Hong Kong-based Government Flying Service (GFS) receives three H175s in public services configuration, becoming the world’s first operator of the new variant which enlarges the H175 mission capacity to search and rescue (SAR), emergency medical services, law enforcement and firefighting, as well as land and maritime border control operations.

Helicopter Association International (HAI) joins a coalition of ten other aviation-related associations in delivering a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regarding the Ligado Networks Proposal.

Metro Aviation completes a 2017 H145 for Avera Careflight of Sioux Falls, SD. This is the second aircraft Metro has completed for the program at its completion center in Shreveport, LA.

The Japan Coast Guard (JCG) accepts its fleet of four Bell 505 Jet Ranger X, newly equipped with the DART Aerospace Emergency Flotation System, into service.

WD-40 Company is recruiting members in the automotive, construction, farming, maintenance, repair and operations fields to provide input on new WD-40® Brand products and uses and to learn how to further help users get the job done right. The initiative is part of a remastered PRO Board program, which serves as a way for WD-40 Company to hear unbiased feedback from trade professionals.

Southeast Aerospace, an aerospace solutions company, welcomes Ron Symonette as new senior program manager. Symonette brings over 25 years of aviation industry experience, with 21 years at United Rotorcraft (a division of Air Methods).

Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, opens its new Advanced Vertical Lift Center (AVLC) in the Washington, D.C. metro area. The office provides a unique setting for Bell’s military customers, partners and policy makers to interact with technology that is defining the future of vertical lift (FVL). Bell is increasing its presence in the region to offer opportunities for leaders to understand how advanced aviation technology, such as the V-280 Valor, can meet the urgent needs of the warfighter.

United Rotorcraft, a division of Air Methods and Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, receives a purchase order from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) for the acquisition of a new Sikorsky S-70 Black Hawk aircraft, to be modified into FIREHAWK® firefighting configuration by United Rotorcraft. This aircraft will be the latest firefighting tool put into service with CAL FIRE to protect the citizens and property of California.

DART’s Bell 505 Emergency Flotation System, being the first and only such system available on the market, receives certification from the Federal Aviation Association (FAA). With TCCA approval issued in mid-February of this year, the system has started seeing its first deliveries.

Donaldson Aerospace & Defense, a division of Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE: DCI), announces that the Civil Aviation Administration of China has validated the H125 (formerly AS350) Inlet Barrier Filter (IBF) Supplemental Type Certificate, clearing the way for installation of IBFs on Airbus H125 helicopters in China.