FROM THE DESK OF THE EDITOR Tech and Growth on Display in Europe


For the second time in as many days, I was demoing a product that involved complex helicopter operations with a set of virtual reality goggles on my face. Boy how times have changed!


In the last week of November, European Rotors, the four-day show organized by the European Helicopter Association (EHA) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and produced by Helicopter Association International, kicked off in Madrid, Spain.


The Rotor Pro team attended European Rotors and can attest that compared to last year’s event in Cologne, Germany, it was larger. HAI reported that attendance at the show was over 5,400 people from over 80 countries, both figures exceeding the participation in the previous two shows. The event also saw growth in the number of exhibitors (231) and the number of aircraft displayed on the show floor (23).


Getting back to reality — or virtual reality — everywhere I turned during the show, there was some form of game- changing technology on display. For example, I was invited to demo two different training devices that included mixed reality as the platform for learning. For those who haven’t heard, mixed reality is a combination of real and virtual environments, offering individuals a full, immersive teaching experience.


The first experience was using Bluedrop’s Hoist Mission Training System (HMTS). I was put on a physical platform, which was to be the door opening of a helicopter, which also had a physical hoist cable and hoist hand-controller, then virtually placed (via VR goggles) into a hover on the side of a snowy mountain at night to rescue a hiker off the side of a cliff.


In the second experience, I had the opportunity to fly Entrol’s H145 mixed-reality flight simulator. Because flying has both a visual and tactile component, mixed-reality flight training makes perfect sense. The VR goggles provide a 360-degree


of the flying environment. This provides better visual awareness as compared to simulators with a projection screen. However, in the cockpit, the pilot is still using their hands to physically push buttons, turn knobs, and flip switches, which is far more intuitive than a completely virtual cockpit.


All in all, compared to previous helicopter shows in Europe, this show seemed to be a hit and pointed to a healthy, growing vertical-lift industry on the eastern side of the Atlantic Ocean. “We are proud that the European community recognizes this is the premier rotorcraft event in the region,” says Eduardo Consejo, president of the Asociación de Trabajos Aéreos y de Emergencias (ATAIRE), the Spanish helicopter association hosting the event. “We understand the exhibitors were extremely pleased with the quality of visitors coming to see them, including those qualified to sign agreements on the spot. One of the goals of the show is to facilitate business between companies and buyers, and the data shows that the Madrid show met that challenge.”


It was also announced that European Rotors in 2024 will be held in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Looking back westward: next stop for the industry is Heli-Expo in Anaheim, California, and Rotor Pro will be there!


Lyn Burks, Editor-In-Chief


is published six times a year and mailed out on or around the 10th of every other month by Rotor Pro Media Network Inc. RotorPro®


Rotor Pro® is distributed free to


qualified subscribers. Non-qualified subscription rates are $57.00 per year in the U.S. and Canada, $125.00 per year for foreign subscribers (surface mail). U.S. postage paid at Fall River, Wisconsin, and additional mailing offices.


Publisher is not liable for all content (including


editorial and illustrations provided by advertisers) of ads published, and does not accept responsibility for any claims made against the publisher. It is the advertiser’s or agency’s responsibility to obtain appropriate releases on any item or individuals pictured in ads. Reproduction of this magazine in whole or in part is prohibited without prior written permission from the publisher.


Editor-In-Chief Lyn Burks


lyn.burks@rotorpro.com Account Executives Teri Rivas


teri.rivas@rotorpro.com Brad Shubargo brad@rotorpro.com


Circulation Manager Laura Lentz Layout Design Bryan Matuskey


production@rotorpro.com


Online Accounts Manager Lynnette Burks


lynnette.burks@rotorpro.com Copy Editors Rick Weatherford Joanna Nellans Social Media Guru Laura Lentz


Content Creators James Careless Randy Mains Joanna Nellans Jennifer Ferrero Rick Weatherford Wes Van Dell Randy Rowles Mark Tyler Matt Johnson Uros Podlogar


Corporate Officer Lyn Burks, CEO


Mailing Address


949 SW Woodland Ave. Ft. White, FL 32038


Toll Free: 877.768.5550 Fax: 561.424.8036 www.rotorpro.com


visual view


4


Nov/Dec 2023


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84