HELI-EXPO NEWS

New Chinese Own-

ership Brings ‘Great
Change’ to Enstrom
By Ernie Stephens, Editor-at-Large

Enstrom Helicopter of Menominee, Mullins expects

Mich. used Heli-Expo 2013 in Las Ve-
gas as a backdrop for the introduction
of a Garmin G1000H flight control op-
tion for its 480B light turbine aircraft.
The fully integrated system is primar-
ily a flight information source that
provides terrain avoidance, collision
awareness, weather and engine data
on two, panel-mounted displays.
“It’s already been flying and we’re
in the certification process,” Enstrom
President Jerry Mullins explained to
a gathering of conference attendees.
“We think it’s an innovation that’s
really going to propel our product to
compete in the industry.”
the system package
to sell for approxi-
mately $155,000 and MD540F on the show floor at Heli-Expo in Las Vegas. Photo by Frank Lombardi
to receive FAA certi-
fication by September But in late December of 2012, the 53-
2013.The first aircraft example will go year-old company was purchased by
to long-time customer Rick Boswell, Chongqing Helicopter Investment
who approached Enstrom about add- Co. (CQHIC), of Chongqing, China.
ing the system to their product line as The infusion of cash from a firm
an option. based in a region where rotorcraft
“You’re going to see a lot of new sales are expected to quadruple soon,
improvements like this.” Mullins dovetailed with Mullins’ second an-
said. “It’s exciting for us.” Enstrom’s nouncement, which was the sale of
sales figures had been suffering for 10 Enstrom helicopters to its parent
many years, mostly due to its larger, company in Chongqing. Full Story
more financially backed competition.

AgustaWestland: Tiltrotor is EC135 T3/P3 to

Future of High-Speed Vertical Lift Feature Upgrad-
ed Engines
AgustaWestland Project Zero tiltrotor concept. Photo courtesy AgustaWestland
Finmeccanica subsidiary AgustaWest-
land has uncovered its “Project Zero”
effort, which is tiltrotor a technology
demonstrator (TD). The electrically
powered aircraft has two integrated
rotors that can be tilted more than
90 degrees and long wings, with an
appearance that closer resembles a
fixed-wing aircraft than a traditional
helicopter. Full Story
Eurocopter uncovered its EC135 T3
and P3 variants at Heli-Expo show
in early March. The helicopters will
come equipped with two new engine
options—Turbomeca’s Arrius 2B2
“Plus” for the T3 and Pratt & Whitney
Canada’s PWC206B3 for the P3. The
company has launch customers—Air
Methods is slated to operate six EC135
P3s, Norsk Luftambulanse signed up
for six EC135 P3s and Aiut Alpin Do-
lomites is acquiring one EC135 T3 for
Aiut Alpin Dolomites. The PW206B3
for the P3 has the same engine archi-
tecture as the PW206B2, and offers up
to 10 percent more thermal takeoff
power in hot and high conditions.
The engines will help boost takeoff
weight and power reserves on the
EC135 P3. Full Story

4 HELI-EXPO 2013 ■ rotorandwing.com


Bell 525 Controls: ‘Just
Grab It and Fly It’
Bell Helicopter CEO John Garrison. Photo by Andrew Parker
Last year, Fort Worth, Texas-based
Bell Helicopter unveiled the mockup
of its model 525 “Relentless,” the air-
craft its designers call a “super medi-
um” twin. Designed to carry up to 18
people in a dense seating configura-
tion, the 10,000-to-11,000-lb. (empty
weight) ship is being developed pri-
marily with the offshore support mar-
ket in mind.
To assist engineers with tweaking
the 525’s handling characteristics and
flight deck ergonomics, Bell built a
concept simulator programmed to
duplicate as many parameters as pos-
sible. The company then shipped the
simulator to Heli-Expo 2013 in Las
Vegas in early March for attendees to
try. Rotor & Wing was one of the first
Marenco Appoints Helilite as
SH09 Distributor in Oceania
As Marenco Swisshelicopter’s SKYe SH09 progresses into prototype develop-
ment and first flight during 2013, the manufacturer has chosen Heliflite to
serve as a distributor in Australia, New Zealand and throughout Oceania.
Sydney-based Heliflite has been a Robinson distributor since 1977 and an
AgustaWestland distributor since 1997. Full Story
HELI-EXPO NEWS
PAC Enters
Brazilian
to be invited aboard.
Completions
For the technical purist, Bell did not
actually bring a “flight simulator,”
which by most definitions is a ma-
Market
chine that moves in order to give the Helicopter transportation services
feeling of flight. Instead, it was actu- provider Metro Aviation announced
ally a “flight training device,” or FTD, a new partnership with Sao Paulo,
a learning tool that is laid out like an Brazil-based Sierra Aeronautica, mark-
actual aircraft, but has moving graph- ing its entrance into the Brazilian he-
ics instead of a moving platform. But licopter completions market.
for our purposes here, I’ll continue to The marketing partnership was
call it a simulator. formed along with PAC Internation-
The 525 simulator is more of a tech- al, a subsidiary of Metro Aviation.
nology and cockpit ergonomics con- Metro will focus on providing emer-
cept demonstrator made to stay on gency medical service (EMS) helicop-
the ground. Bell explains that a cus- ters and PAC will look to serve Brazil’s
tomer review panel meets regularly to VIP transport segment, with Sierra
discuss the progress of the aircraft’s Aeronautica providing marketing and
design, and to use the simulator to test sales support.
the outcomes. If anything disappoints Full Story
the review panel, all efforts are made
to correct the problem. Consequent-
ly, sources say that the layout of the
ARC Horizon and Garmin G-5000H
touchscreen displays in the simulator
have already been rearranged for air-
craft #0001. But for now, the aircraft’s
unique fly-by-wire (FBW) side-stick
configuration for the cyclic and the
collective are features that will reach
the production model.
And I can see why. With just a cou-
ple of quick and easy adjustments to
the high-back seat and forearm rests,
sitting in the real 525 will be like sit-
ting in an easy chair.
Full Story
EC225 at Eurocopter’s booth. Photo by Frank Lombardi
rotorandwing.com ■ HELI-EXPO 2013 5
HELI-EXPO NEWS

Cobham Demos HeliSAS FAA Awards

Over Vegas Desert
Cobham, the avionics firm based in
Mineral Wells, Texas, arrived at Heli-
Expo 2013 with HeliSAS, the compa-
ny’s sleek autopilot system specifically
designed for the light helicopter mar-
ket. Weighing in at a scant 15 lbs., the
system, which was designed for Part
27-catagory helicopters in VFR condi-
tions, is capable of providing hands-
off flight for pilots across the pitch
and roll axis. (Power and yaw remain
the responsibility of the pilot.)
Edwards & Associates, Bell Helicop-
ter’s completions subsidiary in Piney
Flats, Tenn., first installed HeliSAS in
a Bell 206B. I was invited there to fly
it in the summer of 2010 by Cobham
TSI Gives Bond,
shortly after its development and a
few months before it received FAA
certification. But I also accepted a
second opportunity to see it perform
over the desert outside of Las Vegas
during Heli-Expo 2013. This time,
it was installed aboard a privately
owned Bell 407. (It is also certified for
the 206B, and the Eurocopter AS350
and EC130.) Full Story
Honeywell STC
for AW139 Zing
FAA has approved Honeywell’s Zing
health and usage monitoring system
(HUMS) 1134 for supplemental type
certificate (STC) installation on the
AgustaWestland AW139.
The Zing HUMS solution is a sen-
sor-based monitoring system that
continuously tracks aircraft flight
data while determining component
health. Honeywell developed the STC
in partnership with Air Concepts In-
ternational, and will allow current
and new production AW139 opera-
tors to purchase the Zing HUMS 1134
system at a lower cost. The advanced
HUMS functionality of the system
meets CAA, CAP753 and CAP739 re-
quirements, according to Honeywell.
Full Story

USCG Moral Sikorsky President & CEO Mick Maurer during the company’s
Heli-Expo press conference. Photo by Andrew Parker

Courage Honor
The U.S. Transportation Safety Insti-
tute (TSI), in partnership with Embry-
Riddle Aeronautical University and
HAI’s Safety Committee, presented
the first ever “Moral Courage Award”
to Bond Offshore Helicopters and the
U.S. Coast Guard during a ceremony
at Heli-Expo in early March.
TSI’s D Smith noted that “for the
first time ever, we’re going to present
an award to individuals and organi-
zations who say: ‘We will not do it.
We will not unknowingly accept risk
when the risk outweighs the benefit,
and we want to foster a culture within
our organization that promotes that.’
So that’s what the award is really
about.”
The Bond award was centered
around two maintenance techni-
cians—Sean Newlands and John
Crowthers—who were not comfort-
able about releasing an aircraft, de-
spite getting approval from the OEM,
and how management backed them
up and delayed the flight until the is-
sue was resolved. Receiving the award
was Bond Aviation CEO Richard Min-
tern, who brought along Simon Stew-
art, Bond’s group safety director.
Full Story
H-60, S-70i to
Employ L-3 ESIS,
Stormscope
Sikorsky Aircraft has elected to offer
Eagle Copters Bell 407HP with Honeywell HTS900 retrofit on
display at Heli-Expo 2013. Photos by Barry Schwartz
the L-3 Aviation Products GH-3001
electronic standby instrument system
(ESIS), Stormscope WX-500 lightning
detection system and PS-855 emer-
gency power supply (EPS) on the
H-60 and S-70i platforms. The five-
year agreement runs through 2017.
Full Story

