Bill Wagstaff

Latest from Bill Wagstaff

Rotorcraft

Initial testing of BA609 civil tiltrotor flawless

Successfully completing phase one of what will be the world’s first civil certification of a tiltrotor aircraft, veteran convertiplane pilot Roy Hopkins re
Rotorcraft

Say ‘Aloha’ to Hawaii by Helicopter

Heli-USA has taken a break from the usual Hawaiian air-tour repertoire of overflying thick jungles, pristine tropical rainforests, volcanoes surging with l
Rotorcraft

S-92 and EH 101 grapple for honor of providing Marine One

Like its predecessors, it would be the most widely recognized helicopter in the world– the personal transport for the world’s most powerful leader, a leade
Rotorcraft

Helo mod shop marks 25 years of design innovation

Twenty-five years ago, former Bell Helicopter engineer Frelon Tullos founded Heli-Dyne Systems in response to a market he recognized, one that his former e
Rotorcraft

Resolute MDHI boss pledges new profitability

“‘What do they know about the helicopter business? They’ll be begging to be bought out in six months.’ That’s what the rest of the industry was saying abou
Rotorcraft

To Protect and Serve

Amid numerous press accounts of helicopter heroism during the war in Iraq comes this story of the sort of everyday utility humanitarianism that should walk
Rotorcraft

Mode of Transport or Amusement Park Attraction?

It’s unclear what the following facts really say about a mode of transportation that’s nearly 60 years old, but a new Nevada corporation has set up shop se
Rotorcraft

Funnel Finder

Some pilots don’t look forward to flying in bad weather, but helicopter pilot and TV news reporter Johnny Rowlands actually fires up his Bell JetRanger and
Rotorcraft

Air Methods Places Its First EC 130

As evidence of a continual, albeit gradual, increase in the sale of commercial helicopters, multi-ship purchases are on the upswing.
Rotorcraft

Agusta To Increase Stake in BA609 Tiltrotor Program

Agusta officials have revealed they are currently negotiating with Bell to increase the share the Italian manufacturer holds in the BA609 tiltrotor program
Rotorcraft

Good News, Bad News: Just Another Day for the V-22

Just when it looks like the V-22 Osprey program might have a good day, the fates conspire to create more clouds on the horizon.

Aeromed helos find little to do but grieve

For years the aeromedical helicopters based in and around New York City and Washington have trained for massive urban disasters.
Rotorcraft

CHC Scotia workers prep for possible strike

North Sea oil and gas producers could be facing a summer of extreme discontent should a voting majority of union members at CHC Scotia have their way.
Rotorcraft

Accident mars AB139 progress

Before suffering a fatal crash April 22, the joint Bell/Agusta AB139 helicopter was enjoying a notably trouble-free development program that was at times w
Rotorcraft

Enhanced Schweizer delivered to launch customer

Just a few months after its official introduction at last winter’s HAI Heli-Expo, the Schweizer 300CBi, an enhanced version of Schweizer’s Model 300CB, is
Rotorcraft

Offshore helo saves wayward ferry flier over North Sea

Sometimes all it takes is a reassuring voice on the radio and a heartfelt “follow me” to spell the difference between life and death in a tight aeronautica
Rotorcraft

Big Apple Cops To Get ‘Super-Copter’

New York City has been granted $9.8 million in federal funds to buy and equip a hybrid “super-copter” equipped for response to a variety of emergency situa
Rotorcraft

EH-101 Breaks American Sales Hegemony in Japan

Breaking into a market that has traditionally favored U.S.-made products, British defense systems builder GKN has aced a $1.5 billion helicopter deal with
Rotorcraft

Suit Claims Tiltrotor ‘Misrepresentation’

A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Textron, accusing the Providence, R.I.
Accidents

Russian Leader Killed in Crash

Alexander Lebed, a once-powerful Russian politician, was killed April 29 when the Russian-made Mil Mi-8 helicopter in which he and 19 others were traveling
Rotorcraft

President Bush Gets Bumped from ‘Marine One’ Twice

It’s been 45 years since President Dwight Eisenhower became the first standing U.S.
Rotorcraft

Helo Ops Unite To Block Housing Development

It’s the helicopter equivalent of the “man bites dog” story.
FBOs

Touching Bases: ChevronTexaco one year later

Just over a year after its merger, ChevronTexaco (the entity that resulted when the two oil giants came together after a landmark $45 billion deal) has rel
Security

9/11 helo aftermath: ‘normal’ but not quite

It has been just over two years since four hijacked jetliners stopped the world in its tracks on what was for residents of the New York City and Washington
Rotorcraft

A Russian Surprise

Making its surprise debut at last month’s MAKS airshow just outside Moscow, Kazan Helicopters’ Aktai is a roomy three-seat trainer with an aft cargo cabin
Rotorcraft

Do as you say, insists helo op

They say that turnabout is fair play, and that’s evidently what a proactive North Carolina tobacco grower thought he was doing when he sued a local high sc
Rotorcraft

Bell CEO cuts staff, moves production to save money

Proving perhaps that nothing sweeps cleaner than a new broom, Bell Helicopter CEO Mike Redenbaugh, in the job since late May, has announced plans to move B
Aircraft

Comanche Production Begins… Cautiously

At a time when the progress of big-ticket military helicopter programs is measured in decades, it is worth noting that the first Boeing Sikorsky RAH-66 Com
Rotorcraft

Air Methods Pilots and Employees OK Union

A marginally sufficient 55 percent of the 540-strong force of eligible employees at aeromed operator Air Methods recently voted to approve representation b