Helisota has extended its MRO capabilities by adding HC120, HC135 and HC140 helicopter types to its EASA Part-145 certificate. Following the successful certification, Helisota is now eligible to provide both base and line maintenance support for private and governmental HC120, HC135, HC145 operators. Previously produced under the Eurocopter...

Year 2015 was without a doubt a roller coaster ride for the rotorcraft industry. Despite the added turbulence, though, the demand in the market remained steady. According to Honeywell, up to 5250 new machines are forecasted to hit the market in the upcoming 4 years. The majority (53%) of these helicopters will supplement the Western Hemisphere,...

The Dubai Air last month proved a true fiasco for airplane manufacturers, as both Airbus and Boeing saw only one notable commercial deal of 30 aircraft placed by Vietnam carrier. On the vertical side of the industry, however, rotorcraft producers can for now rest assured about the immediate future simply because of the stable demand largely driven...

Recently, AugustWestland Brazilian subsidiary has announced its plans to build a massive helicopter maintenance facility near Sao Paulo. The news were positively greeted by both operators and government bodies since the need for appropriate MRO support has long been subject to growing concern in the region. However, prior to popping the champagne,...

Combined with a predicted global growth in rotorcraft aviation, the decrease in the numbers of trainees – both civilian and military – is creating what many see as a looming shortage qualified personnel, especially mechanics. While more than 5 000 machines are expected to supplement the global fleet until 2019, the existing technical manpower...

Just last week, Sikorsky, one of the most renowned rotorcraft industry companies, was purchased by Lockheed for $9 billion. Previously, Sikorsky had startled the helicopter market by laying off almost 1400 workers due to a significant decline in oil & gas explorations around the globe. Back then, 80 per cent of all company sales came from...

For some time now Indonesia has been known for having one of the fastest developing civil aviation markets in the world. In the meantime, compared to the airline industry, its rotorcraft segment wasn’t as lucky, growing at yearly average of merely 1% (acc. to Asian Sky Group). However, as Airbus Helicopters Indonesia is setting out plans to...

Based on the recent forecasts by Honeywell Aerospace, during 2014–2018 the civil rotorcraft market, currently worth around $7.4 billion will be supplemented with up to 5 500 civilian-use machines worldwide. In addition, what has conventionally been an industry focused on the industrialized nations of Europe and North America has begun to undergo...

According to a recent study carried out by Honeywell, the demand for commercial and military helicopters worldwide continues to grow, especially in the developing regions. For instance, more than a third (36%) of Latin American operators had plans to expand their rotorcraft fleets in 2014, closely followed by Asia (29%) and the Middle East/Africa...

Having grown 3.5 times since 2004, rotorcraft industry is one of the few ones in Russia to show steady development rates. However, while this growth still relies heavily on sales of military products, the global demand seems to be taking a shift towards more commercial helicopter utilization. As a result, in order to remain relevant Russia needs...

Although the growth of the helicopter market is still mainly driven by the demand in the military sector, the civil market is steadily increasing its share in the segment due to the accelerating regional demand for helicopters in the global economy. For instance, manufacturers see the potential in expanding helicopter’s utilization in the...

The current civil rotorcraft fleet in Russia is mostly comprised of locally-made machines which account for 76% of all the registered helicopters in the region. Most of them are different modifications of the Mi-8s. Almost 1200 machines of the type were operated in the region in 2013. Still, according to various statistical data, during the last...