Articles for category Helicopter Sectors
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Aug
21
2023
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Posted by Admin
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All around us, technology is changing. The helicopters of our youth are dinosaurs compared to today’s aircraft. The modern engines that power these helicopters have become sophisticated, digitally controlled power plants designed to optimize performance and reliability while also reducing fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
To gain insights on where helicopter engine technology is headed, Rotor Pro spoke with Nico Chabée, vice president of sales and marketing at Pratt & Whitney Canada.
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Tags:
Green Helicopter Engine Technology
Pratt & Whitney Canada helicopter engines
PT6T TwinPac
PW206B2
Categories:
Company Profiles
Helicopter Sectors
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Apr
17
2023
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Posted by Admin
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The rotorcraft industry is expanding its embrace beyond helicopters to include electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOLs) and unmanned aerial systems (UAS or unmanned aerial vehicles/UAVs), as reflected by this magazine’s rebranding to Rotor Pro.
This is a change with wide-ranging implications for the entire helicopter industry, including maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) service providers. Just like helicopters, eVTOL and UAS aircraft will need to be maintained and repaired over time.
So what does this mean to the helicopter MRO sector? To find out, Rotor Pro queried a variety of MRO-related service providers.
Three uniquely different service providers shared their insights on the subject: Airbus Urban Air Mobility (UAM), the Lee County (Florida) Mosquito Control District, and Precision Integrated Programs. Here’s what they had to say about the impact of eVTOLs and UAS on the helicopter MRO market.
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Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
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Feb
14
2023
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Posted by Admin
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In the past, some former military pilots have neglected to be honest when reporting they receive a Veterans Administration (VA) disability payment on their FAA FORM 8000-9, commonly known as the FAA medical application. Specifically, question 18Y that asks the applicant if they receive “medical disability benefits.” According to the FAA this means: “The applicant must report any disability benefits received, regardless of source or amount.” More specifically, it means whether you have ever received disability benefits, not only if you are currently receiving them.
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Tags:
Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners
Military to Civilian Aviation
Veterans Disablity
Categories:
Regulatory
Helicopter Sectors
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Jan
17
2023
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Posted by Admin
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Rotorcraft Pro rebranded itself as Rotor Pro, as we expanded our coverage beyond manned helicopters to include eVTOLs and UAVs. In line with this change, the scope of this year’s ‘Best of’ article has been expanded as well, which is why we’re calling it ‘Best of Rotor Tech 2022'. Here are some of the highlights of the year that’s just passed
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Tags:
Jaunt Air Mobility
Joby
Rotor Pro eVTOLs
UAVs
Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
Company Profiles
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Oct
17
2022
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Posted by Admin
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According to the historical website marconiheritage.org, the world’s first air-to-ground wireless communications occurred on 27th August 1910 when Canadian aviation pioneer John Alexander Douglas McCurdy transmitted a Morse code message to Henry M. Horton, as McCurdy flew over the Sheepshead Bay race track in Brooklyn.
The first voice communications between an aircraft and the ground took place in 1915, when the Royal Flying Corps’ Captain C.E. Prince radioed Captain J.M. Furnival as he circled overhead. 'Hello Furnie. If you can hear me now it will be the first time speech has ever been communicated to an aeroplane in flight,” said Captain Prince. He then added, “Hello Furnie, if you can hear me dip your wings” -- and Captain Furnival waggled his wings in response.
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Tags:
aircraft communication systems
Flightcell Internationa
land mobile radios
P25 ground comms
Sikorsky R-4 helicopter
Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
Safety
Training
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Aug
22
2022
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Posted by Admin
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One word is frequently repeated amongst Bell leaders about the V-280 Valor tiltrotor aircraft they are building for the U.S. Army: transformational.
"It is a leap ahead, not a step ahead," said Terry Horner, director of government relations at Bell and a retired Army chief instructor pilot. "We're seeing right now in world events why these new capabilities are important."
