January 27, 2000 Heli-Expo 2000 Special Report: Growing Places? Helicopter Community Hovers in Best Times in Years |
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Beyond the doors at the Las Vegas Convention Center last week, word of new ships, new supporting products, new upgrades, and something approaching new prosperity awaited the rotorcraft industry. On Thursday, AVweb scratched the surface of Heli-Expo 2000; today, we go deeper into HAI's most-successful, best-attended convention ever and farther into the outlooks for the future that help keep those grins at their widest. AVweb's special coverage of Heli-Expo 2000 is accompanied by a collection of exclusive images from the exhibit floor.
January 27, 2000
IFR Rules, New Ships Bode Well; Noise Issues, Neighbors Bedevil Potential
  A week ago Friday, the FAA acknowledged that helicopters are, well, different.
After years of wishing and hoping, lobbying and praying by the helicopter
community, the folks at 800 Independence took the "FAR"-reaching step
of publishing rules changes for IFR helicopter flights that lower fuel-reserve
requirements and ceiling and visibility limits for IFR alternate airports and
approaches themselves. Talk about great timing. The Friday before the Monday
opening of the Helicopter Association International's (HAI) 52nd annual
convention and trade show, Heli-Expo 2000. The
word spread quickly enough to buoy the attitudes of a record attendance as the
nearly 14,000 delegates flowed into town over the weekend before the three-day
convention. And beyond the doors at the Las Vegas Convention Center awaited more
to make the masses optimists: word of new ships, new supporting products, new
upgrades, and something approaching new prosperity.
Sounds both familiar and refreshing, doesn't it? Better times, steady sales
growth, financial health, new blood? Think of an NBAA annual meeting and
convention in about one-sixth the floor space, with about one-third the crowd,
but with the same professional polish shining as brightly as any of the 59
gleaming helicopters in attendance, and you'll get most of the picture. Or, get
the picture from our images of the event. Not a fixed-wing aircraft in sight,
but smiles wingtip-to-wingtip.
On Thursday, AVweb scratched the surface of Heli-Expo 2000; today, we go deeper
into HAI's most-successful, best-attended convention ever and farther into the
outlooks for the future that help keep those grins at their widest.
Forecast: Smooth Skies, Little Ceiling Variation — More Or Less
If you're typical of most in aviation, you probably check more than one forecast
before you launch. The HAI community should experience little difficulty
planning for the next few years with forecasts from three different sources:
Rolls-Royce; Honeywell, nee AlliedSignal's old engine division; and the folks
at the Transportation Research Board. Interestingly enough, much like many
weather forecasts, the similarities stand out more than any differences. For
example, all three outlooks see a plateau in 1999's deliveries of 723
helicopters, which is off 1998 levels from 801, and all three predict turbine
and piston helicopter sales will hover in the same neighborhood. The differences
are in the details.
Rolls-Royce: Stable And Steady...
The maker of the Model 250 turboshaft engine popular among helicopter makers
forecast deliveries of more than 9,000 new turbine helicopters through 2009 —
including military ships — a 1-percent increase over the engine-maker's
prediction last year. But the outlook shows civil helicopter sales doing a slow
slide from about 571 in 2001 toward an average of 530 per year for the rest
of the period, including a slight climb in the last two years of the forecast.
Use, according to the outlook, will be slightly higher per year and per
helicopter, boding well for the operator and support communities alike.
...While Honeywell Sees Slow, Steady Growth In Its Crystal Ball...
With the merger of AlliedSignal and Honeywell, HAI got a new player in the
predictions game, as the resulting Honeywell name went on the helicopter
forecast generated previously by the engine division of AlliedSignal. And these
numbers sounded the best of the three outlooks in play at HAI: 2.5-percent
annual growth in sales of turbine helicopters in the coming five years. That
comes to 2,300 new turbines through 2004, at the bottom of the forecast, with
the curve climbing again the last five years of the outlook. Good as that may
sound, though, it's slightly smaller growth than predicted last year, when the
old AlliedSignal forecast annual growth averaging 3 percent.
...And The TRB Takes The Down Note — And Even It's Not Far Off
According to the Feds' official transportation advisory panel, the Transportation
Research Board (TRB), turbine
helicopter sales will remain largely flat to down in the next five years, before
edging upward again in the latter half of the forecast period to eventually
exceed turbine deliveries logged last year. Similar to the other forecasters,
the TRB also sees a slow increase in the average age of the fleet as operators
hold on longer to their existing equipment, a factor in the decline in new sales
envisioned.
