Metro Aviation has delivered two Airbus Helicopters H135s (P3) to California Shock Trauma Air Rescue (Calstar), the first of five H135 air medical transport helicopters the operator ordered last year. Calstar is the first U.S. customer for this updated variant.  

“Calstar is happy to receive the first two Airbus H135 (P3) aircraft to be delivered in the U.S. This aircraft proved its capabilities to us during a rigorous, competitive fly-off we conducted last August from our South Lake Tahoe base,” said Lynn Malmstrom, Calstar president and CEO. “Our pilots and crews were enthusiastically in favor of moving forward with this aircraft; and from a fleet, maintenance, and support perspective, it fits beautifully with our new fleet of eight Airbus EC135P2+s.”

The H135 boasts increased power with Pratt & Whitney Canada PW206B3 turbine engines driving a new, larger main rotor. It carries 440 more pounds of payload in hot-and-high operating conditions and offers improved performance and payload at lower altitudes. The aircraft also includes a modern glass cockpit with the Garmin GTN 750 fully integrated navigation, communication and GPS avionics system

Lockheed Martin (Chalet D10) recently completed the first flight of its Infirno sensor turret on an UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. The sensor met test objectives to verify line-of-sight stability and image quality, the manufacturer said.

“This is the latest in a series of successful Infirno demonstrations,” said Paul Lemmo, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control vice president. “The flight test proved Infirno’s high-definition sensor performance and stability in a demanding rotary-wing environment.”

The 15-inch Infirno turret, integrated in the nose of the H-60, contains high-definition, mid-wave infrared and color sensors, multi-mode tracker and laser designator/rangefinder with geo-location capability and advanced image processing.

The system enables users to deploy laser-guided munitions and conduct long-range intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. Its modular components can be maintained or upgraded without removing the turret from the aircraft.

Infirno can also be integrated on ground and maritime platforms.

Formed in 2002, Ukrainian Helicopters (Hall 3 Stand E110) has been flying overhauled Mi-8MTV-1 (Mi-17-1V) helicopters on a range of humanitarian and emergency relief operations under contract to both national and international organizations. After gaining its AOC in 2003, Ukrainian Helicopters undertook its first contract in 2004, fighting fires in Portugal. Since then the company has flown under various UN contracts in many areas of Africa, operating in harsh conditions to deliver aid and perform evacuations.

Through the course of this work, the company has amassed considerable experience of operating the Mi-8/17—the world’s most produced helicopter—in many roles and in many environments. This has enabled it to devise a reconfigurable version that allows the helicopter to be reconfigured by the crew for rescue, passenger transport and other tasks in less than 45 minutes.

Known as the Skytransformer, the Mi-8/17 is capable of night operations thanks to night-vision goggles and an under-nose electro-optical sensor turret. The latter can detect a person at night at a range of greater than five miles, making it a useful tool for night SAR. It can also relay imagery to a ground station via a satellite link.

Ukrainian Helicopters has devised a fully equipped medical module that can be installed in the cabin, which can also accommodate seating or cargo. For the rescue role, an enhanced winch is installed with a 262-foot (80-meter) cable rated at 600 pounds (272 kilograms). The winch can be used for rappelling by rescuers in terrain where a landing is not possible. To address the issue of operations in potentially hostile areas, the helicopter has Kevlar panels for ballistic protection, and an anti-missile protection system.

Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI; Hall 2 Stand A88) and Bell (Outdoor Exhibit L2-L5) have begun development of a version of the Bell 412EPI for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), having won the UH-X competition for a new utility transport helicopter. This will replace the UH-1J (Bell Model 205) in JGSDF service.

Fuji and Bell have forged a long partnership that has seen FHI build the UH-1B, UH-1J and AH-1S Cobra under license for the JGSDF, while it also license-built the service’s AH-64 Apaches. The UH-X helicopters are to be built at the company’s Utsunomiya plant.

Selection of the Fuji-Bell team for UH-X was announced in July last year and a contract for 150 helicopters was awarded in September. Originally a Kawasaki Heavy Industries team had been selected to develop UH-X as a new design, but the program was relaunched following alleged improprieties in the bidding process. The renewed UH-X requirement specified a modified off-the-shelf aircraft to keep costs down. KHI teamed with Airbus Helicopters to offer the new H160, but the Bell 412-based helicopter won out in a number of the Japanese evaluation categories, including delivery timescale. First deliveries are slated for 2021.