6 HELI-EXPO 2013 ■ rotorandwing.com


HNZ AgustaWestland AW139 on display at the manufacturer’s Heli-Expo booth. Photo by Barry Schwartz
Breeze-Eastern: Sailing
Toward a New Dawn?
Breeze-Eastern CEO Brad Pedersen is
making a concerted effort toward im-
proving his company’s logistics struc-
ture and customer support. “We have
to have our supply base prepared
HTAWS, Garmin
GTN Among
Metro Aviation
Enhancements
Metro Aviation of Shreveport, La.
is introducing a helicopter ter-
rain awareness and warning system
(HTAWS) option in its supplemental
type certificate (STC) for the Euro-
copter EC135 series. The completions
provider also announced plans to
add Garmin’s GTN series of nav/com/
GPS equipment for both the EC135
and EC145 single-pilot IFR versions
later in 2013. The new systems will
offer a number of features including
touchscreen controls and multifunc-
tion displays (MFDs) that include
automatic dependent surveillance-
broadcast (ADS-B) functions. The
GTN series will also enable Gamma
3 wide area augmentation system
(WAAS) approaches. Full Story
and ready,” he told Rotor & Wing on
Monday during Heli-Expo in Las Ve-
gas. “It is a mindset change and we
want to change the expectations of
our customers.”
Columbia Helicopters has purchased 10 Swedish military Vertols. Photo courtesy of Columbia Helicopters
Columbia Acquires 10 Swedish
Military Vertols to Expand Fleet
Columbia Helicopters acquired 10
helicopters from the Swedish Depart-
ment of Defense, comprising six Boe-
ing Vertol 107-IIs and four Kawasaki
Vertol 107-IIs.
HELI-EXPO NEWS
Peterson said that customer ex-
pectations have been changed with
the arrival of services like Amazon.
People are looking for shorter-order
delivery times, he said. “We want a
24-hour response time anywhere in
the world.”
His expectation is based on 17 years
of Boeing experience as a flight test
engineer on the RAH-66 Comanche
and a further six years with Sikorsky
on UH-60Ms. “I did see the benefit of
standard processes with them—not
ad hoc. You need four things to make
a change: people, organization, tools
(software) and process.”
While working at both of the OEMs,
he learned the value of timely logis-
tics and support. “If you don’t have
all those pieces in place then change
is difficult.”
Most of Breeze-Eastern’s suppliers
“are fairly local and can respond,”
he said. “Similarly with our distribu-
tors—if we show our intent they are
prepared to follow. None of us alone
can change the system.” Full Story
The first three helicopters have been
disassembled and shipped, with the
remaining three scheduled to arrive
in the United States later this year.
Full Story
rotorandwing.com ■ HELI-EXPO 2013 7
HELI-EXPO NEWS

Safety Training, Awareness

Take Center Stage at Heli-Expo
Walking through the long hallways Heli-Expo started with the Safety about the statistics of the event. There
of the Las Vegas Convention Cen- Symposium and guest speaker Robert were more than 60 aircraft on dis-
ter during HAI’s Heli-Expo in early Sumwalt from the National Trans- play and 20,000-plus attendees. HAI
March, I didn’t have to go far to see portation Safety Board (NTSB). He boasts a membership of 3,355 organi-
some sort of ongoing safety event. spoke on SMS, its four components zations, which includes members in
Whether it was a class on accident and why it is important. He focused 71 countries. There were more than
prevention, HFACS or safety manage- on the importance of providing cor- 1,000 students attending classes with
ment systems (SMS), the show was porate flight departments with a for- over 50 courses offered including 20
overwhelmingly conspicuous with mal safety management program. He dedicated to safety.
safety awareness. finished by asking the question, “Do At the Safety Directors Forum,
I was impressed with the number of you have a good safety culture?” It’s HFACS and our role in accident pre-
members who wanted to learn more doing the right thing when no one is vention was a main topic. We then
about SMS or other safety initiatives. looking. SMS must be used every day discussed the Heinrich ratio, which
My plan going into Heli-Expo was and rules must be written so that peo- states that 95 percent of accidents are
to find every safety training session, ple can follow them, not just to cover human error and for every fatal acci-
town hall and safety committee meet- legal issues, Sumwalt noted. dent there are 10 non-fatal incidents,
ing to observe what topics were under During HAI’s annual Board Meet- 30 reportable incidents and 600 at-
discussion. ing and Press Conference, we talked risk behavioral actions. Full Story

Bell AH-1 Cobra takes a bite out of a passerby at the Heritage of Helicopters display at Heli-Expo. Photo by Ernie Stephens

China’s MOT Air Methods,

Orders S-76Ds StandardAero
for SAR Fleet Agree on Engine
China’s Ministry of Transport (MOT) Maintenance
has placed an order with Sikorsky for StandardAero has received a five-
the supply of four S-76Ds in the search year maintenance contract from Air
and rescue (SAR) configuration. Methods for its fleet of Rolls-Royce
The contract includes options for M250 engines. The announcement
HAI President Matt Zuccaro at the organization’s Heli-Expo press
an additional four helicopters in was made at the Heli-Expo show in
conference. Photo by Barry Schwartz
2014. The MOT purchased the he- early March. The contract covers Air
licopters for its Rescue and Salvage and this is the fourth contract it has Methods’ current fleet of 53 engines,
Bureau. MOT currently operates a signed with Sikorsky involving the which will add about 20 engines over
fleet of eight S-76 series helicopters, S-76 series. Full Story the next several years. Full Story

8 HELI-EXPO 2013 ■ rotorandwing.com

 SHOW DAY
March 5, 2013

Inside:
Robinson to Show Police R66 page 4 | Eurocopter Brings EC175 page 10 | Turbomeca CEO Q&A page 26 | Marenco SKYe SH09 page 28

News OEMs Hope 2012 Returns

Enstrom Helicopter
Enters Growth Phase
As of Dec. 27, 2012, China’s
Push 2013 Into the Black
Chongqing Helicopter Investment
Company (CQHIC) has ac-
quired Enstrom Helicopter (Booth
C4322), which moves from one
foreign owner to another. CQHIC
is focused on helping Enstrom ex-
pand its reach into China and the
rest of the world. The number of
helicopters in Asia represents only
a small percent of the number of
helicopters in the U.S., while Asia
has a significantly larger popula-
tion and is expected to be a major
market for helicopters over the next
two decades. Enstrom has seen a
50 percent growth in employment Ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the start of Heli-Expo 2012 in Dallas. More than 20,000 visitors and 725 exhibitors are expected at
over the past 18 months, and this year’s tradeshow from March 4-7 in Las Vegas, Nev. Photo by Ernie Stephens
with the new ownership plans to
continue expanding to meet the
current and future demands. This By Ernie Stephens, ous convention center. AgustaWest-
growth includes expanding the Editor-at-Large land, Bell, Enstrom, Eurocopter, Ka-
facility in Menominee, Mich. Las Vegas Convention Center is the man, MD Helicopters, Robinson,
The expansion will almost dou- venue for Heli-Expo 2013, the annual Russian Helicopters and Sikorsky will
ble the current size of Enstrom’s gathering of the worldwide helicopter have large displays, complete with
facility and allow for the company industry, hosted by Alexandria, Va.- models and production versions of
to grow to address higher produc- based Helicopter Association Interna- their aircraft for visitor inspection, as
tions rates. The new ownership tional (HAI). Thousands of attendees, well as engineering, support and sales
aims to provide many opportuni- hundreds of vendors, and dozens of he- personnel ready to answer questions
ties, including continued product licopters will converge in Nevada from Each manufacturer will also host a
improvement, increased marketing March 4-7. Planners of Heli-Expo are technical briefing, where operators
support and funding for new prod- expecting more than 725 exhibitors, can get the latest information on the
uct development. Stop by Booth who will display all varieties of rotor- aircraft they fly, and seek solutions for
C4322 to learn more about the craft parts, crew supplies and services. even the most complicated issues.
acquisition. —By Frank Lombardi This includes 47 exhibitors who plan To read the full story, visit
More: rotorandwing.com to display aircraft within the cavern- www.aviationtoday.com/rw
 Going Digital

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marketplace is now enhanced by advanced digital avionics.
As the latest evolution of the AW119 “Koala”, the AW119 Kx features
a state of the art Garmin G1000HTM-integrated cockpit; critical fl ight
information is shown on two large multi-function displays in real time,
allowing the highest levels of safety with ultimate situational awareness
and reduced pilot workload.
LEADING THE FUTURE

agustawestland.com

AgustaWestland @ Heli-Expo 2013 mobile app Available Now!