Meanwhile, Suppliers Debuted Their New And New-And-Improved
Is there anything finer than the aroma of new-helicopter interior or the sheen
of a shiny new stack? Maybe the anticipation of new things not yet available — but coming soon to helipad near you? Regardless of how you answer, Heli-Expo
2000 delivered something to affirm your view. Here's a quick rundown:
Agusta Grows Its Own...
Thursday, AVweb told you about the limo-sized AB139 under development by Agusta
and Bell; down the size scale a bit, Agusta is developing a growth version of
one of its own, successful designs, dubbed the A119 Koala. Basically, the A119
swaps out two Rolls-Royce 250 turboshaft engines for a single Pratt &
Whitney Canada PT6B-37, at 1,007 shp the largest powerplant ever installed in a
single-engine helicopter, according to PWC. The advantages, according to Agusta:
more power, greater simplicity, enhanced economy.
...Sikorsky Grows With The Flow...
With 60 years of experience since founding father Igor invented the practical
helicopter, Sikorsky Aircraft has played a dominant role in the community,
through good times and bad. For the opening of Heli-Expo 2000, the news from
Sikorsky comfortably fell into the "good" category as the company
announced a launch customer for the huge new S-92 Helibus 19-seat transport.
Under development by an international consortium that includes Embraer, Gamesa,
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and others, the S-92 started flight tests in
December 1998 and is on track for certification in 2001 and initial delivery in
2002 to launch customer Cougar Helicopters, an offshore transport company
operating in the Canadian Maritime provinces.
The Cougar environment actually seemed to excite Sikorsky execs, who look
forward to the operator flying the S-92 hard and putting it away wet, iced, and
tired. But the big ship should be up to the task, with two GE CT7-8 turboshaft
engines for power and the payload to fill all the seats and fly 400 nautical miles
with reserves at speeds to 155 knots. Sikorsky also landed an S-92 customer in
Vancouver-based Helijet Airways, which will fly the big ship in an air-carrier
environment that last year moved more than 100,000 paying passengers.
...Eurocopter Keeps Wraps On EC-145...
We'd like to show you some images of the joint project of Eurocopter and
Kawasaki Heavy Industries — but the developers didn't show one at HAI, hasn't
released photos, and generally kept information to a minimum. That's some wrap
on a program that started flight-testing in mid-1999. But from what could be
skimmed from the booth at Heli-Expo 2000, the EC-145 looks much like a growth
version of the BK 117 jointly developed by Germany's MBB, one of the partners in
Eurocopter, and Kawasaki. In the one piece of news released about the EC-145,
the developers acknowledged the first order for the ship, a contract for 40 from
the government of France, with deliveries beginning in 2001.
...Enstrom Plans Beefed-Up 480B...
Flight tests were already underway when Enstrom Helicopter announced the 480B
program at Heli-Expo 2000 and revealed that certification stands only a few
months away. The advance targeted by the program involves proving that the drive
system is capable of handling more power from the same Rolls-Royce 250-C20W
turboshaft engine, and increasing its takeoff output some 6 percent to 306
shaft horsepower, up from 289. Continuous output should increase 3 percent
to 277 from 269. With the added power, Enstrom plans to certificate the 480B
with a maximum gross weight of 3,000 pounds, up 5 percent and 150 pounds.
Production of the 480B will begin on the existing 480 line as soon as the
company receives its FAR 27 approval from the FAA, expected this spring. But
what the final tab will be remained a question. As of Heli-Expo 2000, the 480
was commanding $548,000, a price good enough to capture 42 sales since the ship
won certification five years ago.
...MD Helicopters Celebrates Survival...
Forty-nine weeks down, the future to go. That was much of the theme at MD
Helicopter Inc.'s exhibit, where the former Boeing division, former McDonnell
Douglas unit, originally Hughes company feted its first year as a unit of a
European holding company, RDM Holdings. Since the changeover last February, the
resulting company has won production certification under its own name, and
embarked on a series of price cuts to its product line, from the twin-turbine
Explorer, the largest ship in the MDHI line, to the 500E, the only bird left in
the company's product line that does not use the distinctive NOTAR anti-torque
system on the tail.
