Helicopters

On Sunday Bell Helicopter launched its latest model, the Bell 525 Relentless, a super medium twin capable of carrying up to 16 passengers. A clean sheet design, the new model breaks new ground for Bell and for the rotary wing mark with an entire slate of innovative features, from triple-redundant fly-by-wire flight control to advanced […]

Could it be the first sign of a broader industry turnaround? The blossoming of a single flower signaling the end of long, hard economic winter? It’s hard to say, but the news is encouraging: Robinson Helicopter Co. just reported it more than doubled its production in 2011, building 356 helicopters last year versus 162 in […]

After receiving certification both in the United States and Canada earlier this year, Bell Helicopter’s 407GX light single-engine helicopter has won approval from EASA, according to the Textron subsidiary. After its unveiling at the Heli-Expo in Orlando in the spring, the Bell 407GX remains the only helicopter equipped with Garmin’s G1000H glass cockpit. The cockpit […]

Company founder Frank Robinson made a point of showing up at the Torrance, California, factory he built for the ceremonial delivery of Robinson helicopter number 10,000, an R44 that was delivered to Brazilian dealer Audi Helicopters. During the ceremony, Robinson spoke to attendees, telling them with pride that his company did it on its own […]

Thomas Senkel of the German company e-volo recently became the first to pilot an interesting craft – a so-called electric multicopter with 16 rotors. With a single seat placed in the center of those blades, the 80-kilogram (176-pound), all-electric vehicle may look a bit frightening to the risk-averse eye. According to e-volo, the multicopter is […]

Sikorsky’s S-76D has moved one step closer to certification after Pratt & Whitney’s PW210S engine that powers the helicopter received Transport Canada certification. More than 8,700 hours of testing were conducted to complete the certification. But the testing will continue to finish FAA and European Aviation Safety Agency validations, which are expected within the next […]

While in some people’s minds it might stretch the definition of a “hybrid,” Eurocopter’s electric/turboshaft AS350 helicopter a few days ago successfully completed a flight with an electric backup motor. In this case, the motor doesn’t power the main blades for normal flight but assists during autorotation, which, according to Eurocopter, took much of the […]

French engineer and helicopter pilot Pascal Chretien recently flew into the history books with an aviation feat that took him only about one meter off the ground. Despite the low altitude, his completion of the first untethered, all-electric manned helicopter flight last month is quite an achievement. Flying a prototype he designed and built largely […]

The Enstrom Model 480B‘s blend of forgiving flight qualities, turbine power and an almost six-foot-wide cabin help make it one of the most surprising light helicopters on the market today. Pilots love it, for all of the reasons just listed, as well as for its low operating costs and an exceptional safety record since its […]

It appears someone took a pot shot at a medevac helicopter flying over northern Ohio on Monday, an incident that federal law enforcement officials are taking very seriously but which was shrugged off by local police as probably nothing more than a lucky hit by a kid with a rifle. During a routine pre-flight inspection, […]