Bell is competing against a Sikorsky-Boeing team for the right to build the military's next-gen medium helicopter. The Army is the lead branch on the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program to develop that helicopter. While Bell is fielding its V-280 Valor in the competition, Sikorsky-Boeing is offering its compound Defiant X with a coaxial rotor system and pusher propeller. Both competitors say their prototypes can fly twice as fast and far as the UH-60 Black Hawk they are seeking to replace. The Army is likely to choose the winner this year and wants its new aircraft operational by 2030.
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Tags:
Bell Military Next Gen Helicopter
Defiant X
Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA)
Sikorsky-Boeing military next-gen helicopter
V-280 Valor
Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
Opinion-Editorial
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Jul
25
2022
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Posted by Admin
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When it comes to developing cleaner, greener propulsion systems for helicopters, the industry’s original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are going green. “Helicopters account for less than 1% of global CO2 emissions but there are still ways that we can reduce that figure,” said Luca Cossetti, an innovative power solutions specialist with Airbus Helicopters. “We are committed to reducing our environmental footprint to get closer to the end goal of net-zero CO2 emissions.”
“Aviation, including the helicopter market, is under substantial pressure to progress its sustainability initiatives with more efficient engines and airframes,” added Nicolas Chabée, vice president of Sales & Marketing (Helicopter) with Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC). “Our priorities include designing more efficient engines with reduced fuel consumption and ensuring our customers know that their P&WC engines can fly on up to 50% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) made from sources such as used cooking oil and algae.”
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Categories:
Regulatory
Helicopter Sectors
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Jun
27
2022
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Posted by Admin
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Frank Sonnenberg, the author of the book, Listen to Your Conscience: That's Why You Have One wrote, “Exceptional people don't shun tests of their strength and determination -- they relish them.”
It almost seems there’s a cultural movement in some parts of society who want to diminish the idea of exceptionalism. Personally, I hope the movement is not successful because in our industry, we are blessed with many exceptional people and companies that keep driving us all collectively to new heights with respect to safety, technology, and performance.
Without the existence of these exceptional people and companies, we would be relegated to hand flying underpowered helicopters in only VFR conditions using only basic instrumentation . . . and training in them too! Instead, we are seeing exponential technological advancements in vertical lift aircraft that will relegate many old platforms to obsolescence. It’s both a scary and interesting time for those of us living it.
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Tags:
Rotorcraft Pro
Rotorcraft Pro Editor Lyn Burks
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
Helicopter Sectors
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May
16
2022
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Posted by Admin
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Airbus Helicopters has operated for 30 years from Marignane, France. The company started as Eurocopter but was renamed to Airbus Helicopters in 2014. This spring, they’ve announced massive changes to new aircraft, customer support and training, and the integration of the newest technology in modern helicopters.
Airbus Helicopters has its main assembly facilities in France and Germany and a worldwide presence with 31 customer centers and affiliated sites in locations such as Brazil, Australia, Spain, United States, Romania, and the United Kingdom. The North American Customer Support division has new leadership in Niko Szodruch for its 800 customers, operating from Grand Prairie, Texas. He came from the company’s global helicopter maintenance and retrofit business and is leading in development of a strategic service plan for North America. The H125 is the best-selling helicopter in the world and there are 30 produced each year from Columbus, Mississippi. The volume of helicopters sold varies year-over-year, but in 2021, they sold 419 units to both civilian and military markets.
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Categories:
Company Profiles
Helicopter Sectors
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Apr
25
2022
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Posted by Admin
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The title of this editor’s letter is actually a quote from John C. Maxwell, a No. 1 New York Times bestselling author, pastor, coach and speaker who has sold more than 24 million books in 50 languages. The quote reminds me that there is unprecedented change happening in every corner of our industry.
Carbon dioxide reduction, special aviation fuels, urban air mobility, e-vtol, personnel shortages, unmanned vertical flight, virtual-mixed reality in training, and the list goes on. The question for industry: Will this inevitable change be an opportunity for growth, or will many get left behind?
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Tags:
Rotorcraft Pro Editor Lyn Burks
Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
Opinion-Editorial