Currently referred to as the 412+, the UH-X helicopter will have state-of-the-art avionics, upgraded transmission and a higher gross weight compared to the 412EPI, which is Bell’s current production model. The UH-X will also have greater airframe durability and longer run-dry endurance.

Although the JGSDF requirement is the driving force behind the program, FHI and Bell are also hoping to pursue opportunities for the 412+ design in the civilian market. Following a relaxation on Japanese export regulations in 2014 the Fuji-Bell team is also proposing the 412+ for export.

By the time that the UH-X is being delivered, however, the Japanese company will have a new name. At the end of June FHI announced that it is to officially re-brand as the Subaru Corporation from April 1 next year, in the year of its 100th anniversary. Adopting the Subaru name (the Japanese name for the Pleiades—or “Seven Sisters”—star cluster) reflects the company’s best-known global product line. FHI’s history reaches back to 1917 when what soon after became the Nakajima Aircraft Factory was founded by Chikuhei Nakajima. In 1945 it was reorganized as Fuji Sangyo, producing civilian goods. In 1953 Fuji Heavy Industries was formed from various elements of the Fuji Sangyo concern.

L-3 Wescam (Outdoor Exhibit 31, Chalet A15) is supplying MX-15 electro-optical sensor turrets for Airbus Helicopters H215s to be used by the Finnish border guard. L-3 Wescam is due to have completed deliveries of the turrets to Airbus by June next year. The service recently ordered two new H215 (formerly AS332L1e) Super Pumas, the first being delivered in February, and is upgrading its three earlier AS332L1s to H215 standard. They are used for maritime SAR and border security missions from Turku and Helsinki. The L-3 deal also includes dedicated maintenance training for the MX-15.

The MX-15 turret provides the H215s with enhanced imaging capabilities for conducting searches in various lighting conditions, and in haze and fog. The turrets incorporate a high-definition thermal imager, HD color low-light imager, dual-channel spotter and a wide-angle laser illuminator. The systems also include features such as auto-tracking, image-blending and the MX-GEO geo-location system. The turret interfaces with a moving map, and can also cue a slaved searchlight..

General Dynamics Mission Systems-Canada this week contracted Kaman Aerosystems’s Air Vehicles and MRO division to implement the program to upgrade SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopter for Peru’s Navy. Work on the upgrades is expected to run through 2018 under a contract worth around $39.8 million and involves extensive remanufacturing of the multi-mission helicopter.

Although the name Kaman is most closely associated with helicopters, the company has created an expanding portfolio of products and manufacturing services that have penetrated into many corners of the aerospace industry, resulting in the company becoming a top-tier supplier to many important aircraft programs. Kaman is featuring a cross-section of its capabilities at Farnborough (Hall 3 Stand D50), with diverse components displaying composite and metal expertise, as well as large and complex aircraft and aero-engine structures.

Kaman operates from 17 locations around the world. One that is expected to draw interest at Farnborough is the tooling center of excellence established in 2014 by the company’s Aerosystems Division in Burnley, UK. The facility houses a 20-meter (66-foot), five-axis CNC gantry milling machine that can produce tooling for large aircraft components such as the Airbus A350 wing.

Meanwhile, Kaman has placed its K-Max utility heavylift helicopter back into production. Characterized by its intermeshing “egg-beater” rotor arrangement, the K-Max found favor with commercial operators, notably in the logging industry. The company previously built 38 before shutting the line in 2003. Two of them were operated in Afghanistan on an extended trial by the U.S. Marine Corps in an unmanned configuration devised by Lockheed Martin.

In June 2015 it was announced that production would re-start to satisfy renewed demand, including an order received last November from Lectern Aviation in China for two helicopters to be used for fire-fighting. The first aircraft from the re-opened line is due to be delivered next year.

The European Aviation Safety Agency has certified Leonardo-Finmeccanica’s Full Ice Protection System (FIPS) for the AW189, clearing it to operate in full icing conditions, the company announced at Farnborough 2016 on Monday.

This approval comes after three years of winter flight trials in Northern Europe and North America to gather data and test the effectiveness of the system’s electrically heated main and tail rotor blades, heated windshields and an ice detection system. The fully automatic system allows pilots to concentrate on other flying activities.

