Helicopters

Some of the booths drawing attention at the Sun ‘n Fun International Fly-In and Expo this week are those with piston-powered helicopter trainer simulators. We checked out a couple of affordable simulator versions, the Elite TH22 and X-copter flight simulators, both of which feature models from the largest helicopter manufacturer in the world — Torrance, […]

Redbird Flight Simulations unveiled a full-motion helicopter skills trainer at Sun ‘n Fun called the Redbird VTO that is designed to help new students learn the art of hovering and autorotation before transitioning to the real thing. The idea behind the simulator is to provide the visual and motion cues necessary for improving helicopter-specific skills, […]

Heli-Expo closed the doors of the Anaheim Convention Center last week with strong attendance numbers and many contracts closed for the OEMs that had helicopters on display. With a total of 19,038 attendees at this year’s Heli-Expo, the show attendance was down by about 1,000 from last year’s record numbers, but despite this slight drop […]

One of the most aesthetically pleasing small exhibits at Heli-Expo was the showcase of Thales Avionics 2020 for helicopters, a system introduced by the French company at the show last week in Anaheim, California. A four-screen touchscreen display was set up under an arc imitating a section of the fuselage of a helicopter. The simulated […]

Among several new helicopter introductions at Heli-Expo in Anaheim, California, this week was a new trainer from Enstrom Helicopter Corp. The bright orange helicopter the Menominee, Michigan-based company unveiled at its booth at the Anaheim Convention Center’s show floor is a mockup of the two-seat TH180, a scaled down version of the three-seat 280FX, which […]

AgustaWestland opened up its booth at Heli-Expo on Tuesday morning with a massive floor-to-ceiling cloth screen blocking about one fifth of its floor-space. Another giant flat-screen banner display at the back of the booth had a countdown timer in anticipation of the unveiling. A large crowd of people gathered to witness a dramatic unveiling, which […]

In a dramatic ceremony shortly after the Helicopter Association International opened the doors of Heli-Expo, which is currently in progress at the Anaheim Convention Center, Bell Helicopter unveiled three versions of a new helicopter, the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X, developed for the short light single (SLS) class. The three 505s now on display at […]

The president of the Helicopter Association International, Matt Zuccaro, is expanding on his idea of encouraging helicopter pilots to land when trouble brews in the cockpit. A new initiative called Land and Live was launched during Monday’s press day in advance of Heli-Expo’s opening at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. Zuccaro got the […]

Just before the start of HAI’s Heli-Expo, which opens its doors next week in Anaheim, California, the FAA has finalized a rule that aims to improve helicopter safety. The new rule requires helicopter operators to include additional safety equipment, improve communications and procedures and impose additional training requirements for their pilots. In developing the rule, […]

Robinson Helicopter Co. is introducing glass cockpit choices for the R22, R44 and R66 models based around an Aspen Avionics EFIS package paired with optional Garmin GTN 600/700 touch-screen navigators. The basic cockpit includes an Aspen primary flight display and multifunction display that interface with several optional components, including Garmin GTR 225B comm radio, GMA […]