In the early days of aviation, airplane wings were constructed of wood and fabric because this was the technology of the time. These materials served the industry well enough for many years. When it was time to build rotor blades for the first helicopters, the designers didn’t know how to construct them, so it’s not surprising that rotor blades were constructed similar to the wings on airplanes...

We hear the term “common sense,” but what does it really mean? It should have applicability in all phases of our lives — how we live, how we play and how we do our jobs. From my perspective, it just doesn’t appear to be common anymore. The other day I took a large shipment of training materials to a well-known shipper and paid a large amount of money to have the shipment sent to a particular...

R. Fred Polak | Editor Integrated flat panel displays offer significant improvement in situational awareness while reducing pilot workload, both of which are essential to supporting the unique tactical requirements of rotary-wing aircraft. The high-vibration environment in which rotorcraft operate presents the need for flight deck displays to be rugged and high utility, yet provide intuitive...

A eromaritime America Inc. (AAI), located at Falcon Field Airport in Mesa, Ariz., is a Rolls-Royce authorized maintenance, repair and overhaul center (AMROC) specializing in the Model M250 series engines. Aeromaritime has more than 34 years of experience with an excellent reputation for providing repair, overhaul and complete support services for a wide variety of helicopter/aircraft engines...

FlightSafety International announces that Woody McClendon has joined the company as Sales Manager, Rotorcraft Training. Woody will support FlightSafety’s training sales efforts across all segments of the helicopter industry. He will work closely with existing and prospective Customers to develop training offerings tailored to their individual needs and unique requirements. “Our Customers will...

AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, announces that it has signed agreements with three key suppliers for its AW609 TiltRotor program. These three agreements form part of a succession of contracts signed with AW609 TiltRotor component suppliers since AgustaWestland acquired the tiltrotor programme in November 2011. These latest agreements signed with Pratt & Whitney Canada, Rockwell...

LiveTV, a wholly-owned subsidiary of JetBlue Airways Corporation, and Greenwich AeroGroup Inc. have entered into a distribution agreement wherein Greenwich Aerogroup Inc. and its affiliates will sell, support and install the Iridium OpenPort-AeroSM broadband aviation communications platform. Iridium OpenPort-Aero is the only aviation broadband solution that works everywhere in the world,...

DART Helicopter Services (DHS) announces receipt of FAA certification for the A119/AW119MKII cable cutters kit from subsidiary partner Apical Industries. EASA approval is pending. The Apical A119 cable cutters kit provides a means of protecting the helicopter during a cable/wire strike by providing the capability to cut a cable/wire before catastrophic damage occurs. The kit is designed to reduce...

Soloy Aviation Solutions has been approved for a SD engine conversion kit for the AS350B helicopter. The SD kit includes the same Honeywell LTS101-600A-3A engine used on Soloy’s SD1 installation. While the Honeywell-powered versions of the AS350B model helicopter have been available for many years, all previous conversions required the conversion of the complete drive train to that used on the...

DART Helicopter Services announces the creation and launch of its iPad App for its 2012 accessories catalog. The 500-page catalog features 3,500 accessories, 2,000 tools, 600 STCs, and solutions for AgustaWestland, Bell, Eurocopter, MD Helicopters, Robinson and Sikorsky. The app offers a part finder. This feature allows the user to take a picture of a product, have it sent directly to DART, and...