General Aviation/Helicopter News

Buttery smooth landings and some hard-jarring landings.

Now this is quite interesting, seeing a helicopter blade spinning in slow motion.

The Bell 525 is approaching the end of certification but still there is no definitive news on a final date as to when the new helicopter will surpass that threshold for entry into service. The Bell 525 concept has been around for a while now after being introduced to the world in 2012 at the Heli Expo in Dallas at the time. below is an image of what the interior of one of these medium lift twin helicopters could look like in corporate outfit.

First five-bladed Airbus H145 has been delivered and it has been sent to Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation. "I would like to thank the Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation for their trust in our helicopters and especially in the H145 family of helicopters. I can’t wait to see this new version in operation, contributing to the success of life-saving missions," said Bruno Even, Airbus Helicopters CEO. "Our teams have worked hard to bring this enhanced multi-mission helicopter to the market quickly."

Airbus Helicopters has delivered two H145s to the Ecuadorian Air Force, the first military customer in South America for this multi-purpose twin-engine helicopter. A total of six H145s will be delivered over the next year. The H145 helicopters, known as “Cobra” in the Ecuadorian Air Force, will be assigned to the 22nd Combat Wing in Guayaquil. The contract includes training for 12 pilots and 15 technicians, as part of an in-country operational training programme.

A look into Bush Fire operations of the Royal Australian Air Force and company featuring several helo types.

The latest Pratt & Whitney PT6 engine to roll off the production line marked the 50,000th unit. The engine fleet of the PT6 in service has logged somewhere around 410 million hours. The PT6 engine was originally announced back in 1958. At present there are more than 25,000 PT6 engines in active service on different aircraft around the world. The latest iteration of it the PT6-E series is on the new Pilatus PC-12 NGx.

Chinook Assembly for the Royal Netherlands Air Force.

Presidential travel for the Colombian President will get a boost when the Colombian Air Force is expected to take delivery of a new rotor aircraft this coming Spring. The aircraft of choice is the Leonardo AW139 naturally fitted out with a VVIP interior. The aircraft will be operated by the Colombian Air Force.

All Nippon Helicopter’s (ANH) H160 has performed its first flight test, a 95-minute flight at the Marseille Provence Airport. This successful maiden flight paves the way for the aircraft’s entry into service in Japan. ANH deploys a helicopter fleet comprising six AS365s and five H135s for electronic news gathering for the TV stations across Japan. This H160 will replace one of its AS365s. "We are delighted to see the successful inaugural flight of Japan’s very first H160, and we are looking forward to this next-generation helicopter playing an important role in our nationwide missions," said Jun Yanagawa, President of ANH. "Since the introduction of the AS365 helicopter three decades ago, the requirements of the electronic news gathering market is constantly evolving and has significantly improved. This state-of-the-art helicopter H160 is a timely welcome for our operations."

Airbus Helicopters has started in-flight tests on board its Flightlab, a platform-agnostic flying laboratory exclusively dedicated to maturing new technologies. Airbus Helicopters’ Flightlab provides an agile and efficient test bed to quickly test technologies that could later equip Airbus’ current helicopter range, and even more disruptive ones for future fixed-wing aircraft or (e)VTOL platforms. Airbus Helicopters intends to pursue the testing of hybrid and electric propulsion technologies with its Flightlab demonstrator, as well as exploring autonomy, and other technologies aimed at reducing helicopter sound levels or improving maintenance and flight safety.

"Investing in the future remains essential, even in times of crisis, especially when those innovations bring added value to our customers by targeting increased safety, reduced pilot workload, and reduced sound levels," said Bruno Even, Airbus Helicopters CEO. "Having a dedicated platform to test these new technologies brings the future of flight a step closer and is a clear reflection of our priorities at Airbus Helicopters," he added.

The U.S Presidential Helicopter...a costly mistake? Hear this take on the story.

A look at one of Roman Abramovich's latest corporate helicopters, the ACH145. This and the sister bird will likely see use aboard is new superyacht Project Solaris currently under construction at the Lloyd Werft yard in Germany.

https://www.yachtforums.com/threads/lloyd-werft-145m-project-solaris-2021.29915/

The Embraer EMB-203 Ipanema is back in the news because of a major sale performance for this aircraft type. For February alone, the company sold 19 of these aircraft while the total for the year so far is 27 aircraft of the type. The performance so far is already 8% higher than the entire 2020.

All you need to know about the new Rolls Royce Ultra Fan Engine.

https://www.rolls-royce.com/media/our-stories/innovation/2016/advance-and-ultrafan.aspx#overview

The Bundespolizei will now have their H120 fleet administered to with Safran's by-the-hour engine support. Francis Larribau, Safran Helicopter Engines Germany CEO, said: "We are proud that Bundespolizei has renewed its confidence in Safran Helicopter Engines and its SBH® support contract, and we look forward to delivering them world-class services and supporting them in their most demanding missions".

One year after completing the acquisition of the Swiss Company Kopter Group AG (Kopter), Leonardo welcomes the SH09 single-engine helicopter as a full member of its product range by rebranding it as the AW09.

https://www.leonardocompany.com/en/...h09-into-its-helicopter-portfolio-as-the-aw09

The Jamaica Defense Force has taken delivery of its latest Bell 505 Jet Ranger X and overall this specimen is the 300th unit to be delivered by Bell. "We are proud to take delivery of the 300th Bell 505 and expand our fleet capabilities." said Lt. Col. Brian Lundy, commanding officer of the JDF Air Wing. "JDF and Bell have a strong history together and today’s delivery marks another milestone in our relationship." The Force’s sixth Bell 505 will support Public Safety missions to serve the citizens of Jamaica and be operated by its Caribbean Military Aviation School (CMAS) to train the international rotorcraft pilots of tomorrow.

Operational testing of the next helicopter model for U.S Presidential transport.

President Joe Biden's helicopter entourage in London.