Keep up to date with the latest news
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Visit us at Stand N2115, North Hall
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
ROTOR & WING SHOW DAY
OEMs Hope 2012 Returns Push 2013 Into the Black ....Page 1 Andrew Parker Editor-in-Chief, aparker@accessintel.com
Ernie Stephens Editor-at-Large,
Enstrom Helicopter Enters Growth Phase .....................Page 1 estephens@accessintel.com
Andrew Drwiega Military Editor,
Robinson to Show Police R44, ENG R44 .......................Page 4 adrwiega@accessintel.com
Claudio Agostini Latin America Bureau Chief
AW119Kx Makes Heli-Expo Debut ................................Page 6 Contributing Writers: Chris Baur; Lee Benson; Shannon
Bower; Keith Cianfrani; Steve Colby; Frank Colucci; Dan
Deutermann; Pat Gray; Frank Lombardi; Vicki McConnell;
Sensor Technology Unveils Upgrades ............................Page 6 Robert Moorman; Douglas Nelms; Mark Robins; Dale Smith;
Terry Terrell; Todd Vorenkamp; Richard Whittle.
Magnum PI MD500 Replica at Phoenix Heliparts ........Page 8 DESIGN/PRODUCTION
Tara Zaino Graphic Designer
RAVCO Completes Spanish High-Altitude Training .....Page 8 Tony Campana Production Manager
David Hurwitz Web Production Manager
Eurocopter Brings EC175 and EC135 T3/P3 ................Page 10 ADVERTISING/BUSINESS
Jennifer Schwartz Vice President & Group Publisher,
All-Metal Maintenance Stands at Home in Vegas .......Page 10 jschwartz@accessintel.com
Randy Jones Publisher, 1-972-713-9612,
rjones@accessintel.com
S-92, S-76D Lead Sikorsky’s Commercial Exhibits.......Page 11 US & Canada
Carol Mata 1-512-607-6361, cmata@accessintel.com
PRISM Upgrades SMS for Small Operators .................Page 12 International Sales, Europe/Pacific Rim/Asia
James McAuley +34 952118018,
jmccauley@accessintel.com
IHST Releases HUMS Safety Toolkit .............................Page 12
AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT
George Severine Fulfillment Director,
Hickok & Associates Develops Procedures...................Page 12 gseverine@accessintel.com
Customer Service/Back Issues 1-847-559-7314,
People and Coming Events ..........................................Page 14 rw@omeda.com
LIST SALES
Workshops, Seminars and HAI Events Schedule .........Page 16 Stalistics Jen Felling, 1-203-778-8700,
j.felling@statlistics.com
Interview with Richard Dussault of P&WC .................Page 20 REPRINTS
Wright’s Media, 1-877-652-5295,
Garmin Features GRA 5500 in Vegas ...........................Page 20 sales@wrightsmedia.com
ACCESS INTELLIGENCE, LLC
Metro Aviation Adds STCs for EC135/EC145 ..............Page 22 Donald A. Pazour Chief Executive Officer
Ed Pinedo Executive Vice President/Chief Financial Officer
Macy L. Fecto Executive Vice President,
BLR Aerospace Offers FastFin ROI Analysis .................Page 22 Human Resources & Administration
Heather Farley Divisional President,
Rolls-Royce to Showcase Engines, Apps ......................Page 24 Business Information Group
Sylvia Sierra Senior Vice President of Corporate
FLIR Systems Brings Sensor Applications ....................Page 24 Audience Development
Robert Paciorek Senior Vice President/
Chief Information Officer
Avalex Technologies Shows Smart Displays ................Page 24 Michael Kraus Vice President of Production &
Manufacturing
Q&A with Turbomeca CEO Olivier Andries ................Page 26 Steve Barber Vice President, Financial Planning and
Internal Audit
Swiss Marenco SKYe SH09 Progresses ..........................Page 28 Alison Johns Vice President, E-Media,
Business Information Group
Emhart Brings Spiralock to Heli-Expo .........................Page 30 Reprints
Wright’s Media, sales@wrightsmedia.com
1-877-652-5925
Utah Aero Bureau Selects Becker Audio .......................Page 30 List Sales 1-203-778-8700, Back Issues 1-847-559-7314
Editorial 1-301-354-1832, Advertising 1-972-713-9612
Aero Dynamix Obtains Laser Panel Approval .............Page 30 Customer Service 1-847-559-7314

Cadorath Boosts Bell Repair Offerings .........................Page 30

SHOW DAY
Access Intelligence, LLC
4 Choke Cherry Rd., 2nd Floor , Rockville, MD 20850
Phone: 301-354-2000, Fax: 301-340-3169
E-mail: rotorandwing@accessintel.com

rotorandwing.com ■ HELI-EXPO 2013 3

HELIO-EXPO NEWS
Robinson to Show Police R66, ENG R44
By Ernie Stephens,
Editor-at-Large
Torrence, Calif.-based Robinson He-
licopter (Booth C1511) will display
two of its specially equipped aircraft
at Heli-Expo 2013. One will be a law
enforcement version of its turbine-
powered R66, and the other will be an
R44 electronic newsgathering (ENG)
platform. Conventional versions of
the company’s current best-selling
helicopter—the four-seat, piston-
driven R44 Raven, and its two-seat
piston helicopter, the R22—will likely
share the display area with the two,
purpose-built models.
“They’re all factory demos, except
the R66 police helicopter. It’s being
operated by Fontana Police,” said Kurt
Robinson, president of the company
and son of its founder, Frank Robin-
son. “They just took delivery of it late
last year. So, that’s why we’re having
them bring it out.”
Fontana is located approximately 40
east of Los Angeles, and boasts a popu-
lation of 196,000 residents within its
43-square-mile city limits. Its police
department has been utilizing a law
enforcment-equipped R44II under a
lease agreement since 2003.
The police version of the R66 comes
with forward-looking infrared thermal
imaging equipment, searchlight, mov-
ing map system, and public service ra-
dio suite. It has seating for a pilot and
three other occupants. (The standard
R66 seats five, but the rear/center seat
in the police version is replaced with
an avionics bay concealed beneath a
raised armrest.)
Robinson’s standard R66 received FAA
certification in late 2011, and has been
drawing a positive response from opera-
tors looking for a turbine helicopter with
a base price of less than $1 million.
Also on static display at the Robin-
son booth will be an R44 Newscopter.
That aircraft is scheduled for delivery
to Sky Helicopters, a multi-mission
operation based in the Dallas/Fort
Worth, Texas area.
The ENG version of the R44 comes
equipped with a gyro-stabilized cam-
4 HELI-EXPO 2013 ■ rotorandwing.com
Robinson will display an R66 police helicopter similar to this one at Booth C1511. Photo by Ernie Stephens
era, digital downlink gear, “on-air tal-
ent” cameras, and rear cabin-mounted
production station for a broadcast
engineer. “We were increasing pro-
duction all through the year, and we
ended up producing 517 helicopters,
which is a significant increase over
2011,” Robinson said. “We did 356 he-
licopters that year.” The company has
also been swamped with greater-than-
anticipated requests for cargo hook
M International Brings Mx Family to Heli-Expo
McLean, Va.-based M Interna-
tional (Booth N5804) has arrived
at Heli-Expo prepared to present its
family of powerplant maintenance
centers to HAI’s members. The com-
pany, which was founded in 1979,
is parent to four subsidiaries: MINT
Turbines, Keystone Turbine Services,
Airborne Engines, and Southwest
Fuel systems.
MINT Turbines, based in Stroud,
Okla., has more than 30 years of
experience repairing and overhaul-
ing aircraft engines. It has recently
become a licensed T53-authorized
service center for Honeywell Inter-
national, and remains an authorized
repair, overhaul and testing provider
for Pratt & Whitney’s PT6A- and
PT6T-series engines and combining
gearboxes. The company also holds
U.S. Government HUBZone certifi-
cation.
and float upgrades for the R66.
Robinson’s production breakdown
for 2012 revealed weekly deliveries of
five R66s, six R44s, and one R22 from
its facility at Zamperini Field (KTAO)
in Torrence. “What we’re predicting
for 2013 will be sales very similar to
last year. But anything over 500, we’re
not going to complain about,” chuck-
led Robinson. More Airframe News
at www.aviationtoday.com/rw
Keystone Turbine Services, MI’s
newest engine service acquisition, is
the only authorized maintenance, re-
pair and overhaul facility on the East
Coast for Rolls-Royce M250 engines,
modules, components and accesso-
ries. The Coatesville, Pa.-based opera-
tion is also an FAA-certified Part 145
repair station; Honeywell-authorized
warranty and repair station for over-
haul, repair and testing of M250, LTS-
101; and now Pratt & Whitney PT6-
series fuel controls, power turbine
governors and accessories.
Airborne Engines Ltd of Delta,
B.C. is the only authorized Honey-
well T53 service center in Canada.
It is also an authorized repair and
overhaul facility for Rolls-Royce’s
M250 family of powerplants. It is a
full-service rework shop, on-site test
cell and exchange pool for engine
accessories.

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rotorandwing.com ■ HELI-EXPO 2013 5
 Show Briefs
Sensor Technology
Unveils Load Monitor/
Management Upgrades
Sensor Technology Ltd. (Booth
C2432) of Oxfordshire, England, has
brought a number of new helicopter
load systems for introduction at Heli-
Expo 2013. Visitors to its booth will
also be able to see products from its
established lineup of cargo devices.
Leading the list of new products is
the HeliNav LoadMaster, a wireless
payload monitor for helicopter cargo
hooks. As an autonomous system
that does not require integration
into the aircraft, LoadMaster can
be easily transferred between differ-
ent helicopters without the need for
separate certifications.
According to its engineers, Load-
Master checks the actual weight of
an under-slung load 10 times per
second, and transmits the gathered
data to a display in the cockpit. The
software also stores the informa-
tion for use in performance analysis
and customer billing. New features
include an inclinometer function
that allows each support cable in
a multi-point attached heavy load
to be monitored individually, and
displayed on a new, enhanced, seven-
inch color touchscreen display. Thes
ystem will interface with HeliNav
Trackmaster, another new technology
that will provide distance and weight
information for later flight analysis
and customer billing. TrackMaster
gives the flight crew an accurate
system for line guidance.
6 HELI-EXPO 2013 ■ rotorandwing.com
AW119Kx Makes
Heli-Expo Debut
Life Flight Network is the first operator of the
AgustaWestland AW119Kx. Photo by Ernie Stephens
The latest evolution of the
AgustaWestland (Booth N2115)
AW119 single-engine helicopter,
the AW119Kx, features Garmin’s
G1000H glass integrated flight deck
system and the very latest in avion-
ics technology, including synthetic
vision, moving map, highway in
the sky and obstacle/terrain avoid-
ance systems, to improve situational
awareness and increase safety. The
new aircraft, officially unveiled at
the Air Medical Transport Confer-
ence in Seattle during late October
2012, is expected to obtain certifica-
tion soon.
The AW119Kx incorporates an
integrated avionics suite, bringing
this model to a new digital era while
keeping the performance, cabin
space and payload characteristics of
the rugged AW119Ke. The first op-
erator for the AW119Kx is Life Flight
Network, which is set to receive all
of the 15 units ordered for its air
medical helicopter transportation
requirement during 2013. These he-
licopters, provided with a custom
EMS interior with two stretchers,
will be based in the states of Oregon,
Washington and Idaho.
Garmin’s G1000H flight deck system, including synthetic vision, highway in the sky and
obstacle/terrain avoidance, will come equipped on the AW119Kx. Photo courtesy of Garmin
The launch of the new AW119Kx
highlights AgustaWestland’s com-
mitment to the continued enhance-
ment of its product range, both
through the development of new
models and installing technology
into its existing products. With the
AW119Kx, the company is introduc-
ing greater capability into the single-
engine market, thanks to a combi-
nation of avionics with performance
and capacity.
The G1000H has two large 10.4-
inch LCD units to provide both
primary and multi-function display
(PFD/MFD) information. The new
avionics are also optimized for diag-
nostics and data analysis for mainte-
nance purposes. The EMS helicopter
configuration of the Kx will include
night vision imaging system (NVIS)
lighting and operation of night vi-
sion goggles (NVGs).
The AW119K, with a maximum
gross weight of 2,850 kg (6,283
lbs.), is powered by a Pratt & Whit-
ney PT6B-37A engine that is rated
at 1,002 shp (747 kW) for takeoff,
delivering exceptional performance
in hot and high conditions as well
as a maximum speed of 152 knots
(282 km/h). Critical systems redun-
dancies similar to twin-engine heli-
copters provide high levels of safety.
More than 100 operators have or-
dered almost 220 AW119s in nearly
40 countries. The new AW119Kx,
like the AW119Ke, is suited for many
roles, including EMS, utility, fire-
fighting, VIP/corporate transport,
offshore transport, law enforcement
and govern-
ment duties.
Read
more
Airframe
News at
www.avia-
tiontoday.
com/rw
 Visit us at
When Lives Heli-Expo,
booth C2425
Are on the Line,
Use Rescue
Hoists You
Can Trust.
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Sundstrand are now
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our hoists help save lives.

