European Helicopter Show day two

Cobra - not the Red Bull one which will fly on Saturday

Mosquito

Red Bull is here with its Cobra and an Extra. On Saturday there is an airshow and I am told both machines will be flying, certainly the Cobra.

There were also a series of interesting seminars today including one on Safety Management Systems by Malcolm Rusby of Tag Aviation, and one about flying with the LA Police in California. The police photographer also gave us tips on how to take the perfect photo.

European Helicopter Show day one

Hradec Kralove airport

Based at the wonderful old cold war airfield of Hradec Kralove (once the capital of Czechie) the European Helicopter Show has a mass of fascinating new and old helicopters both medium and tiny. Unfortunately, it is rather lacking in visitors, but I'm told that will be remedied on Saturday.

Helicopters here include the Fama Kiss helicopter, several Cabris, the CH-7 Angel and the CH-77 two seat angel. There is also a minute single seater the Mosquito, and a wide selection of gyrocopters.

Other interesting booths include a 300 gramme poly-pack which when put in water turns into a 23 kilo 'cement block' barrier bag. These are intended to be used in flood situations whence they can be carried by helicopter and dropped onsite. After use they can be burnt. The invention is Japanese and the barrier bags are currently being marketed and sold by the a Swedish company LECRA.

There is also a Danish company manufacturing faux grass helipads, as seen on the left with the Cabri on the pad.

European Helicopter Show setup day

HeliBaby

Set-up day at Hradec Kralove for the European Helicopter Show. Above is one of the oldest exhibts, a HeliBaby - more on this tomorrow.
Went flying in a Danish R44 - notice the helipad - more on this to come.

Note the helipad R44 is landing on

Hradec Kralove airport

Lovely flight over the local countryside - which made up for the fact that when I went to pick up my rental car to drive here from Prague Dollar Thrifty claimed that the car I was to have had been in an accident, the result of which was that I had to pay almost double for a different car. Everyone here thinks this is a scam... I am going to write to Dollar and find out why this happened.

New Landscape at Oxford London Airport

London Oxford Airport is maturing into a full-blown Heathrow satellite, we were told by James Dillon-Godfray at the pre-EBACE briefing. Training, once its staple income is now down and business jets, once as rare as wisdom, are up by 2011 - 2012.
The general landscape has also changed with the demise of PremiAir, once known as Europe’s leading charter company, and the growth of Capital Air Services. Michael Hampton, MD of Capital, explained that due to CAA AOC changes Capital is no longer supporting Air Harrods under their AOC and consequently there are presently no Air Harrods charters. RotorMotion is also presently restricted, so the general face of the helicopter charter market is finding itself restructured. Interestingly, the Olympics last summer, to which aviation companies were looking with a mixture of hope and trepidation, proved to have a negligible effect for the airport.
Eurocopter, always the airport mammoth, retains its dominant position, and is now known as British Civil Helicopter Hub!
Since last year, when the owners of the London Oxford Airport, the Ruben Brothers, bought Battersea Heliport, a new and very effective helicopter service has been created to take business jet passengers into London via the heliport. Run by Capital Helicopters the trip takes 25 minutes and passengers get a discount on both landing fees, which essentially pay for the cost of the helicopter trip between.
Current improvements to the taxiways and apron have also led to an increase in larger traffic including a scheduled flight by the Greek company Minoan, which flies a Fokker 50 from Oxford to Edinburgh and Oxford to Dublin several days a week.
The airport is now open from 4.30 am and flights can take place anytime between 6.30 am and midnight. A new train station should be open by 2014, and James Dill Godfray says there has been little local opposition and instead a significant boost to the local economy.
Oxford now has 40,000 movements a year, considerably down on its training peak of 200,000 movements a year but less invasive for the local community and considerably more lucrative for the airport and its owners.

Flip Books

I am thinking of creating a digital version of Helicopter Life so I can easily send copies to overseas subscribers. I am looking specifically at two packages : flip book builder or kvisoft. Does anyone know if these are good, or if there are any other more suitable packages available? Obviously cost is an issue and it helps if it is fairly easy or intuitive to use.
Thanks.

Frank Robinson awarded Daniel Guggenheim medal

Frank Robinson has been awarded the Daniel Guggenheim medal for his design, construction and brilliance in designing the Robinson helicopter series. I will show an R44, the four seat piston design here if the stupid internet lets me put it on- it keeps saying a jpeg is not an image?!

Frank Robinson totally revolutionised the way the world sees helicopter flying. What I am saying is not new to anyone in flying, we have known this for decades, but people out of a sector take longer to perceive what is obvious to those inside. With his cheaper materials, emphasis on reducing weight and his real concern that helicopter flying, which is such fun, should be available to all, Frank Robinson started a new trend. He was aiming for a 'people's helicopter'. OK, that is never really going to be possible but I think he was one of the few to even aim for it.

His latest design, the R66, a light turbine with the same parameters has also brought a new sector of people into flying. He is now over 80 so he will not design any more - but who knows if his legacy may not influence other inventors to look at the light helicopter market and muse about its possibilities.

Nope. machine won't let me put it on. Sorry but I guess you know what an R22, R44 and R66 looks like!

Bristow wins UK SAR contract

Bristow Helicopters Ltd welcomes today’s (Tuesday 26 March) announcement that it has been successful in its bid for delivery of UK Search and Rescue Helicopter services.

The award of the UK SAR contract to Bristow Helicopters Ltd, which will come into effect in April 2015 and run until 2026, was announced today (Tuesday 26 March) by the Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin MP.

Operating from 10 strategically located bases across the UK, using technologically advanced helicopters, the new service will be delivered by experienced crews with world-class skills, trained, qualified and certified to coordinate and execute SAR operations. Bristow Helicopters Ltd will create approximately 350 new jobs to support the contract. A transition agreement with the Ministry of Defence will ensure continuity of service and experience for military personnel transferring to the new operator.

So, Bristow won the contract. CHC will presumably be feeling extremely annoyed. Bond too, though they have already sent around a press release saying, in effect, they have so many new contracts already they are too busy for this poxy little one.