
E
D
I
A

S
P
O
N
S
O
R
S
Aviall
Lenovo
Hiscox
ANV
Antares
AEGIS
Watkins Syndicate
AMERICAN
EXPRESS
General Insurance
Corporation of
India
Save the date
March 23 25, 2015
Vancouver, BC, Canada
www.chcsafetyqualitysummit.com
As the leading provider of commercial and civil helicopters in the U.S. for 13 straight years, weve clearly done a lot well.
But the message we keep hearing from you is that we need to do a better job following up with support and service.
Let me assure you that your message is quite clear and has been heard at the highest levels of Airbus Helicopters.
Improving our performance is my highest priority and I have made it clear to our employees that it is their top priority.
Whether you have one helicopter or a eet, weve done a lot of work and invested tens of millions of dollars to
improve your service experience, including:
Our CS3 center Customer Support, Service and Satisfaction is a central command post handling all incoming
customer calls. Customer Service Representatives are trained to address your problems and get your aircraft
back ying. Service is available 24/7/365.
We have established an 85,000 square-foot parts warehouse at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. About $90 million worth
of parts 60,000 items are in inventory. Order a part on our Keycopter system by 2 p.m. and it will be in the
hands of an air freight shipper by 4 p.m.
A dedicated AOG team is on call day or night to locate parts or a factory-trained technical rep to assist you.
Even with these important changes, we know there may be times we can serve you better. Our commitment is to
continually improve our customer service. Our goal is that in a year you will tell us we have made signicant progress.
We thank you for your loyalty to Airbus Helicopters and to our aircraft. We are listening, and you have my personal
commitment that we will continually improve the level and quality of support we provide. We will be with you on every
ight. Please feel free to contact me personally to share your experiences and suggestions.
Sincerely,
You have spoken.
We have heard you.
With you on every ight. WithYouOnEveryFlight.com
Marc Paganini, President and Chief Executive Ofcer

Rotor Wing April 2014

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Rotor Wing April 2014

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

April 2014 Serving the Worldwide Helicopter Industry rotorandwing.

series for helicopters.

Radio & Television

Reinforced in 1 million+ training hours each year

Backed up by the industrys best Customer Care

Advanced with superior simulation technology

Supported by factory-authorized training

Expands with a global network of Learning Centers

Taught by 1,800 professional instructors

Designed into a eet of 300+ ight simulators

At Heli-Expo 2014 in Anaheim,

You might also like