The biggest downside to the changeover last year was a lag in spooling up
production, resulting in deliveries of only 38 ships. The outlook for 2000, with
production authority and additional staff on hand, is expected to be
considerably higher en route to 100 delivered in 2001. An element in MDHI's
10-month rebound from transitional near-dormancy continues to be the company's
still-exclusive NOTAR technology. But even the 500E is attracting interest,
growth the company expects to translate into sales increases.
...While Robinson Celebrates Growth...
 While most other manufacturers concentrated on their turbine-powered offerings,
Torrance, Calif.-based Robinson Helicopters continues to make headlines with its
line of piston-powered light copters. In fact, the company says that 1999 as its
best year ever. Now boasting a hydraulically-powered flight control system, the
company's R44 four-seat single became last year's top-selling rotorcraft at 150
units, and the highly-popular two-seat R22 came in a close second with 128
copies going out the door. Recognizing the popularity of its products, the
company intends to expand during 2000, with plans to increase it number of
employees to 700 and secure a lease on land adjacent to its factory to construct
a new building.
Among other achievements, the company says that the R44 has
formed the basis for a fractional ownership program based in Brazil and that the
time before overhaul of components will be increased. For all that success,
Robinson says it will probably stick with what it knows and will likely not
apply turbine technology to power its copters in the near future. Similarly, the
company has no current plans to expand its product line beyond the R22 and R44,
although it's definitely looking for that next market niche. For now, Robinson
is more than content to rest on the laurels of its recent successes and brought
to Las Vegas three R44s outfitted in news gathering, executive transport and law
enforcement platforms, demonstrating the flexibility of its flagship product.
...From Russia, With Lift
Kamov continues to struggle uphill against the drag of development-fund
shortages, but the maker of concentric-rotor helicopters certainly shows no lack
of creativity and imagination. For example, there is the Ka-115 and the Ka-226,
which share the manufacturer's distinctive practice of designing concentric,
counterotating main rotors — and no tail rotor — and the Ka-60/Ka-62 models,
which sport a conventional rotor-and-tail rotor design uncharacteristic for the
company. The Kamov designs also share in powerplants designed by Pratt &
Whitney Canada and license-built by Russia's own Klimov.
Of the three, only the Ka-115 has not yet flown. But all three are far behind
the development curve because of the funds situation. Farthest-along honors go
to the Ka-226, which entered testing last fall. Development of the Ka-60/Ka-62
designs — the former a military ship, the latter a civil bird — is proceeding
slowly. And bringing up the, um, tail, is the Ka-115.
Frontiers In Flight?
 Avionics, Autopilot Capabilities Keep Climbing...
Well, shake my collective. All the same advances corporate jets enjoy in panel
equipment continue to flow into helicopters, from navigation, communication and
panel display systems, to flight-control systems for the finest in tactile
feedback and situational awareness.
Here's a glimpse of why these aren't our daddies' rotorcraft, anymore.
...First Rotor-Wing Stick Shaker Shown At Heli-Expo...
Here's a safety system that should win helicopter fans head over foot: a stick
shaker designed to get your attention, and the nose down, before the big sink
sets in. Credit this development to Safe Flight, the same folks who develop,
make and supply stick shakers and other stall-warning devices to the fixed-wing
world. Of course, this one works a little differently because of helicopters'
different source of lift. Instead of reacting to airspeed and angle-of-attack
inputs, Safe Flight's helicopter stick shaker alerts the pilot based on input
from four sensors standard on turbine-helicopter parameters: EGT, torque, and
decelerating speed of the main rotor or the engine turbine. The sensors for
these four sensors feed a computer that both tracks the parameters and activates
the shaker.
And instead of connecting to the cyclic, sort of the equivalent of a yoke, the
helicopter stick shaker attaches to the collective. Further, the computer can
also track left rudder-pedal position and activate a second shaker to warn that
it's near the left travel limit. Full up, Safe Flight's system weighs about
seven pounds and costs about $12,000. But the benefits are the same: improved
pilot awareness independent of looking at a gauge and more time with eyes
outside.
...Make My MFD: Honeywell Adapting IHAS To Helicopters...
