Latest from Mark Huber
Accidents
Fuel Lever, Floats Factor Large in NYC Helo Crash
“The three floats installed on the left landing gear skid appeared to be more inflated than the floats on the right landing gear skid," the NTSB said.
Charter & Fractional
Helo Ride-sharing Service Blade Obtains More Funding
Blade and Airbus also will jointly explore launching an intra-city helicopter service in an international market to be determined this year.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Study: Half of Drone Flights To Be Autonomous by 2022
The study says fundamental transformations will disrupt the status quo and create new opportunities for industry growth.
Safety
NTSB Presses FAA on 'Doors Off' Helo Operations
FAA Tweeted it will order the halt of certain doors off operations, but NTSB seeks more definitive action.
Charter & Fractional
NYC Helo Crash Puts Spotlight on Doors-off Flights
Amateur video shows the helicopter making a hard impact then rolling right with main blades churning into the water and then rolling inverted.
Rotorcraft
FAA's Duncan: Flight Standards Aims For Consistency
The FAA aims to get everyone at the FSS playing from the same sheet of music.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
UAS Automated Flight Approval Expanding to 500 Airports
Part of FAA's larger register, ID, deconflict strategy
Rotorcraft
Babcock Named Global Launch Customer for Airbus H160
The fleet of H160s is destined for EMS and other critical services missions
Rotorcraft
There's No Turning Back from an eVTOL Future
"This is really a big deal. This is a lot of money," says the AHS chief.
Rotorcraft
Rolls-Royce Envisions Electric Future
VTOLs could start adversely impacting the helicopter market by 2025.
Rotorcraft
Leonardo Solo Makes First Unmanned Flight
The aircraft reached an altitude of 1,500 feet and a forward speed of 60 knots during the flight.
Rotorcraft
Airbus Aligns with Blade
The alliance is seen as complementing Airbus’s existing Voom service
Rotorcraft
Leonardo Sells Two More Twins To Sloane
The sale to Sloane Helicopters marks the first Trekker sale for the UK.
Rotorcraft
Cadorath Wins Rolls-Royce Service Award
Cadorath announced that it has developed 63 extended repairs on over 25 Honeywell T53 part numbers beginning this year.
Rotorcraft
FEC Offers NVG-compatible Helipad Lights
obstruction lights are a key safety feature of any helipad
Rotorcraft
Airbus Helicopters Maintains North American Lead
Airbus continued its dominance of the parapublic sector, winning 70 percent of available orders in the market.
Rotorcraft
Metro Orders 25 Airbus EC145e Helicopters
Deal has estimated market value of at least $125 million.
Rotorcraft
Airbus Selects Safran's Aneto for Racer
The 2,500-hp Aneto-1X engine is 25 percent more powerful than existing engines with the same footprint, according to Safran.
Rotorcraft
Lord Consolidates Electromechanical Products
The portfolio is now part of the new Lord Electromechanical Systems brand.
Rotorcraft
Bell Launches 407GXi
The dash -C47E/4 engine replaces the Rolls-Royce 250-C47B/8 in the 407GXP that Bell launched in 2015.
Rotorcraft
Bell 525 Flight-test Program Makes Progress
Two Bell 525 flight-test vehicles have accumulated an additional 200 flight test hours since returning to the air last July.
Rotorcraft
Sikorsky Releases v2.0 of iFly Flight Calculator Suite
Latest version offers a new graphical interface and connects to web-based weather data.
Rotorcraft
FreeFlight SBAS Sensor Approved for ADS-B
Now approved for installation with Rockwell Collins’ latest TDR-94/94D transponder variant.
