Heli-Expo 2003
Maybe it was pent-up demand.

Maybe it was pent-up demand. Maybe it was part of a desire to party before the war. Maybe times aren’t as hard as the pundits say they are. No matter the reason, this year’s staging of the Helicopter Association International Heli-Expo was a success far beyond anyone’s expectations.

Aviation trade shows tend to run in cycles, varying between shows at which sales make up the predominant news and those at which new product announcements hoard the spotlight. Heli-Expo ’03 was most definitely a trade show, with some manufacturers announcing unprecedented sales. On the downside, virtually no new models were announced, but that didn’t seem to bother the crowds that mobbed the Dallas Convention Center hallways from February 9 to 11, where attendance totaled a gratifying 12,877, making Heli-Expo ’03 the best attended HAI show since 2000, when attendance clocked in at 13,747.