When the IHAS 5000 and 8000 were announced at NBAA in Atlanta last October, the
company behind the MFD went by the name AlliedSignal. Last week at Heli-Expo
2000, the same systems were being touted for the helicopter market by the
successor name, Honeywell, making its first major show appearance since
completing the merger in December. But they're still calling the brand name
Bendix King, and it's still the same integrated hazard awareness system — that's where the "IHAS" comes from
— that puts a navigation map,
terrain, traffic, data-link and airborne weather on a single four-color cockpit
display.
IHAS is among the most-significant developments in years under the Bendix King
badge, and Honeywell's embrace of the helicopter market is pretty much the first
significant move of the newly-merged company. When the system becomes fully
available later this year, IHAS could be the first of its type available for
both fixed- and rotor-wing aircraft.
The heart of the IHAS system is the processor that integrates information from
the various sensors and routes the data to either the KMD 550 or KMD 850 color
multifunction display. The only significant difference between the 550 and 850
is in the airborne weather it's designed to process. The 850 works with airborne
weather radar input, while the 550 works with input from a BFGoodrich Stormscope
sensor. And if Honeywell succeeds in starting deliveries first, be sure of one
thing: the Bendix King IHAS system won't be the last, for either aircraft type.
...Rockwell Collins Headed For S-92 Helibus Heavyweight
When Sikorsky delivers the first civil S-92 in 2002, the panel will be something
new from Rockwell Collins, an adaptation of the Pro Line 21 equipment already
popular in corporate aircraft. An open-architecture system designed for easy
upgrading, the Pro Line 21 CNS system for Sikorsky sports the avionics maker's
latest global navigation and communications system linked to four color
displays, with a fifth optional. The open-architecture approach also gives the
system the flexibility to be upgraded to coming communications and air-traffic
management technologies.
Aviall Cheers The Big One, Its Exclusive Parts Deal With Rolls
Remember what Shakespeare had to say about names? The folks at Rolls-Royce
continue to wrestle with an identity crisis concerning the Model 250 turboshaft
engine so popular in the helicopter community. Five years after acquiring the
Allison engine line, some in the community still haven't adapted to calling the
250 by its new name, the Rolls-Royce Model 250. But the folks at Rolls have no
worries about delivering the parts the community needs after penning an
exclusive 10-year deal for Aviall to handle global distribution of 250
components. Worth a hefty $900 million to Aviall, the contract allows Rolls to
take advantage of the world's largest independent network for aircraft-parts
delivery, warehousing and management. Could be, according to Aviall, the largest
such contract ever inked between an OEM and an independent distributor.
The Ripple Effect Through The Eye Of The S-92
Makers of engines and avionics always look forward to new designs because those
programs represent new work, but they're not the only ones. Take FlightSafety
International, for example. Known globally for its aviation and maritime
training programs, FSI announced plans to develop a simulator for the S-92,
which follows the recent addition of another high-tech training device for
Sikorsky's S-76C. And Taiwan's Aerospace Industry Association, the AIDC, worked
to leverage its contribution to the S-92 into more work. Part of Taiwan's expertise
comes from building the cockpit section of the S-92, a sign of its international
experience.
Fractionals Forge Forward In Helicopters, Too
If this idea spreads far enough, it just could revive a vehicle to replace
flying clubs as a way to own only as much aircraft as you need or can afford.
The idea is fractional ownership, the time-share system for business jets
invented more than a decade ago by Executive Jet Aviation. In recent years,
fractional ownership plans have grown up and down — with large manufacturers
and small entrepreneurs launching for everything from BBJs to King Airs. And now
they've come to the helicopter community, too.
Sikorsky Shares, for example, launched last year and at Heli-Expo 2000 boasted
of selling an undisclosed number of shares in three S-76 models operating in the
northeast region from a base at Duchess County Airport in New York. Down in the
heart of Texas, HeliFlite Shares LLC can begin operating the brand-new 430 that
Bell Helicopter delivered during Heli-Expo 2000. Nothing like a new spin on a
proven idea to help grow the general aviation community.
"Hush," Is The Word For Whisper Jet; The Question Is, Will It Be
Enough?