To find out more visit

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rotorandwing.com ■ HELI-EXPO 2013 7

 Show Briefs
RAVCO Completes High
Altitude Spanish Language
Training Course
Leadville, Colo.-based RAVCO
(Booth C3008) has graduated eight
foreign national military pilots from
its first Spanish language mountain
helicopter course. The three-week
program, carried out at RAVCO’s
Mountain/High Altitude Training
and Test Site in Leadville, included
advanced instruction in techniques
related to flying in challenging opera-
tional conditions.
The pilots used RAVCO’s fleet of
three Bell 206B3s to study aerody-
namics, the fundamentals of power
management, high-altitude physiol-
ogy and mountain weather, as well
as night vision goggle (NVG) training
at altitudes up to 14,000 feet.
Read more Training News at
www.aviationtoday.com/rw/
training
8 HELI-EXPO 2013 ■ rotorandwing.com
Phoenix Heliparts has assembled an exact replica of the MD500 used in the TV series, “Magnum PI” for its booth at Heli-Expo.
Photo by Phoenix Heliparts
Magnum PI MD500 Replica on
Display at Phoenix Heliparts
Phoenix Heliparts (Booth C1527),
an aftermarket MRO and rotorcraft
parts supplier, is one of more than
725 businesses that will exhibit at
Heli-Expo 2013 in Las Vegas.
Tina and Darin Cannon, a veter-
an aircraft maintenance technician
(AMT) with experience in MDs, the
Bell 206 and the Aerospatiale/Euro-
copter AS350, started their aftermar-
ket repair and parts business in 2003,
in the garage of their home.
“We found a niche in doing heavy
maintenance and repair of legacy
aircraft,” said Tina Cannon, presi-
dent. The company works on older
fixed and rotary wing aircraft, but
specializes in restoring no longer
manufactured rotorcraft, such as the
MD500D, which remains very popu-
lar with law enforcement and utility
operators.
If needed, Phoenix Heliports can
completely strip down an older heli-
copter and repair—can’t say rebuild
because of FAA rules—the aircraft,
adding the “latest and greatest tech-
nology,” Cannon said. The company
can install new engines and avionics
for operators.
Phoenix Heliparts also works on
Bell products. At present, Phoenix
Heliparts is a prime subcontractor
to Huntsville, Ala.-based Science
and Engineering Co., which has a
$350-million contract to restore Bell
UH-1s for the U.S. Department of
State.
At Heli-Expo, Phoenix Heliparts—
which is celebrating its 10th anniver-
sary—will exhibit at Booth C-1527
an exact replica of the MD500 he-
licopter used for the “Magnum PI”
television series, down to the same N
number and paint job. The success-
ful TV show ran from 1980 to 1988.
Two cast members from the original
cast, Roger E. Mosley (TC, the pilot)
and Larry Minetti (Rick) will be on
hand to sign the aircraft. Minetti has
written a book, “Aloha Magnum,”
which he will sign for readers.
The aircraft has been sold to Para-
dise Helicopters, which will take the
helicopter back to Honolulu.
For more parts and mainte-
nance news, visit www.avia-
tiontoday.com/rw
 Show Briefs
All Metal Maintenance
Stands At Home in Vegas
All Metal MS, a leading manu-
facturer of “safety first” aviation
support equipment, hangar equip-
ment, and maintenance stands,
won’t have to travel far to be present
at Heli-Expo, held in the company’s
home city of Las Vegas, Nevada
this year. Showing off one of their
latest helicopter maintenance stands
custom-designed for the U.S. Coast
Guard’s fleet of Dauphin helicopters,
President & CEO John Buscema and
company founder Bill McNiff will be
on-hand at booth C4906 to answer
questions. Always interested in
maximizing safety while improving
efficiency, they will also be display-
ing a gimbal camera installation and
removal device to support L-3 Wes-
cam’s MX-10 and MX-15 turrets.
Additionally, All Metal MS has de-
veloped a battery lift unit that works
in conjunction with one of their
general maintenance stands in an
effort to enhance support of the U.S.
Army’s UH-72 Lakota helicopter.
Sikorsky Aerospace Services-MRO
division has given the approval to
purchase 18 of the battery lifts,
which can also be seen at this year’s
show, for the helicopters stationed
at Fort Irwin, Calif., as well as 17
other U.S. Army locations around the
country. —By Frank Lombardi
For more maintenance news
visit www.rotorandwing.com
10 HELI-EXPO 2013 ■ rotorandwing.com
Eurocopter EC175 mockup, seen here at its unveiling at Heli-Expo 2008, will be replaced by an operational example at booth
C2922 this year. Photo by Ernie Stephens
AW119Kx Makes
Heli-Expo
Debut
The latest evolution of the
AgustaWestland (Booth N2115)
AW119 single-engine helicopter,
the AW119Kx, features Garmin’s
G1000H glass integrated flight deck
system and the very latest in avion-
ics technology, including synthetic
vision, moving map, highway in
the sky and obstacle/terrain avoid-
ance systems, to improve situational
awareness and increase safety. The
new aircraft, officially unveiled at
the Air Medical Transport Confer-
ence in Seattle during late October
2012, is expected to obtain certifica-
tion soon.
The AW119Kx incorporates an
integrated avionics suite, bringing
this model to a new digital era while
keeping the performance, cabin
space and payload characteristics of
the rugged AW119Ke. The first op-
erator for the AW119Kx is Life Flight
Network, which is set to receive all
of the 15 units ordered for its air
medical helicopter transportation
requirement during 2013. These he-
licopters, provided with a custom
EMS interior with two stretchers,
will be based in the states of Oregon,
Washington and Idaho.
The launch of the new AW119Kx
highlights AgustaWestland’s com-
mitment to the continued enhance-
ment of its product range, both
through the development of new
models and installing technology
into its existing products. With the
AW119Kx, the company is introduc-
ing greater capability into the single-
engine market, thanks to a combi-
nation of avionics with performance
and capacity.
The G1000H has two large 10.4-
inch LCD units to provide both
primary and multi-function display
(PFD/MFD) information. The new
avionics are also optimized for diag-
nostics and data analysis for mainte-
nance purposes. The EMS helicopter
configuration of the Kx will include
night vision imaging system (NVIS)
lighting and operation of night vi-
sion goggles (NVGs).
The AW119K, with a maximum
gross weight of 2,850 kg (6,283
lbs.), is powered by a Pratt & Whit-
ney PT6B-37A engine that is rated
at 1,002 shp (747 kW) for takeoff,
delivering exceptional performance
in hot and high conditions as well
as a maximum speed of 152 knots
(282 km/h). Critical systems redun-
dancies similar to twin-engine heli-
copters provide high levels of safety.
More than 100 operators have or-
WE’RE EVERYWHERE
YOU NEED TO BE

DON’T MISS P&WC’S

TECHNICAL BRIEFING SESSIONS
AT HELI-EXPO 2013

Meet P&WC’s experts and get up to the minute

on support initiatives, maintenance insights
and so much more.

