38
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/ Vol. 5 / No.4 / APRIL 2013
of 155 knots over 140 nautical miles
with all the passenger seats filled.
Heli Expo is never short on
glamour and partnering its 2013 Las
Vegas location for glitz was MD
Helicopter's Lynn Tilton who also
claimed a 'good' trading year for her
products. Although MD's biggest news
of the show was the completion of
its MD540F weapons testing phase,
attracting arguably more interest from
visitors was Phoenix Helicopter's trade
booth that displayed an MD500D
finished as Magnum PI's Hawaii-
based machine. At the booth were two
of the show's actors, Larry Minetti
who played the part of local beach
club owner, Rick Wright and Roger
Mosely who played pilot 'TC' Calvin.
The Magnum MD500 on display
is in fact a refurbished version with
an upgraded avionics suite and
an exterior matching the genuine
helicopter. It even has the same tail
number: N58243. The attention
grabbing display booth helped Phoenix
to market its automatic re-light system
and LED master caution annunciators
and Insco transducer instruments. The
MD was originally based in Hawaii
and served with the Honolulu Police
Force but will now be returned to
the islands to join tour company,
Paradise Helicopters. The new owner,
Calvin Dorn was presented with the
machine's keys during Heli Expo.
There was a great deal of
discussion focused on the US
government's 'Sequestration' bill and
the real possibilities that America's
huge public spending, in particular
its arms development and acquisition
programs, will be severely curtailed.
Particularly affected will be Bell
Helicopters who have been racing to
complete a number of commercial
projects, chief amongst them, the
Bell 525 Relentless medium lift
It was impossible to miss Bell
Helicopter in Las Vegas at
HELI-EXPO 2013, the world's
largest helicopter trade show and
exhibition. Taking center stage as
the show's largest exhibitor, Bell
Helicopter, greeted record crowds
of almost 20,000 event attendees
who filled the Bell Helicopter
booth to speak with company
representatives while examining
and interacting with the four Bell
helicopters on display two Bell
429s, as well as the new Bell
412EPI and Bell 407GT, both of
which were introduced at the show.
According to John Garrison,
president and CEO of Bell
Helicopter, HELI-EXPO is
always an important event for
the company, but this year's
show was particularly significant.
"We set out very aggressive
customer interaction and sales
goals for HELI-EXPO, since it
is our first major trade show of
the year," he said. "It's been an
exciting and intense few days
spending time with hundreds
of our best customers."
"I think the best evidence
of our success at the show is the
agreements we reached for sales of
50 helicopters to current customers
and first-time Bell Helicopter
customers," Garrison added.
Among the purchase
agreements signed
during HELI-EXPO:
· A significant order for 30
helicopters by American Medical
Group Holdings; this is on the
heels of another major EMS
win in December with Air
Methods for 20 helicopters.
· Orders for an additional
20 helicopters came from
international customers, further
growing Bell Helicopter's
presence in Latin America,
Europe and Asia.
Other show highlights of
the week for Bell
Helicopter included:
Announcement of significant
customer-driven upgrades to
Bell Helicopter's fleet of leading
rotorcraft, including the:
· New Bell 412EPI, featuring
a fully integrated glass
cockpit, upgraded engines
and improved performance
· New Bell 407GT, an armed
version of the Bell 407GX
featuring a fully integrated
Garmin G1000H flight deck,
and armament options ranging
from light munitions to laser
guided weapon systems.
· Bell 429 with a retractable
wheeled landing gear option
· Announcement of Helidrive as a
new Bell Helicopter independent
representative for Russia and the
first Bell Helicopter authorized
independent sales representative
in northwest Russia
· Signing a memorandum of
understanding with Van Horn
Aviation to design, certify and
manufacture a composite tail
rotor blade for the Bell 212
and Bell 412 product lines. ·
Bell Helicopter introduces new products
and reaches agreements to sell 50
helicopters at Heli Expo 2013
Bell Helicopter has announced it
is distributing a new cargo basket
under its Aeronautical Accessories
brand, produced by Aero Design
Ltd. for the Bell 429 aircraft.
The new product was developed
jointly through Bell Helicopter and
Aero Design. The quick release cargo
basket received Transport Canada
certification supplemental type
certificate SH12-58 in November
2012 and European Aviation Safety
Agency (EASA) approval in January
and is approved for instrument flight
rules and Category A operations.
The cargo basket can be used
in a variety of market applications
including utility, forestry, tourism
and mineral exploration to
transport mission-critical tooling
and equipment. To ensure full
functionality of the cabin doors,
the cargo basket is designed to be
installed low on either the right
or left hand side of the aircraft.
With a reinforced, slip resistant
checkered plate lid, maintenance
personnel can perform inspections
without removing the basket. Total
installed weight is 102.4 pounds
(46.55 kg) and allowable cargo
weight is 300 pounds (136.6 kg).
For more information on the
429 cargo basket, please visit the
Aeronautical Accessories web
site at www.aero-access.com
Bell 429 Cargo Basket available through
Aeronautical Accessories