Bestfly, the Angola-based aviation services company has entered the rotary market with the addition of two Leonardo AW139 helicopters to its Luanda-based fleet in partnership with Héli-Union. The Bestfly/Héli-Union partnership is operating the machines for an undisclosed leading energy supplier with numerous on and off shore locations in Angola. They will be used predominantly for me...
The NH90 Sea Lion has recently achieved two important milestones ahead of the first delivery at the end of 2019. Completion of the German Navy Sea Lion qualification tests In the beginning of November, all ground and flight tests for the qualification of the new NH90 variant for the German Navy, the NH90 Sea Lion, were concluded. The formal closure of the qualification is expected in th...
The Serbian Minister of Defence AleksandarVulin visited the Airbus Helicopters Donauwörth site to accept the first H145M for the Serbian Air Force. In December, two H145Ms will be delivered to the Serbian Ministry of Interior. Altogether, Serbia will receive nine H145Ms, earmarked for the Air Force and for the Ministry of Interior. Four of the Air Force’s aircraft wi...
Kopter Group AG (Kopter) has commenced the next phase of its helicopter development and certification program with its latest SH09 prototype number 3 (P3). P3 has achieved the necessary technical clearance and regulatory compliance to start flight tests. Designed in Switzerland and assembled at the Kopter facility at Mollis airfield, it incorporates several improvements and modifications based...
Philippines’ largest charter operator AirTaxi.ph welcomed its first single-engine H130 helicopter. Currently operating two H145 helicopters, the new H130 will be dedicated for commercial operations, including passenger transport and sightseeing services in the Southern islands of the Philippines, including Boracay, Cebu and Palawan. “We are excited to introduce the first H...
Russian Helicopters Holding Company (part of Rostec State Corporation) has presented its Mi-171A2 and Ansat civil helicopters in Phnom Penh (Cambodia) during the South Asian Heli Tour. The delegation of the Russian Helicopters Holding Company demonstrated key competitive advantages of Mi-171A2 and Ansat rotorcraft and provided information to the guests of the event about the after-sales service...
Around the clock in the skies over the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, helicopters are being flown on and offshore. This shuttling of passengers from land to sea and back again is part of the nonstop 24/7 activities of the Saudi Aramco Aviation Department’s rotor-wing operations. Offshore oil fields, along with the requisite need for operators to run the drilling barges and offshore platfo...
The Helicopter Emergency Medical Services New Zealand Limited has selected Airbus’ H145, in response to New Zealand’s Health Ministry’s call to enhance its helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) industry. Due to be delivered in the second half of 2019, the two helicopters will become the first HEMS-configured H145s to enter New Zealand, and will bolster the country&rsquo...
Airbus Helicopters has delivered the first of seven upgraded National Police Air Service (NPAS) H135 helicopters, under a £1.5 million contract signed in December 2017 to equip and standardise the UK police helicopter fleet’s Night Vision (NVIS) capability. Under the new configuration, all seven NPAS’ H135 helicopters will be capable of NVIS operations down to ground level, enhan...
Contract for 22 AW169Ms in dedicated configuration with support and training package valued at 280 million euro with deliveries between summer 2019 and 2024. Complements a fleet of 14 AW139s to perform patrol and reconnaissance, law enforcement, rescue and homeland security missions The Guardia di Finanza contract for AW169Ms follows the success of the AW169 and stren...
Bristow Group Inc., the leading provider of global industrial aviation services, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to combine with privately-held Columbia Helicopters, Inc. ("Columbia") for $560 million. Columbia will be designated as an unrestricted subsidiary under the Columbia name and air operating certificate (AOC). Bristow ex...
Specialists at Kazan Helicopters of the holding company Russian Helicopters (part of Rostec State Corporation) have completed testing of an Ansat helicopter equipped with an Emergency Floatation System (EFS). It is designed for emergency water landings and is used to save the lives of crew and passengers. The EFS is currently in the certification phase. When the work is complete, the Federal...
