Helicopter Association Interplanetary (HAI) acknowledges the first successful flight of the Mars Helicopter, the first powered, controlled flight of any aircraft on another planet.

Despite the challenges of 2020, Helicopter Specialties, Inc. (HSI) announces it finished its 21st year in business on a strong note. 2021 is also proving to be a strong year for HSI, with helicopters arriving at a steady pace at the Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport from air medical organizations, government, corporate, private and international customers.

Boost Human External Cargo Systems (Boost Systems - www.boostsystems.ca ), the provider of the most advanced, fully certified human external cargo (HEC) systems and training services for the search-and-rescue, public safety, utility, and defense sectors, receives Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval for its Bell 212, 412, 412CF, and 412EP series HEC systems (STC: SR04616NY).

Bell Textron Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company, delivers two Bell 407GXi helicopters to Shin-Nihon Helicopters in Japan. With this delivery, Shin-Nihon Helicopters becomes the first Japanese company to purchase and operate the 407GXi aircraft. A longstanding Bell customer since its establishment in 1960, Shin-Nihon Helicopters will use both helicopters to conduct power-line patrol missions for electric power companies.

ExxonMobil announces that Mobil Jet™ Oil 387 is approved for use in Rolls-Royce M250 and RR300 engines which are most commonly found in helicopters. The Rolls-Royce M250 is one of the most popular turbine engines in the world, with over 170 different helicopter and fixed-wing applications in both civil and military aircraft.

ALPINE AEROTECH announces that it has officially received a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) supplemental type certificate (STC) for a comprehensive avionic suite upgrade for Bell 212s engaged in day/night VFR operations. The upgrade utilizes pilot/co-pilot Garmin G500TXi primary flight displays (PFD) and a single GTN 750Xi GPS/NAV/COMM.

Safran Helicopter Engines signs a Support-By-Hour (SBH®) contract with the German federal police (Bundespolizei), covering their H120 fleet. The contract formalizes a long-term MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) and service agreement supporting a total of 11 Arrius 2F engines. The Bundespolizei currently operate 10 H120 helicopters for training missions.

Draganfly Inc. (OTCQB: DFLYF) (CSE: DFLY) (FSE: 3U8) (“Draganfly” or the “Company”), a leader in drone solutions and systems developer, announces an exclusive strategic partnership with Woz ED, Steve Wozniak’s K-12 education program. Inspired by Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, Woz ED provides a personalized approach to nurturing an engineering mindset through hands-on projects.

Bell Textron Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, announces the delivery of a Bell 505 helicopter equipped with the Med-Pac Inc. LLC Emergency Medical Services Lite Interior to BAR Aviation. This marks the first Bell 505 in Uganda and the first Bell 505 designed to complete medical evacuation (medevac) missions in Africa.