Amid feverish speculation that the 2005 show might be rattling around the mighty Excel exhibition centre in London’s docklands, this year’s Helitech, held in late September, rolled back its sleeves and got on with the job in hand. During a week of beautiful late-summer weather, the biennial event attracted more than 6,500 trade visitors and some 300 helicopters to Duxford Airfield. As the three days passed, many of these machines made demonstration flights in the sunshine-filled skies.
Manufacturers held back the usual raft of sales announcements for the show, but most exhibitors seemed content to engage in networking and lay the foundations for future sales. “We saw a lot of continental European visitors,” said Geoff Turner of first-time exhibitor Skyquest Aviation, “and visitors from the defense agencies that I haven’t been able to contact before. It was a good show for us.”