Lebanon and Kenya will become the latest nations to procure zero-timed Bell UH-1H-based Huey II helicopters through the US Army. Last week, Bell Helicopter of Fort Worth, Texas received $19 million from the Pentagon to furnish three Huey IIs for the government of Lebanon by March 2017. The same week, the army’s non-standard rotary wing aircraft office began seeking potential sources to...
Arrivederci Finmeccanica. Buongiorno Leonardo. Not long after the Italian group announced it was consolidating its businesses around a single corporate identity, it has revealed that new identity – a surprising choice, inspired by the country’s greatest genius. Safran, meanwhile, is to replace Snecma, Messier-Bugatti-Dowty and other venerable brands with a monicker cr...
On Thursday 10th March 2016 over 40 members of the UK onshore helicopter industry got together at the buildings of the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), Farnborough. Senior members of many of the Air Operators Certificate (AOC) operators and maintenance organisations, along with Airbus Helicopters UK, Finmeccanica UK, and Turbomeca UK all contributed to a busy schedule of talks aimed a...
A firepower demonstration conducted at Puckapunyal on Friday as part of the RAAF’s Exercise Jericho Dawn series has successfully validated the use of Northrop Grumman’s ‘airborne gateway’ technology, carried on a Gulfstream II demonstrator aircraft, to allow data to be shared between various ADF platforms including F/A-18F Super Hornets, Tiger ARH helicopters and the Wedget...
Bell Helicopter has manufactured and delivered 15 Bell 429s to the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) following the awarding of a contract in May 2014. The final delivery was marked by an acceptance ceremony attended by The Honourable Hunter Tootoo, minister of fisheries, oceans and the CCG, the Honourable Judy M. Foote, minister of public services and procurement, and Jody Thomas, Commissioner of...
The US Air Force expects to begin converting 21 second-hand US Army L-model Black Hawks to the HH-60G Pave Hawk standard for combat rescue missions “later this year”. Introduced during the Regan administration in 1982, the Sikorsky H-60-based Pave Hawk fleet has depleted from 112 to 97 helicopters since the type's introduction. Fifty of those remaining 97 platforms have sustaine...
Italian aerospace and defence giant Finmeccanica said it planned to change its name to Leonardo, after celebrated Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, as part of a major restructuring. The announcement came as the company, which last month agreed to sell its rail and traffic signal businesses to Japan's Hitachi in a $2.0 billion deal, announced better-than-expected results for 2015. Fin...
Helicopter engine maker Turbomeca has launched an online engine maintenance tracking system called Boost (bank of online services and technologies). The company describes it as a highly secured, web-based application developed in association with IBM that will allow operators to access real-time, personalized engine data, enrich their own fleet maintenance management and provide direct 2...
UK safety investigators have called for a raft of new Europe-wide regulations to be introduced covering the operation of offshore transportation helicopters in the wake of a fatal accident off the north coast of Scotland. The recommendations are contained in the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch’s final report into the 23 August 2013 crash of a CHC Scotia-operated Airbus Helicopters A...
FlightSafety International announces that its simulator for the Sikorsky S-76C+™ and S-76C++™ located in Singapore has been qualified to Level D by the United States Federal Aviation Administration. The facility has also been approved to provide FAA PART 142 training under FlightSafety’s single certificate. “We are pleased to announce that training for the Sikorsky S-76C...
Airbus Helicopters has signed a contract with Japan Coast Guard (JCG) for the purchase of an additional H225. JCG, which already operates five H225s, has ordered this additional aircraft as part of its fleet renewal plans. The helicopter is scheduled for delivery by the end of 2018. This H225 will be equipped with the most advanced search and rescue mission systems and operated in security enfo...
Bell Helicopter announced that Genel Havacılık A.Ş. is nearing completion of its application to become appointed as a Bell Helicopter Authorized Customer Service Facility (CSF) in Turkey. “Bringing on Genel Havacılık as an authorized CSF reinforces our commitment to enhancing the regional support customers need to continue their operations,” said Jakub Hoda, Bell Helicopte...