TUESDAY, MARCH 5
Las Vegas Convention Center, Room N254
11 a.m.: PT6B
12 p.m.: PT6C-67E
1 p.m.: PW200 WWW.PWC.CA
PEOPLE/EVENTS

People: Who’s Changed Seats Since The Last Heli-Expo

Brad Pedersen (left)
became president and
CEO of Breeze-Eastern
in May 2012. Peder-
sen was formerly the
president of Airborne
Systems Group in New Jersey, and
prior to that served as the Canadian
maritime helicopter project program
manager, UH-60M program manager
and director of advanced programs
(R&D) during a six-year stint at Sikor-
sky Aircraft.
Leading up to Heli-Expo 2013,
Breeze-Eastern made a series of key
executive appointments, including
Steve Chisarik, the new vice presi-
dent of development programs. The
company also promoted
Rodger Hahneman
(left) to general manag-
er of production opera-
tions and customer sup-
port. Mike Koons, vice
president of contracts
and customer support, will work with
Hahneman on the company’s cus-
tomer support organization.
Vancouver, B.C.-based CHC He-
licopter hired Peter Bartolotta to
serve as chief operating officer and
president of the company’s Helicop-
ter Services division in mid-2012. A
former operations manager at Allied-
Signal/Honeywell, Bartolotta joins
CHC from Morrisville, N.C.-based
computer firm Lenovo Corp., where
he was senior vice president of global
services.
The National EMS Pilots Association
gave its 2012 Pilot of the Year award
to Jim Glasner, who flies for Eagle-
Med in Wichita, Kan. Glasner got his
start as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot
in 1970, becoming an HEMS pilot in
1979.
During his career, Glasner has served
as a line pilot, instructor pilot, check
airman, chief pilot and base manager.
Glasner joined EagleMed in 2001, cur-
rently flying the Eurocopter AS350B and
AS355N. NEMPSA presented the award
to Glasner during the AMTC Confer-
ence on Oct. 22 in Seattle, Wash.
Russian Helicopters named a new
chairman and board of directors dur-
ing its board meeting in July. Andrei
Reus, a board member since 2010,
was selected chairman of the board
of directors. Rues is the general direc-
tor of Oboronprom.
Keystone Med-Flight
has named Heidi
Ames as chief pilot for
the company. Ames was
previously the South-
east regional manager
and pilot hiring manag-
er for Med-Trans Corp. She has more
than 20 years of flight and manage-
ment experience with commercial air
medical operators and the military.
American Helicopter Society Interna-
tional (AHS International) elected new
directors and officers in early 2012 for
the period running until June 30, 2013.
Stephen Mundt, vice president of
business development for EADS North
America, is serving as chairman and
Bell Helicopter President & CEO John
Garrison is president of the board of
directors. Ed Birtwell, general man-
ger at GE Aviation, took the position of
treasurer, and Boeing’s Dan Newman,
senior technical fellow for new product
development, is the AHS International
technical director.

Coming Events
2013:
March 4–7: HAI Heli-Expo
2013, Las Vegas, Nev.
Contact HAI, 1-703-683-4646 or
visit www.rotor.com
March 12-14: ATC Global,
Amsterdam RAI Center,
Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Visit www.atcglobalhub.com
March 18–20: 9th Annual
CHC Safety & Safety
Summit, Vancouver, Canada.
Contact CHC, phone 1-604-
232-7424 or visit www.
chcsafetyqualitysummit.com
March 25–28: 56th Annual
AEA International Convention
& Trade Show, Las Vegas, Nev.
Contact Aircraft Electronics
Assoc., phone 1-816-347-8400 or
visit www.aea.net
April 8-10: Navy Lead Sea-
Air-Space Exposition, Gaylord
National Resort & Convention
Center, National Harbor, Md.
Visit www.seaairspace.org
April 9-11: Aircraft Interiors
Expo, Hamburg Messe,
Hamburg, Germany. Visit
www.aircraftinteriorsexpo.com
April 10–14: Quad-A Annual
Convention, Fort Worth, Texas.
Contact Quad-A, phone
1-203-268-2450 or visit
www.quad-a.org
April 16–18: Asian Business
Aviation Conference &
Exhibition (ABACE 2013),
Shanghai, China. Contact
NBAA, phone 1-202-783-9000
or visit www.abace.aero
May 16–18: 6th International
Helicopter Industry Exhibition,
Moscow, Russia. Contact
HeliRussia, phone +7 (0) 495 958
9490 or visit helirussia.ru/en
May 21–23: AHS International
69th Annual Forum and
Technology Display, Phoenix,
Ariz. Contact AHS, phone 1-703-
684-6777 or visit www.vtol.org
May 21–23: European
Business Aviation Convention
and Exhibition (EBACE),
Geneva PALEXPO and Geneva
International Airport, Geneva,
Switzerland. Visit www.ebace.aero
June 17–23: Paris Airshow, Le
Bourget, Paris, France. Visit www.
paris-air-show.com
July 29-Aug. 4: EAA
AirVenture, Wittman Regional
Airport, Oshkosh, Wis. Visit
www.eaa.org
Aug. 12-15: Association of
Unmanned Vehicle Systems
International (AUVSI)
Unmanned Systems 2013,
Walter E. Washington
Convention Center, Washington,
D.C. Visit www.auvsi.org
Oct. 10-12: Aircraft Owners
and Pilots Association Aviation
Summit, Fort Worth, Texas.
Visit www.aopa.org.
Oct. 21-23: AUSA Annual
Meeting and Exposition, Walter
E. Washington Convention
Center, Washington, D.C.
Visit www.ausa.org
Oct. 22-24: NBAA Annual
Meeting & Convention, Las
Vegas Convention Center, Las
Vegas. Visit www.nbaa.org
Nov. 17-21: Dubai Airshow,
Dubai World Central, Dubai.
Visit www.dubaiairshow.aero
2014:
March 2-5: Heli-Expo 2014,
Orlando, Fla. Contact HAI,
1-703-683-4646 or visit
www.rotor.com

14 HELI-EXPO 2013 ■ rotorandwing.com

 THANK YOU FOR MAKING
MILESTONE AVIATION GROUP
THE LARGEST HELICOPTER LESSOR
IN THE WORLD.

Thanks to our more than 20 world-class operating partners, Milestone has leased over
70 helicopters valued at over US$ 1.0 billion. These aircraft, which vary from the light-twin
;1ヱンヵ" ﾗ" ｴW"ｴW; ど ｷﾐ"}どΓヲが"; W" W ｷﾐｪ"ﾏｷ ｷﾗﾐどI ｷ I;ﾉ"Iﾗﾐ ;I "ｷﾐ"16 countries around the
world. We are excited to continue to support our customers’ growth and look forward to
ﾗ ｷSｷﾐｪ" ｴWﾏ" ｷ ｴ";SSｷ ﾗﾐ;ﾉ"ﾉｷ ｷSｷ "ｷﾐ"ヲヰヱンく"

W"; W";I Wﾉ "ﾉﾗﾗﾆｷﾐｪ" ﾗ"ｷﾐI W; W"ﾗ " ; ﾐW ｴｷ " ｷ ｴ high-quality operators in O&G, SAR,
K;c}が" ; ;ど HﾉｷIが"ﾏｷﾐｷﾐｪ";ﾐS"ﾗ ｴW " ｷﾉｷ "ﾏｷ ｷﾗﾐ く"Na" ﾗ " ｷ ｴ" ﾗ"W ﾉﾗ W" ｴW ｴW " ﾗ "
Iﾗﾏ ;ﾐ "I;ﾐ"HWﾐWg "a ﾗﾏ" ｴW"ヱヰヰХ"ﾗ W ; ﾐｪ"ﾉW; W"gﾐ;ﾐIｷﾐｪ that Milestone provides please
Iﾗﾐ ;I " く

Please contact us to learn how we can support you. PROVIDING OVER $1.0 BILLION
Phone: +353 1 205 1400 / +1 614 233 2300
;ﾏ;ｷﾉぎ"ｷﾐaﾗをﾏｷﾉW ﾗﾐW; ｷ; ﾗﾐくIﾗﾏ IN OPERATING LEASE FINANCING
WHぎ" くﾏｷﾉW ﾗﾐW; ｷ; ﾗﾐくIﾗﾏ Please visit us at Heli-Expo booth #C5911
WORKSHOP/SEMINARS

Safety Directors Forum (RSC) 11:30 am 12:30 pm

HFI Pilot Mentoring Program 12:30 pm 1:30 pm
Air Medical Services Committee Meeting 1:00 pm 3:00 pm
Ofshore Forum 1:30 pm 3:30 pm
HFI Industry Outreach to Students 1:30 pm 2:30 pm
Utilities, Patrol, and Construction Committee Meeting 2:00 pm 4:00 pm
HFI Maintenance Tech Mentoring Program 2:30 pm 3:30 pm
Pilot Roundtable 3:00 pm 4:30 pm
Twirly Birds Annual Meeting 5:30 pm 7:30 pm

Wednesday, March 6, 2013 sTarT TIMe end TIMe

Manufacturers’ Technical Brieings 8:00 am 5:00 pm
Flight Operations Committee Meeting 8:00 am 10:00 am
Government Service Committee Meeting 8:00 am 10:00 am
HAI Rotor Safety Challenge Education Sessions (RSC) 8:30 am 5:00 pm
Finance & Leasing Committee Meeting 8:30 am 10:00 am
Safety Committee Meeting 8:30 am 9:30 am
Chief Pilot Roundtable 9:00 am 11:00 am
General Aviation Association CEO Town Hall 9:00 am 10:00 am
This event will provide an opportunity for all attendees to learn about the shared interests of the general aviation community and how the
representatives of the general aviation associations work together on issues. There will be an opportunity for questions at the end.
Exhibit Hall Open 10:00 am 5:00 pm
Aerial Fireighting & Natural Resources (formerly Government Contracting)
10:00 am 12:00 pm
Committee Meeting
Fly Neighborly / Environmental Committee Meeting 10:30 am 12:30 pm
Flight Training Committee Meeting 10:30 am 12:30 pm
HAI Auditor Accreditation Workshop 1:00 pm 5:00 pm
Heliport Committee Meeting 1:00 pm 4:00 pm
Autorotations - Reality Exposed 1:00 pm 3:00 pm
Annual DOI/USFS Interagency Fire Brieing 1:00 pm 3:00 pm
Business Management (formerly Economics) Committee Meeting 1:00 pm 3:00 pm
Insurance Forum 1:00 pm 3:00 pm
HAI Salute to Excellence Awards Dinner* 8:00 pm 11:30 pm
at the Encore at Wynn. Join the HAI Board of Directors in honoring those whose remarkable talent and professionalism enrich our industry and
whose courage and skills have saved lives under extreme conditions, despite extraordinary odds. Tickets for the awards dinner must be purchased
separately; advanced purchase is recommended but tickets will be sold on site on a space-available basis. Seating reservations must be made
before noon, Wednesday, March 6, either online or at the awards dinner desk in the registration area of the Convention Center. Tables of 10 are avail-
able but do ill up quickly, so request these early.

