Schweizer
At Schweizer RSG, it’s steady as she goes, and staying the course is paying off. When company president David Horton acquired the rights to Schweizer helicopters in 2018 from Sikorsky, the aircraft was out of production and there was a large backlog of spare-parts orders. For two years, Horton has focused company efforts on three things: rebuilding supply chains, producing aircraft and parts, and providing world-class customer support. Te Fort Worth, Texas–based manufacturer has received
the green light from the FAA to begin making parts, and full certification to manufacture aircraft is expected by the end of 2020. With 27 orders already on the books, Horton is excited to deliver. Te company has also purchased canni- balized aircraft and is refurbishing them for sale with parts that Schweizer RSG manufactures in-house, Horton says. “We’ve made a lot of progress,” says Horton. “It’s not as
much as I’d hoped by this time, but that’s a result of our focus on not doing anything unless it’s perfect and we’re doing it right. We take being stewards of this product with a rich history very seriously.”
Enstrom
Enstrom’s exhibit highlighted the
manufacturer’s 60th anniversary.
Celebrating 60 years of manufacturing at HAI HELI-EXPO 2020, Enstrom Helicopter Corp. reported an up-and-down 2019. Despite Enstrom’s ownership by Chongqing Helicopter
Investment Corp. in China, sales were down in that country. “Te US–China relationship has really affected our busi-
ness,” says Enstrom President Matt Francour. “We have fewer sales on their end, but customers feel it will shift back eventually.” With a large percentage of sales in the foreign military
sector, Enstrom sees continued slow growth. “When one contract drags, it hits us more than the larger OEMs,” says Francour. “Business isn’t going away. We remain very estab- lished around the world. It’s a wait-and-see game.”
MD Helicopters
Deliveries remained flat at MD Helicopters, too, with 2020 looking to be just ahead of 2019. Te Mesa, Arizona–based company announced plans to invest $100 million in 2020 supporting the 902, 969, and 530G aircraft and certifying new digital avionics for its single-engine helicopters. MD Helicopters also announced a move from Genesys
Aerosystems back to Universal Avionics’s InSight flight deck, originally chosen for the MD 900/902 program. Ten-CEO Lynn Tilton credited the change to Universal’s new ownership under Elbit and hoped this would lead to speedier certification and delivery. Tilton, who resigned as MD Helicopters CEO on Mar. 23, said the company planned to have the aircraft with Universal’s cockpit for sale by the end of 2021.
42 ROTOR 2020 Q2
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