Amazing what a half-dozen years, $10 million and desire can produce. For Elling
Halvorson, chairman of Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters, the result of that
recipe — a Sikorksy S-55 converted into the first Whisper Jet helicopter —
flew into Las Vegas with less notice than most. Developed by Halvorson and
Florida R&D firm Vertical Aviation Technology, the Whisper Jet sports five
rotor blades where only three originally turned, and new acoustic treatment for
a larger engine, the Garrett 231-10 rated at about 60 percent of capacity at 650
shp. The resulting ship produces sound at half the level of the original, which
should be a boon to operators flying in noise-sensitive areas. Rather than
remaining the exclusive purview of Papillon, as Halvorson originally envisioned,
the company he heads signed a manufacturing agreement with VAT and offers the
Whisper Jet to any operator. But with so many of the rules tilted against air
tour and other helicopter operators from rescue to research, the question
remains: Will any presence be tolerable to helicopter opponents?
New Life For Old Warriors: Huey 703 Conversion Ups The Ante
Future movies about Vietnam could show better-performing UH-1H Hueys than really
existed, if operators of this venerable old warrior take to an upgrade Honeywell
supported dubbed the Huey 703. The conversion gives the Huey a useful load boost
of 2,500 pounds, thanks primarily to a 30-percent power gain from a bolt-in
engine upgrade to the 1,800-shp Garrett T53-L-703. Other upgrades enhance
control and performance through a new density-altitude compensator, a new
tail-rotor mechanism and upgraded tail-fin spar for increased strength. Airwork
Limited/Helipro Conversions, in Arlington, handles the marketing. And with about
3,600 Hueys eligible, plus another 900 or so AH-1 Cobra versions as well, a lot
of good old Hueys could see a lot longer life.
To Quietly Go Where No One Need Go: VTUAV Brings More Eyes-In-The-Skies
If Schweizer Helicopters and its collaborators succeed, the U.S. Navy could soon
need a new design for its wings to designate pilots who never leave the flight
deck, the guys flying the new eyes-that-spy, the VTUAV. And Heli-Expo 2000 got
to see the remotely piloted vehicle — battleship gray all over, no windows, no
doors. Schweizer built the ship in partnership with Northrop Grumman and
Lockheed Martin Federal Systems to compete for the Navy's Vertical Takeoff and
Landing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle contract, and it already had flown its first
tests when it was trucked into Las Vegas. The Navy requirements demand a payload
capability of 200 pounds, to carry the load of imaging equipment planned.
Qualifiers must be able to launch vertically, fly 110 nautical miles and hang
around three hours before returning to land. Everything but the paint job sounds
like a winner, but gray goes with the mission statement.
The Envelopes, Please
What makes a guy fly a helicopter far out to sea into howling winds to pluck
seven yachtsmen from four-story seas that shattered their racing yacht?
Certainly not the Wizard of Oz. But every year, scores of pilots contribute in
exceptional ways to the well-being of humanity, and some of those, like
Australian pilot Daniel Tyler, rise to the level of exceptional among the
exceptional. And as the winner of HAI's 1999 Pilot of the Year award, he was far
from alone.
The Turkish Armed Forces shared in the 1999 Igor Sikorsky Award for Humanitarian
Service for flying thousands of sorties over weeks of 24-hour days, aiding
victims of two earthquakes in their homeland. Tens of thousands died; countless
others survived through the efforts of the pilots and crew flying helicopters
into places accessible no other way. Sharing in the award were the warriors
against disease at AgRotors. The company undertook the unique and dangerous task
of spraying the entire city of New York and the New Jersey suburbs for
disease-carrying mosquitoes. No telling how many people survived the summer
because of those flights.
Bell Helicopter's Loren Doughty, director of the company's training academy, was
tapped for the Joe Moshman Safety Award, while ERA Helicopters president Charles
Johnson received the Lawrence Bell Memorial Award for his contribution to the
industry. Veteran communicator Frank McGuire won long-overdue recognition of his
contribution with the 1999 Communicator of the Year Award. Paul James took the
Mechanic of the Year award back to Big Valley Aviation, where he's the vice
president of maintenance of the employee-owned operation.
Regrettably, the 1999 MD Law Enforcement Award winner got the nod after dying in
a maintenance flight. But thanks to the skill of Desmond Casey, chief pilot of
the San Jose PD, people and buildings were spared when the department's Air One
ship spun out of control on the flight. The helicopter eventually crashed in a
street, killing Casey and mechanic Herman Yee.
One More Thing ...
Of course, one of the major activities at any event like Heli-Expo 2000 is
simply walking around on the exhibit floor, looking at all the new hardware. Of
course, not everyone can drop everything, take a few days, jet off to Vegas and
stroll around. Not to fear — the next best thing to being there is AVweb's
collection of images from the event.
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