Thursday, March 7, 2013 sTarT TIMe end TIMe

Why SMS in Maintenance? Workshop (RSC) 8:00 am 12:00 pm
Ailiate Symposium 8:00 am 10:00 pm
Heliport Design Workshop 9:00 am 12:00 pm
General Session 9:00 am 10:00 am
Exhibit Hall Open 10:00 am 4:00 pm

FrIday, March 8 – sunday, March 10, 2013 sTarT TIMe end TIMe
Professional Education Courses* 8:00 am 5:00 pm

18 HELI-EXPO 2013 ■ rotorandwing.com *Separate registration/ticket required.

 WORKSHOP/SEMINARS

The harder your

helicopter works,
the more it deserves
Garmin glass.
It’s all about flying with confidence. Name almost any hard-working light helicopter you know –
and chances are, it’s on the growing list of airframes STC’d with our G500H glass flight displays.
A great upgrade option, the dual-screen G500H can bring solid-state AHRS reliability, 5-color
terrain shading, and safety-enhanced situational awareness with optional Garmin HSVT™ 3-D
synthetic vision technology. Come see it at our HAI static display, N5. Or visit us at booth #N4412.

To learn more, visit Garmin.com/helicopters

©2013 Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries G500H ®

rotorandwing.com ■ HELI-EXPO 2013 19

 Show Briefs
Garmin Features GRA
5500 in Las Vegas
Since 1989, Garmin (Booths
N4412 and N5) has designed,
manufactured, marketed and sold
navigation, communication and in-
formation devices and applications—
most of which are enabled by GPS
technology. Garmin’s products serve
automotive, mobile, wireless, outdoor
recreation, marine, aviation, and
OEM applications.
One of the latest devices to come
out of Garmin’s Olathe, Kansas
facility is the GRA 5500, a high-per-
formance, all-digital radar altimeter
for transport category, helicopter,
business and general aviation air-
craft. Using patent-pending digital
signal processing technology, the
GRA 5500 works to provide smooth
altitude tracking resulting in a con-
sistent and highly accurate altitude
above ground indication, even over
the most challenging environments
like rough terrain, tree canopies, sand
and choppy water.
The GRA 5500 “meets the highest
altitude accuracy standards only pre-
viously seen in products for transport
and military aircraft, providing pilots
unprecedented confidence in their
actual altitude,” said Carl Wolf,
Garmin’s vice president of aviation
sales and marketing.
According to Garmin, the GRA
5500 is able to intelligently process
hundreds of altitude measurements
per second and apply advanced digi-
tal filters to help detect and mitigate
false altitude returns.
Industry-standard ARINC 429
interface allows the GRA 5500 to
integrate with a breadth of Garmin
integrated flight decks and flight
displays, as well as third-party prod-
ucts.
See this unit and more at Garmin’s
booths, N4412 and N5, during Heli-
Expo 2013. —By Frank Lombardi
For more avionics news, visit
Rotor & Wing sister publication,
Avionics Magazine, on the web at
www.avionicstoday.com
20 HELI-EXPO 2013 ■ rotorandwing.com
Q&A with Richard Dussault of
Pratt & Whitney Canada
Pratt & Whitney Canada will have this cut-away model of
its PT6C-67, as well as other products, on display in booth
N3718. Photo by Ernie Stephens
By Ernie Stephens,
Editor-at-Large
Pratt & Whitney Canada (Booth
N3718) has been designing and
manufacturing powerplants since
the late 1950s. Since then, its line of
helicopter engines—such as the PT6
and its new PW210—have found
their way aboard many of yester-
day’s and today’s most advanced
rotorcraft. Rotor & Wing spoke with
Richard Dussault, P&WC’s vice
president of sales and marketing for
regional helicopter engines, who
shared what the company is cur-
rently working on.
R&W: What are your priorities for
the regional helicopter division?
Dussault: When we focus on the
helicopter market, it’s about lever-
aging the new platforms and the
business growth in the various seg-
ments. We’ve made a lot of very
significant investments in the he-
licopter business over the last few
years. Today we have many pro-
grams in development. We have
three versions of the PW210, which
is our brand new platform, state-
of-the-art, 1,000-shp type engine.
And Sikorsky has selected it for the
S-76D. It will start entering revenue
service this year. The PW210-A for
the AgustaWestland AW169 is in
full development. (The fourth pro-
totype has just begun flying.) And
last year we announced the PW210-
E for powering the new Eurocopter
X4. We’re in full development with
that product. So, the 210 as a family
is a big priority of ours, and we are
convinced that it will be a big mar-
ket hit with operators. The PT6C-
67-E, a variant of the PT6-C67
family of engines that’s powering
the Eurocopter EC175, was certi-
fied last year. Eurocopter is in full-
development work and certifica-
tion work to certify the EC175 this
year and enter into service. Also,
we’ve announced the development
program on the PT6-C67-A for the
AgustaWestland AW609 tiltorotor.
So, we’ve got a lot of new prod-
ucts coming into the market, and
that’s our prime priority—to make
sure we enter service flawlessly, and
we deliver the performance our cus-
tomers expect of us.
R&W: Are there any special tech-
nological requirements for the X4?
Dussault: Yes. It is a very detailed
engineering spec that we’ve agreed
to with Eurocopter, and the other
customers as well. It is very, very
powerful in terms of power-re-
sponse capability. It’s got a full-au-
thority digital engine control (FA-
DEC) that’s very heavily integrated
into the aircraft’s avionics.
Rotor & Wing: Are you able to share
your helicopter engine sales figures
for 2012?
Dussault: We don’t break that
down into that sort of level of
detail. But I can tell you that we
shipped close to 800 engines in the
helicopter market. So, you sort of
see the size of the business for Pratt
& Whitney Canada.
R&W: What is your forecast for
2013?
Dussault: There will be some an-
nouncements for HAI. But nothing
from the standpoint of new facili-
ties or anything like that. I think
we’ve got a very extensive network
as it is [with] both Pratt & Whitney-
owned shops and third-party pro-
viders that are authorized by Pratt.
From that standpoint, we believe
we have the network that we need
to serve our customers. Full Story:
www.rotorandwing.com
 Richard Fine
Quality Inspector

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rotorandwing.com ■ HELI-EXPO 2013 21

 Show Briefs
BLR Aerospace Offers
FastFin ROI Analysis
With more than 600 systems sold
worldwide, BLR Aerospace (Booth
N3724) has demonstrated that it’s
FastFin tail rotor enhancement and
stability system is a game-changing
technology that dramatically im-
proves the stability, safety margin
and wind azimuth tolerance of Bell
medium helicopters.
But that’s not all. The FastFin
System also delivers a quantifiable
return on investment. This year, BLR
is offering Heli-Expo attendees a cus-
tomized return on investment (ROI)
Information on Metro Aviation’s medical transport services, as well as operational examples of its completion and upgrade
analysis.
services, can be found at booth C3511. Photo by Ernie Stephens
Appointments are not necessary,
and Bell medium operators may
request an analysis that can quickly
estimate what their payback period
Metro Adds Innovative STCs for
will be for the investment made in
the FastFin system, and calculate Eurocopter EC135 and EC145
continuing savings looking forward By Ernie Stephens, try, high-resolution graphics, and
at the BLR Exhibit throughout the Editor-at-Large ergonomic grips for operation in tur-
convention. Operators may also Metro Aviation (Booth C3511), bulence. Terrain alerting features are
request a technology briefing to learn the Shreveport, La.-based provider of also incorporated into the avionics
more about how and why the FastFin helicopter completion services, will with color-coded terrain, terrain map
System works. use its appearance at Heli-Expo to overlays, and HTAWS warnings.
According to BLR Aerospace, while announce the addition of a helicop- High-output transceivers, and
every operator will realize a return ter terrain awareness and warning remote transponder and audio pro-
on investment, every flight profile is system (H-TAWS) to its single-pilot cessor operation are also available,
different, so each individual ROI will IFR supplemental type certificate as are Jeppesen Chatview, XM WX
be different, too. Participants will be (STC) for the Eurocopter EC135 and satellite weather, U.S. Safe Taxi, U.S.
asked a series of basic operational EC145 helicopter lines. In a state- Flite Charts, and many other fea-
questions about the way they fly, and ment released to Rotor & Wing, the tures. Metro Aviation personnel can
the automated process will quickly company calls the enhanced feature fully integrate the new Geneva digi-
calculate the ROI value. “…a new level of increased safety tal audio communication system
The FastFin System modifies the and operational efficiency that the into the Garmin GTN series.
tail boom with two parallel stall company can offer embodied in one “We are always looking for new
strips, known as Dual Tail Boom STC.” and innovative ways to improve
Strakes, and a reshaped vertical fin, Metro Aviation plans to add the our safety equipment and services
optimizing airflow around the tail Garmin GTN series NAV/COM/GPS offered, not only in our operating
boom for dramatic performance and suite to both the EC135 and EC145 fleet, but also to our completion
efficiency improvements. later in 2013, giving those models customers around the world,” said
Bell Helicopter now installs Fast- touch-screen controls and “seam- Milton Geltz, managing director.
Fin as standard equipment on all less cockpit integration,” as well as Metro Aviation invites attendees
new Bell 412EPs. Come to BLR’s multi-function displays that include at Heli-Expo 2013 to come to booth
Booth N3724 to get a custom ROI automatic dependent surveillance- C3511 to learn more about its STCs,
analysis. —By Frank Lombardi broadcast (ADS-B) traffic and weath- aircraft completions services, and air
er capabilities. medical transport operations.
For more helicopter modifica-
Other features of the GTN series
tions and rotor blade news, visit
are Gamma 3 wide area augmenta- For more helicopter EMS,
www.rotorandwing.com
tion system (WAAS)-enabled ap- completions, avionics and
proaches, weather radar integration, maintenance news, visit
www.rotorandwing.com
intuitive menus, simplified data en-

