Attendees who make their way to Anaheim, Calif., for the Helicopter Association International’s (HAI) Heli-Expo later this month will encounter the usual crowded and noisy convention-center floor occupied by companies unveiling their latest wares. But the event may lack some of the energy and exuberance of recent shows given the dreary economic picture. Based on early numbers there will be fewer companies exhibiting at this year’s convention compared with last year’s record total of 565, and there may well be fewer attendees as well. Last February’s Heli-Expo in Houston drew more than 17,000 visitors, a record that will be hard to top.

The one-two punch of a slow economy and plunging oil prices means Heli-Expo regulars might have to adjust to a more subdued atmosphere for the three-day event, which starts on February 22. Relatively few big sales announcements are expected, and there perhaps will be only one or two new helicopters introduced at the show. Still, forecasts predict the longer-term health of the rotorcraft industry remains sound and still call for billions of dollars worth of business in the next decade. In other words, helicopter makers are down but they certainly aren’t out.
 
The helicopter segment of aviation has been a relatively happy and optimistic part of the broader business landscape for the last few years as oil exploration, EMS, police and corporate uses of rotorcraft translated into a steady flow of new orders. But with the sudden turnaround in the economy and in the face of a spate of high-profile aeromedical helicopter crashes in the last two years, some of the luster of this high-flying industry appears to have worn thin. Still, perhaps these are apt reasons why now may be the ideal time to host Heli-Expo and bring together rotor aficionados for a Kumbaya moment in Southern California.