Helicopters

The phone rang — it was my dad, and it was bad news. “I’m standing on the sand,” he said, using a phone borrowed from the resident of a Malibu beach house. “I’m looking up the hill and the fire’s heading right for our house. The guys fighting it on the ground can’t get in […]

At Heli-Expo Eurocopter launched its new light single EC130 T2, a model aimed at providing a quiet, cost-effective and profitable upgrade product to companies already operating light singles, including Maverick Helicopters, one of Sunday’s announced launch customers, which currently operates dozens of EC130s. Maverick has ordered 50 T2s for use in its air tour operations, […]

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 […]