22 HELI-EXPO 2013 ■ rotorandwing.com

 The Interactive Hub for Aviation Pros

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Aviation Professionals Network is the premier space dedicated to aviation professionals. Become
a part of this dynamic community where industry insiders congregate and connect with Aviation
Today editors, colleagues and clients. Niche groups offer venues for members to get input or
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rotorandwing.com ■ HELI-EXPO 2013 23

19878
 Show Briefs
FLIR Systems Brings
Sensor Applications
FLIR Systems, Inc. (Booth C6606)
imaging and detection sensors are
used for a variety of applications,
including airborne and ground-based
surveillance, SAR, drug interdiction,
border and maritime patrol. FLIR’s
airborne sensors are unique in pro-
viding a common operating system
with cables, interface and hand con-
trollers allowing for ease of use.
Operators who are looking for
high-definition imaging solutions
have many options to choose from.
FLIR’s Star SAFIRE family of turrets
feature a simplified common inter-
face to their single line replaceable
units (LRUs). This provides standard-
ized wiring to all HD turrets in this
family and to external systems, mak-
ing this family of systems completely
interchangeable and interoperable.
Visit the FLIR booth (C6606) dur-
ing Heli-Expo to learn more about
these products. Also on display will
be the Pima County Sheriff Depart-
ment’s new AS350 with state-of-the-
art avionics.
Find more Technology News at
www.rotorandwing.com
Avalex Technologies
Shows Smart Displays
Pensacola, Fla.-based Avalex Tech-
nologies (Booth C2411) continues
to bring display, moving map and
video recorder technology to the avia-
tion market. The company’s family
of multifunction displays, smart
tablets, and radio management units
are designed to save space, weight,
and power. Avalex Smart Displays
combine a powerful solid-state pro-
cessor and display into a lightweight
and rugged package. Offering a wide
variety of processors and memory op-
tions, the Avalex smart display line
has a solution for nearly any mission
need. Stop by booth C2411 to see the
entire complement of Avalex Tech-
nologies products. —By Frank Lom-
bardi Read more avionics news
at www.aviationtoday.com/av
24 HELI-EXPO 2013 ■ rotorandwing.com
Rolls-Royce To Showcase
Engines, Apps at Heli-Expo
By Ernie Stephens,
Editor-at-Large
RR300 turbine engine, as well as other Rolls-Royce products,
will be on display at Booth N4717. Photo by Ernie Stephens
Engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce
promises engine displays, support
applications and interactive learning
tools for Heli-Expo attendees who
visit Booth N4717. The company
also promises news of its latest de-
velopments, and programs to power
a very old helicopter model. “One
of the things we’re rolling out at the
booth is the industry’s first support
app,” said Greg Fedele, senior vice
president of helicopters. “It’s for our
FIRST Network.”
One of Rolls-Royce’s popular en-
gine maintenance programs, FIRST
Network consists of 24 company-
owned and authorized service cen-
ters available to service the 4,500
operators of its M250 engine series.
“If you need support or service for
an M250 [through FIRST Network],
you can have an app on several dif-
ferent platforms, such as your iP-
hone, iPad and Android,” explained
Fedele. Best of all, he added, the ser-
vice is free. Stop by the Rolls-Royce
Heli-Expo booth with a smart phone
or tablet, scan the QR code, and it
will take you to a website to down-
load the app.
Rolls-Royce will also be announc-
ing a new set of support options for
the RR300, the powerplant used in
the single-engine Robinson R66
turbine. Fedele said the company
is “rolling out an enhanced suite of
support specifically for the RR300.”
The only service plan originally
available for the RR300 was a time-
and-material system. But Rolls-Royce
is now adding two additional plans.
The first is the company’s Total
Care program, which is a power-by-
the-hour (PBH) plan for scheduled
maintenance. The second, which is
also based on the Total Care plan,
goes further. It includes unsched-
uled maintenance items. “The other
thing we’re offering is the ability to
pre-pay those two Total Care pack-
ages at a discount,” explained Fe-
dele. Rolls-Royce is also planning to
bring the pre-pay option to its M250
customers sometime in the future.
But there is more news from Rolls-
Royce on the RR300, which has
only been installed in the Robinson
R66—approximately 500 units to
date. Last fall, the company signed
a memorandum of understanding
with Scott’s Bell 47, which owns
the rights to build the Bell 47 as its
own SB-47. It creates a deal to “look
into,” as Fedele described it, offering
the 300-shp RR300 turbine as an op-
tion for the SB-47. And even though
Fedele refused to get into specifics,
he said that another airframer is “in-
terested” in putting the engine in a
production aircraft.
Rolls-Royce also plans to use its
appearance at Heli-Expo to tell at-
tendees about a new variant of a
popular powerplant. “We will be
launching a new series of engines
called the M250-C47E—the Evolu-
tion Engine,” Fedele reported.
The C47B will be on display at the
Rolls-Royce booth, along with an in-
teractive learning system that uses a
touchscreen television to show the
intricacies of the engine, as well as
component-level detail of the dif-
ferences between it and earlier mod-
els of the M250-C47. Rolls-Royce
will also use its appearance to an-
nounce that it sold approximately
500 engines in 2012, and delivered
its 31,000th turbine engine in Feb-
ruary of 2012. The recipient of the
31,000th engine was Enstrom Heli-
copter of Menominee, Mich. Full
Story: rotorandwing.com
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TURBOMECA

Q&A with Turbomeca’s Olivier Andries

Turbomeca’s Ardiden 3 will power the Kamov Ka-62. Illustration shows the Ka-62 in the livery of Brazil’s Atlas, the launch customer of the Ka-62. Image courtesy of Russian Helicopters

By Andrew Parker, R&W: What about two or three years boost in the helicopter market out-
Editor-in-Chief down the road? side of the military.
Rotor & Wing had a chance to inter- Andries: In 2008, we were at 1,300,
view Turbomeca CEO Olivier Andres that was our high number. We are R&W: What are Turbomeca’s plans for
right before Heli-Expo to find out the confident that we’ll reach or be close Heli-Expo?
latest from the engine manufacturer to 1,100 by the end of 2013. So get- Andries: There are a lot of things
heading into Heli-Expo. ting back to 1,300, I would say toward going on, but unfortunately I can’t
2015. comment on all of them until the
R&W: What was business like in 2012? show. But what we’re basically going
How does it look for 2013? R&W: What segments of the commer- to communicate is about the TM800,
Andries: We have enjoyed good cial market are poised for growth? our brand new generation engine
growth in 2012 vs. 2011, which is a Andries: The most solid growth is that we officially launched last year,
continuation of the trend that we’ve coming from oil and gas. This is an and are developing to address the five
followed since 2010. 2010 was a interesting segment, because the to six-ton helicopter capability. It’s a
trough for us, in the aftermath of the growth is resilient to the financial 1,200-hp engine, and this is a power
economic crisis we were down to 800 situation or the global economic situ- segment where we previously had no
new engines delivered. ation. We see a trend for deeper off- offers. Other than the TM800, we’re
It was 942 in 2011, and precisely shore and new areas of exploration going to talk about upgrades to the
1,012 new engines delivered during and operation. So this is clearly an Arriel and Arrius lines. The Arriel 2E
2012—so growth of around six per- area of growth, and an area of growth received certification in December
cent in numbers. At the same time, for us too as we are in this segment. 2012, it’s going to power the EC145T2
our support business has grown too, The other segments, it’s small/ from Eurocopter. The Arrius 2B2+ is
as a consequence an expanding fleet sparse, but we see also a significant going to be the engine for the EC135
in operation of engines, but also growth in some specific geographi- V3, the third version of the EC135
we’ve seen a slight increase of flying cal areas, and I would list two as fast- powered by Turbomeca.
hours per engine. risers—South America and southeast But the big announcement is go-
So we have benefitted from both. Asia. This is driven by military needs ing to be on the TM800, in the 1,000
And as a consequence of all that, ba- in the helicopter market as well as to 2,000 hp market segment, where
sically our turnover has increased by commercial needs. we’ve decided to come in with a new-
10 percent versus last year. Oil and gas, certainly, but also po- generation engine, with typically
We see this trend going on in 2013, lice, parapublic, charter, tourism, you a double-digit advantage over the
so it’s essentially moderate growth, know, as those countries reach a cer- completion, and of course we want to
but solid. tain level of GDP, we see a significant be able to have significant commer-

