PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE By James A. Viola Celebrating Our Past,
Building Our Future Let us work together to create the future we want.
O
James A. Viola is HAI’s president and CEO. After a career as a US Army
aviator, he joined the FAA, where he served as director of the Office of General Aviation Safety Assurance before joining HAI. A dual- rated pilot, James holds ATP ratings in both airplanes and helicopters and is a CFII. Contact him at
president@rotor.org.
N DEC. 13, 1948, sixteen people representing six helicopter operators and one manufacturer met at the offices of AF Helicopters at what was then Lockheed
Air Terminal, now Hollywood Burbank Airport (KBUR) in California and formed the Helicopter Council. The civil helicopter industry was brand-new, having been launched less than three years earlier with the certification of the Bell 47 on Mar. 8, 1946. Now, 75 years later, and after several name changes, the members of Helicopter Association International (HAI) number in the thousands and operate in 65 countries around the world. We are a trusted partner, working with operators, manufacturers and suppliers, regulators, and government agencies to advance a safe, prosperous, sustainable global vertical aviation industry. None of this would have been possible without the vision and action of our founding members and early leaders, and we are in their debt. They founded this association in a time of great innovation in
vertical flight and, therefore, a time of uncertainty. What would a helicopter look like? What could these machines do? Despite their intense commercial competition, these operators had the foresight to recognize that their fledgling industry would benefit by coming together to pursue common goals. When you arrive at a landmark anniversary such as HAI’s 75th, there is a natural tendency to look back. Where did we start, and what have we done since? On the pages of this special issue of ROTOR, you will find the answers to those questions and more. In addition to telling the story of how a council of California helicopter operators grew to represent the global vertical aviation industry, this issue describes the essential missions our industry performs. We remember the events, innovators, and leaders who helped shape vertical aviation, and we hear from some HAI members who are making their mark today. We conclude the issue with a look at our industry’s future: the
next generation who will fix, fly, operate, manufacture, and supply the vertical aviation industry of tomorrow. While combing through our archives to prepare this issue, we
were struck by the ways in which history is repeating itself. Just as it was 75 years ago, our industry is experiencing a period of innova- tion. Once again, we are asking basic questions. What does a verti- cal aviation aircraft look like? What can our machines accomplish?
10 ROTOR SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE
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