H125s tasked with firefighting in Chilenews Mike Stones 10 Apr 24 0As the peak fire season closes in Chile, Airbus H125 operator Rotortec reflects on the lessons learned during another intense firefighting campaign. “In Chile we… Read more
Louisiana State Police to buy two Bell 407GXisnews Mike Stones 4 Apr 24 0Louisiana State Police has signed purchase agreements for two Bell 407GXi helicopters. The service’s Air Support Unit provides aerial support to local, state and federal… Read more
Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service makes senior appointmentsnews Mike Stones 4 Apr 24 0The Australian Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service has appointed John Fenwick as its new chair of the board of directors and Steven Underwood as its new… Read more
AutoFlight delivers first aircraftnews Yves Le Marquand 4 Apr 24 0AutoFlight has delivered its first Prosperity aircraft to a customer in Japan, marking what it says is the world’s first delivery of a civilian ton-class eVTOL. The… Read more
HeliSpeed and NHV agree training maintenance partnershipnews Mike Stones 28 Mar 24 0Helicopter training provider HeliSpeed and rotary services company NHV Group have agreed a partnership to deliver helicopter maintenance training. The partnership, drawing on HeliSpeed and… Read more
‘Batteries will open new markets but there are bottlenecks’news Yves Le Marquand 28 Mar 24 0There is value in putting batteries in aircraft and it isn’t all sustainability. Electrification will open up new markets in short-haul that have never been… Read more
Bell reveals next-gen retrofit flight display system for Bell 412snews Mike Stones 26 Mar 24 0Bell Textron has revealed it has gained FAA certification for its Basix-Pro Glass Retrofit Kit for Bell 412EP helicopters. The new glass cockpit retrofit kit… Read more
HI Uplift: Bell 525 Relentless aims to quench demand for medium liftnews Mike Stones 22 Mar 24 0Relentless is a popular name – from energy drinks to US warships (and even a 24th century Star Trek patrol vessel). Another chapter is opening… Read more
Heli insights on post pandemic world – in three models: LCI Analyticsnews Mike Stones 21 Mar 24 0Offshore flight activity now exceeds pre-Covid levels for most types of helicopters, according to LCI Analytics. Four years on from the global pandemic, manning levels… Read more
Flexjet S-76 stars at Palm Beach boat show as regional demand risesnews Mike Stones 20 Mar 24 0A Flexjet Sikorsky S-76 helicopter is starring alongside multi-million-dollar superyachts at the Palm Beach International Boat Show, which starts tomorrow. Its appearance at the event… Read more
HI Uplift: Why ‘eVTOL nirvana is a million miles away’news Mike Stones 14 Mar 24 0Barbie and Ken. Salt and pepper. Some partnerships seem beyond question. But how about heliports and eVTOLs? Or the integration of helicopter and other fixed-wing… Read more
Bell sells Japan’s first Designer Series 429 to JGASnews Mike Stones 12 Mar 24 0Bell Textron has signed a purchase agreement for Japan’s first Designer Series Bell 429 helicopter with Japan General Aviation Service (JGAS). Japan Biz Aviation Co… Read more
NHV Group wins contract extension with Dutch Maritime Pilots’ Associationnews Mike Stones 12 Mar 24 0Helicopter services company NHV Group has won a contract extension with the Dutch Maritime Pilot’s Association (Nederlandse loodsencorporatie) to support maritime pilotage services in the… Read more
Airbus Helicopters and SKYCO agree deal for six H175snews Mike Stones 11 Mar 24 0Airbus Helicopters and China’s SKYCO International Financial Leasing Co have signed a contract for six H175 helicopters to be deployed on critical missions. SKYCO Leasing,… Read more
HI Uplift: Pre-owned heavy twin-engine helis ‘see uptick in 2023’news Mike Stones 11 Mar 24 0Pre-owned, heavy twin-engine helicopters showed “an uptick” in transactions last year compared with 2022, according to rotary sales and market intelligence firm Aero Asset. “There… Read more
AIRBUS PRESENTS EVTOL PROTOTYPE TO PUBLICnews Yves Le Marquand 9 Mar 24 0The rollout of Airbus’ eVTOL is an “important and very real step” towards AAM, according to Balkiz Sarihan, the firm’s head of Urban Air Mobility. The CityAirbus… Read more
Bristow confirms fatal S-92 North Sea crashnews Mike Stones 29 Feb 24 0Bristow Group has confirmed the crash of a search and rescue (SAR) S-92 helicopter off the coast of Norway, which resulted in one fatality and… Read more
HAI reports: Leonardo confirms orders and agreements for about 180 helisnews Mike Stones 28 Feb 24 0Leonardo Helicopters has confirmed orders and agreements for about 180 aircraft at HAI Heli-Expo in Anaheim, California. Topping its show order book are 130 helicopters… Read more
HAI reports: Columbia reveals new 234SP Chinook & cockpit partnershipnews Mike Stones 28 Feb 24 0Heavy-lift specialist Columbia Helicopters has revealed plans to build a new model of its CH-47D Chinook aircraft to be designated the 234SP Chinook. The new… Read more
HAI reports: Airbus agrees 120-helicopter deal with THCnews Mike Stones 28 Feb 24 0Airbus has agreed a 120-aircraft deal with The Helicopter Company (THC) of Saudi Arabia. The framework deal – including firm orders for eight H125s and… Read more