26 HELI-EXPO 2013 ■ rotorandwing.com


cial success with these engines. One
of them is the Ardiden 3, which we
launched years ago in 1,800 hp range,
and then the TM800, which is in the
1,200 hp range.
We’re going to have a press confer-
ence on the TM800, including giving
it a name. We’ll keep the Turbomeca
tradition of naming our engines after
the name of peaks or lakes of the Pyr-
enees in France. But I won’t tell you
more until the show.
I also wanted to share that we
have launched a new way of working
within Turbomeca in relation to the
TM800. As an example this is the very
first engine, you might be surprised
but it’s the very first where we’ve de-
cided to have a cost objective design.
Meaning that we decided to involve
our manufacturing guys, and also our
support guys, right from the begin-
ning, right from the conception—in-
cluding some of our key suppliers—in
order to capitalize on all the knowl-
edge that we have acquired on the
support side, as well as the manufac-
turing side, to inject this knowledge
into new developments and to make
sure that we are going to be able to
develop an engine that is going to be
as cheap, or cheaper to produce and
also cheaper to operate.
That’s a key point, because the op-
erator is waiting at the end of the day
to keep the aircraft flying, so they
want high performance, high reli-
ability and low operating costs. So we
need to be able to respond to those
three key requirements from our end
customer.
R&W: How is Turbomeca positioning
itself to take advantage of emerging mar-
kets around the world?
Andries: First of all, one of the four
Ardiden 3. Image courtesy of Turbomeca
Graphic of the TM800. Image courtesy of Turbomeca
strategy pillars focused on customer
satisfaction is proximity. The four
are safety, reliability, innovation—
because we invest money in new en-
gines, to upgrade, about 15 percent
of our turnover—and the last one is
proximity. What does this mean? We
want to be close to our customer, and
so we’ve continued to expand our
network of Turbomeca offices, region-
al support and service centers.
As an example, in the last 18
months, we’ve opened two offices,
one in Mexico and the other in Ma-
laysia. Those are two growing coun-
tries. We shall continue that trend.
In Brazil, we have a strong MRO fa-
cility in Turbomeca do Brazil, close to
the Federal Police, there are about 200
people there and we have decided to
open an Makila assembly line in Bra-
zil for the EC225/EC725. So we are in-
creasing our capacity in Brazil, which
is a country where we are well-posi-
tioned and see very strong growth,
both in the military and commercial
markets.
As we speak, we have no indus-
trial footprint in Russia, but we are
strongly developing our business re-
lationship with Russian Helicopters.
Russian Helicopters is a strong player
in the market, they have large ambi-
tions and they want to be a worldwide
player. They have decided to develop
their product line, including the com-
mercial market. At the moment, we
are on two platforms, one is the Kam-
ov Ka-226, which is a twin engine but
TURBOMECA
light helicopter that we are powering
with an Arrius engine, so we’ve deliv-
ered our first serial engine to them,
and basically we’ve got a launching
customer, with is Gazprom.
The other platform we’ve embarked
on is the Ka-62, which is a seven-ton
brand new helicopter that they un-
veiled at Heli-Russia in mid-2012. To
a large extent, it’s a composite aero-
structure, it has new engines, new
main gearbox and new avionics, and
so it is receiving attention from the
oil and gas market. We are onboard
with the Ardiden 3. We delivered to
Kamov our first prototype powerplant
last year, and so the engine is planned
to fly in spring, and I expect the first
public flight in the summer.
In China, let’s say there’s a big po-
tential, including for helicopters. We
have license agreements with China
for older-generation engines, and we
have a partnership on one specific
version of the Ardiden 3 for a Chi-
nese platform, which is named W-16,
which is dedicated to the Red 15 plat-
form, which is a Chinese version of
the EC175. This is in process we are in
a development phase with them, it’s
a 50/50 partnership where basically
they are in charge of the cold section,
and we are for the hot section of the
engine.
To read the full interview and
additional Engine News, visit
www.rotorandwing.com
rotorandwing.com ■ HELI-EXPO 2013 27
MARENCO SWISSHELICOPTER
Swiss Marenco SKYe SH09 Advances
Marenco Swisshelicopter SKYe SH09 at Heli-Expo 2012. Images courtesy of Marenco
By Andrew Parker,
Editor-in-Chief
Marenco Swisshelicopter (Booth
N3712) will discuss the progress of its
SKYe SH09 at Heli-Expo. The helicop-
ter has received a total of 35 orders
through early 2013, with deliveries
targeted to begin in 2015. The com-
pany will announce the appointment
of a distributor and representative for
the Asia-Pacific region, according to
Mathias Senes, commercial and strat-
egy director.
“We are working very hard and that’s
something that’s not just a myth,” he
said. “The targets that we fixed are im-
posing on us. We knew from the be-
ginning that this planning was tight,
some people mentioned that we were
a little too ‘virtual’ during the 2011
Graphical rendering of the SH09 in the law enforcement/police/EMS configuration.
28 HELI-EXPO 2013 ■ rotorandwing.com
launch, but as our CEO said, ‘If we
don’t have this kind of tight planning,
then nothing will fly for 10 years.’”
Deliveries are still planned for 2015,
Senes told Rotor & Wing. “Keep in
mind, we do plan for a small number
of aircraft in 2015. We don’t want to
extend the risk over too much of a big
fleet, so we figure that if we deliver
30 to 50 aircraft in the first couple
of years, that will be quite enough to
handle in terms of keeping support.”
On the development side, he con-
tinued, “we announced early last year
that we would fly in 2012. But then
after we made the announcement, we
decided not to produce an experimen-
tal aircraft—which was the initial plan,
to fly it very quickly. We realized that
we needed to make a prototype, being
Graphic of the SH09 in transport configuration.
recordable in the certification process,
which is not the case for an X1 type of
helicopter.”
But Marenco remains optimistic
that the timeline will remain intact.
“What we have lost in preparing the
prototype, we should gain back in the
certification process,” Senes said.
The company will also uncover the
latest modifications to the helicopter’s
Sagem instrument panel, which will
include reducing the cockpit displays
from 10 inches to 8 inches. Marenco
is not committing to an exact date for
certification of the Honeywell HTS-
900-2 powered SH09, but the compa-
ny is “fully engaged” with EASA in the
type certification process.
“We’re leading the certification
through EASA, with the support of the
Swiss aviation authority, and in paral-
lel in the U.S., we have full-time ex-
FAA certification officers to correspond
with our team and inform the FAA and
Transport Canada of our progress.”
The seven-passenger SH09 proto-
type is currently being assembled and
is projected to have a 140-knot cruise
speed with a 430 nautical mile range.
To read the full story from the
interview with Mathias Senes,
visit www.rotorandwing.com
 Show Briefs
Utah Aero Bureau AS350
to Use Becker Audio
Becker Avionics (Booth N5801)
will equip the Utah Highway Patrol
Aero Bureau’s newly ordered Eurocop-
ter (Booth C2922) AS350B3e with
its DVCS6100 digital audio system.
The AS350B3e will become the first
of its type to enter service for a law
enforcement agency in the United
States, joining two other AS350B2 A-
Stars that are currently in operation
with the Utah Highway Patrol. The
new helicopter is scheduled for initial
delivery in May, followed by installa-
tion of the DVCS6100 system and a
law enforcement mission package at
Hangar One Avionics (Booth C2813)
in Carlsbad, Calif.
See more Law Enforcement
News at rotorandwing.com
Cadorath Boosts Bell Heli-
copter Repair Offerings
Winnipeg-based Cadorath Aero-
space has expanded the number of
options available for Bell (Booths
N17-18 and N5612) operators,
developing 178 new repairs during
2012. The company’s engineering
department continues to grow and
plans call for additional repairs to
become available during 2013, ac-
cording to President & CEO Gerry
Cadorath. Visit Cadorath at Heli-
Expo Booth C4122.
Read more Repair News at
www.aviationtoday.com
Aero Dynamix Obtains
Laser Panel Certification
The U.S. Defense Logistics Agency
has approved the MIL-DTL-7788 il-
luminated panels from Aero Dyna-
mix (Booth C2025) as certified for its
qualified products lists (QPL). Aero
Dynamix produced the illuminated
panels in-house at its robotic paint
facility in Euless, Texas to ensure the
consistency of paint application.
See more Certification News at
www.rotorandwing.com
30 HELI-EXPO 2013 ■ rotorandwing.com
Emhart Brings Spiralock
to Heli-Expo 2013
By Frank Lombardi
Emhart Teknologies-Aerospace, a
Heli-Expo 2013 exhibitor at Booth
C3405, presents its Spiralock brand
of internally threaded fasteners, fea-
turing a 30-degree wedge ramp at
the root of the female thread. The
Spiralock self-locking threaded as-
sembly effectively prevents vibra-
tion loosening without the use of
ancillary devices.
Spiralock threaded fasteners are
available in several different options
ranging from hex and hex flange
nuts, self clinching nuts, ultrasonic
inserts, molded inserts, threaded
standoffs, wire inserts, and custom
threaded fasteners. Furthermore,
Spiralock has the experience and
capability to manufacture most any
type of fastener featuring the Spiral-
ock internal female thread.
NASA was among the first to ap-
preciate the advantages of the Spi-
ralock thread, when designing the
main engines of the Shuttle orbiter.
Each of the three main engines de-
velops 400,000 lbs. of thrust and ter-
rific vibration. But the Space Agency
also wanted a 15-cycle reuse capabil-
ity per fastener.
Under its own test, NASA deter-
mined the fasteners in Spiralock-
threaded holes did not back off
or loosen when subjected to ten
times shuttle-specified vibrations,
and they stayed that way 10 times
longer than called for, according
to the company. NASA tests found
the Spiralock fasteners delivered 50
uses with no loss of locking perfor-
mance.
Current industry trends show on-
going efforts to increase fuel efficien-
cy, tactical mobility, and payload ca-
pacity in aerospace design, driving
engineers to find numerous ways to
reduce mass through the extensive
use of lightweight materials such as
composites, aluminum, and plastics.
In most structural joints using light-
weight materials, the parent mate-
rial needs to be reinforced through
the use of a wire insert, molded/pot-
ted insert or ultrasonic insert. Spiral-
ock offers all of these products with
its unique thread,
which allows for
superior locking
performance in re-
lation to standard
threads and prevail-
ing torque threads.
Stop by the Emhart
Teknologies Booth
C3405 to see demos
of its fastener tech-
nology.
For more Prod-
uct news, see Ro-
tor & Wing’s Hot
Products in the
monthly print
edition and visit
www.rotorand-
wing.com