Spirits were high and attendance reached a healthy 15,243 at Heli-Expo’10, held February 21 to 23 in Houston. The number of exhibitors, 596, was higher than last year, and this year’s attendance was the third highest in Heli-Expo history, underscoring the helicopter industry’s assertion that the diversity of the markets it serves has moderated the effects of the recession.
As might be expected during an economic downturn, development of new rotorcraft has slowed, and OEMs did not use this year’s Heli-Expo as a venue to announce major new helicopter programs. But AgustaWestland provided some drama when it unveiled the
A109 Grand New on the first day of the show. A follow-on to the AW109S Grand, the A109 Grand New features a Cobham avionics suite that includes digital audio control, a four-display NVG-compatible panel with synthetic vision and highway-in-the-sky predictive flight director. The A109 Grand New has already been certified by the EASA and was due to receive FAA certification within weeks of Heli-Expo. AgustaWestland said at the show that it already had orders for 20 copies of the Grand New.
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