Leonardo-Finmeccanica calls FIPS“critical” for operators flying in Northern Europe, Canada, Russia and the northern U.S., where the winter months commonly usher in icing conditions. Now available as an option on the AW189, FIPS follows certification of the Limited Ice Protection System (LIPS) in September last year.

LIPS allows flight within a known and defined envelope of icing conditions provided that the capability to descend into a known band of warmer temperatures is available throughout the intended route.

An early practical result of the acquisition of Sikorsky by Lockheed Martin last November is on display outside LM’s pavilion (Outdoor Exhibit 8) here. It is a fully armed version of the Black Hawk helicopter, using mostly LM weaponry. Moreover, it has displaced LM’s full-scale F-35 model from its usual prime position to a corner of the static park below Hall 1—an indication of LM’s serious intent to leverage its new rotary-wing product line.

“Budgets are tight, and customers are asking for this additional option on what is already a very versatile and trusted helicopter,” said Bill Gostic, vice-president global military systems and services for LM-Sikorsky. He said that, unlike previous armed versions of the UH-60 series, the new version offers a highly integrated solution driven by a weapons management system (WMS) from Elbit. The helicopter on display shows AGM-114R Hellfire missiles, DAGR laser guided rockets, Hydra 70 rocket pods, and a FN-Herstal 12.7mm gun on a pylon mounted beneath its stub wings. LM’s recently-launched Infirno EO/IR sensor turret hangs beneath the nose. But Gostic said that customers could specify other weapons.

The machine on display is actually an S-70i version manufactured in Poland by PZL Mielec, the company that Sikorsky acquired in 2007. Since then, the Polish production line has turned out Black Hawks for Brunei, Colombia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, at a rate of 11 per annum. Gostic said that rate could be upped to 24, if required. He sees potential customers for the armed version in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Far East.

Existing UH-60/S-70 operators can have their helicopters upgraded to the armed version—a one-month process in a depot. Once the core WMS and structural mods are done, the pylons and armament can be added in eight hours, Gostic said. New missions thereby made possible include close air support, armed assault, and armed escort. The dollar cost to add the weapons fit shown here would be “in the low single-digit millions” he added.

) to its customer service network as an authorized customer service facility (CSF) in Switzerland. The new CSF center in Sion will provide maintenance, repair and overhaul services for Bell 429s. The facility will also offer systems upgrades and lease returns.

segments, and we only expect continued interest in this state-of-the-art platform.”

navigation and IFR capability. Safety features include a collective mounted throttle, damage tolerant hub and rotor system and energy attenuating seats.

Thales has been selected to supply its  for South Korea’s Light Attack Helicopter (LAH) program. The company will provide 400 sets for LAH service after 2020. Scorpion has also been selected by Airbus Helicopters as part of its HForce military offerings. The system draws on Thales’s experience in providing display systems for many fixed- and rotary-wing applications, including the binocular TopOwl used by the AH-1 Cobra, Rooivalk and Tiger attack helicopters.

Using the HObIt (hybrid optical-based inertial tracking) system, Scorpion is fully compatible with night vision goggles. It is the only full-color helmet-mounted display available to use a single display for both day and night modes, with a seamless transition between the two. Video imagery from sensors can be shown, with flight, tactical and navigation symbology overlaid, while the sight can be used for cueing weapons and sensors. Scorpion can be rapidly installed, with no requirement for LRUs (line-replaceable units) in the avionics bay. It adds around 14 ounces (400 grams) of weight to the helmet.

LAH is a Korea Aerospace Industries program undertaken in collaboration with Airbus Helicopters, and using the latter’s H155 Dauphin/Panther family of helicopters as a basis. The armed LAH version, set for service-entry in 2022, is being preceded by a Light Commercial Helicopter version. LAH/LCH follow on from the successful Surion program that is delivering Puma-based utility transport helicopters to the Korean army and police.

Airbus Helicopters has delivered the first H175 medium twin with a luxury cabin. The two-zone, seven-passenger layout has a club-four configuration of single executive seats followed by an aft three-place divan. Pegasus Design provided the 434-cu-ft interior for an unidentified private customer who plans to base the helicopter on a yacht in Europe. It is likely a big boat, as the H175 has an mtow of 17,180 pounds.

The soundproofed, quiet interior also features a mini galley, hinged doors to replace the standard sliders, electrically deployed footsteps, electronically dimmable windows, mood lighting, satcom and an in-flight entertainment system with LCD screens, moving map, and tail fin and tail skid cameras. The system can be controlled through onboard dedicated touchscreens or wirelessly through passengers’ mobile devices.  “Flying in a helicopter has never been so close to a private jet experience,” said Guillaume Faury, Airbus Helicopters president.

The first H175 was delivered in 2014 and the helicopter is currently flying offshore energy missions in the Scottish and Dutch North Sea and off the West African coast. The first public-service variants are scheduled for delivery next year and another private cabin will be delivered later this year. The H175 is powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6-67Es (1,776 shp each) and features the advanced Helionix avionics system with four-axis autopilot and auto hover that automatically corrects for wind drift. The H175 has a maximum speed of 160 knots and a range of 136 to 600 nm depending on load.

The helicopter was designed to meet the MSG3 maintenance standard. Its tall cowling facilitates access to a variety of systems, and the flared exhaust stacks help whisk heat away more quickly from the work area. A variety of ladder attach points are built into the fuselage, enabling quick climbing. The engines, main gearbox and rotors all have an initial TBO of 5,000 hours.

U.S.-based Innova Aerospace is looking to fly a fully conforming prototype of the Composite Helicopters C630 five-place light single powered by a production Rolls-Royce RR300 turboshaft later this year. The helicopter will be one of two used in a parallel certification program with the New Zealand CAA and the U.S.FAA with the target of achieving full certification in the first quarter of 2018, according to Greg Fedele, Innova’s executive vice president of corporate development.

Fedele reports substantial recent progress with the program, citing the completion of all production molds, the initiation of parts manufacture and the production gearbox in “final review.” He said privately held Innova has adequately capitalized the program to see it through certification and initial production in New Zealand. Currently, a team of 30 is working on the program, among them a small number of contractors and some U.S.-based personnel. Fedele said Innova has yet to set a price for the helicopter and is not taking orders yet.

Innova acquired the intellectual property rights to the New Zealand-based program last year. Preliminary specifications for the carbon-fiber rotorcraft include a cruise speed of 125 knots, a range of 450 nm (no reserve) and 1,350 pounds of payload. Composite Helicopters debuted its initial design, the KC518, at AirVenture Oshkosh in 2011 with plans to market it initially as a kit before pursuing certified production. Two prototype aircraft crashed in 2013 and 2014. In 2015 those initial development plans changed, with the company announcing that it intended to eschew kit production in favor of three different certified models: the KC630 with a Rolls-Royce 300 in an executive five-seat configuration, the KC650 powered by a Honeywell LTS101 in a utility six-seat configuration and an intermediate KC640 model with a Rolls-Royce 250-C20B.

Last year the company anticipated certification for the KC630 in late 2017, followed by the KC650 and KC640 in 2018. Innova has renamed the KC630 simply the C630 and it is the only design the company is currently pursuing. Composite Helicopters claims its rotorcraft is the first fabricated with a full monocoque fuselage fabricated entirely from rigid composite materials.    

Columbia Helicopters and Simplex Aerospace have developed a large internal firefighting tank and delivery system for the CH-47D Chinook tandem-rotor helicopter and received FAA supplemental type certificate (STC) approval for it last December. The “Fire Attack System” (FAS) got its first real-world test under actual conditions in May dropping fire retardant on a wild fire near Ely, Minn. Columbia currently owns 11 former U.S. military Chinooks and has equipped two with the FAS to date. Both helicopters are operating under U.S. Forest Service exclusive-use contracts.

The 2,800-gallon-capacity internal tank is thought to be the largest designed specifically for fire suppression and certified for a helicopter, according to Cody Barton, Columbia Helicopters’ chief flight instructor and command pilot. “To our knowledge, there are no other helicopter operators in the world using an internal tank of that size, purpose-built for aerial firefighting,” he said. “The system is compatible with water, foam, chemical retardant or any other agent the USFS might supply,” Barton said.

Barton said the FAS equips Columbia’s Chinooks to tackle urban firefighting, since current U.S. government regulations forbid the use of a traditional external bucket and long-line system over structures and people. Also, he noted, since the tank is a “semi-permanently” installed system, the helicopter can be dispatched more quickly. “With the internal tank, we just take off and no longer have to take the time—about 20 minutes—to attach a 1,322-pound external bucket every time we need it,” he said. “Then, once attached, the bucket generates turbulence in flight, and slows our airspeed to between 100 and 110 knots. With an internally mounted tank, we can do 130 knots, which gets us to the fire that much faster.” He also said the FAS makes the helicopter more maneuverable while firefighting. “When it’s loaded with water, there is no real impact on aircraft handling. We continue to have a high degree of maneuverability, while maintaining operational safety standards.”

The tank is constructed as a single unit and uses a roll-on/roll-off method of installation and removal, which can be done at the field level. When installed, the tank is mounted over the cargo hook well, using specially designed components. The cargo hook was removed and the well underwent some modifications for the doors through which the water or retardant is dropped. The tanks can be filled directly from ground-based vehicles, or through a snorkel from lakes or streams. The pilot controls the doors and hover pump from the cockpit. Pilot instruction for the system consists of eight hours of ground and three hours of differences training.

The FAA has extended by four years—to Aug. 6, 2020—the expiration date of the rule requiring pilots operating civil helicopters under VFR to continue to use the New York North Shore Helicopter Route when flying along that area of Long Island. The agency expects that four more years will be sufficient time to consider results of noise-mitigation research currently under way in determining appropriate future actions on the rule, which was scheduled to have expired on Aug. 6, 2016. 

The rule is based on a voluntary VFR route originally added to the New York Helicopter Chart on May 8, 2008, and made mandatory on Aug. 6, 2012. In 2014, the FAA extended the rule for another two years to provide additional time for the agency to assess the rule’s effect.

Under the rule, pilots are permitted to deviate from the route and altitude requirements when necessary for safety, weather conditions or transitioning to or from a destination or point of landing.

Finland-based helicopter flight training provider Coptersafety today announced an order for five new level-D flight simulators and the construction of a new flight training center adjacent to its existing facility near Helsinki Airport. Textron’s TRU Simulation + Training will provide the simulators, representing the Airbus Helicopters H125 and H145 and Leonardo-Finmeccanica AW169 and AW189. The fifth model will be decided in the “coming months.”

“We want to take the next step in improving helicopter operators’ safety performance by offering our mission-specific simulator training for a wider range of helicopter types,” said Coptersafety CEO Mikko Dahlman.

Installation of the new simulators will start later next year, with the H145 being the first simulator to be installed and ready for training in the fourth quarter of 2017, in conjunction with the completion of the new eight-bay training facility. Coptersafety’s new training center will provide the very latest facilities and highest levels of customer, instructor and employee premises to host up to eight simulator bays. The company currently offers training in Helsinki for the Leonardo-Finmeccanica AW139.

Lockheed Martin has completed the critical design review (CDR) phase of the VH-92A Presidential Helicopter Replacement Program. With the design milestone completed, the program now moves to assembly, test and evaluation of the helicopter, the manufacturer announced on July 25.

The U.S. Navy awarded Sikorsky Aircraft a $1.24 billion contract in May 2014 to begin engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) of the new presidential aircraft, a modified version of Sikorsky’s S-92 twin-engine medium helicopter. Lockheed Martin acquired Sikorsky last November for $9 billion.

According to the announcement, a joint VH-92A program team representing Sikorsky and the Naval Air Systems Command (Navair) conducted the review in July with other industry and government participants.

“This milestone is an important achievement for our program and demonstrates Sikorsky and Navair are well aligned,” said Spencer Elani, Sikorsky’s VH-92A program director. “We got here by completing several milestones on or ahead of schedule,” he added. “We are committed to staying on that track as we head into the building phase of the program.”

The 2014 contract included production options calling for Sikorsky to deliver 21 operational and two test aircraft to the U.S. Marine Corps for the presidential transport mission. Two EMD aircraft are being modified at Sikorsky’s Stratford, Conn. facility, with the first flight of a VH-92A configured helicopter planned for next year.

“The successful CDR demonstrates this helicopter system meets the requirements of the USMC and gives them exceptional mission performance from a platform that is affordable and supportable for this important mission,” said Marine Col. Robert Pridgen, Navair’s presidential helicopter program manager.

Initial fielding of the VH-92A is planned for 2020, with production concluding in 2023, Lockheed Martin said.

Airbus Helicopters subsidiary Helibras has reinforced its support network for the fleet of about 90 Airbus helicopters supporting the 2016 Olympics in Rio and five cities hosting soccer games. The 2016 Games open on Friday in Rio.

Brazilian armed forces, as well as state police and fire departments, will use the Helibras helicopters for airspace defense, transporting security personnel and aeromedical evacuation during the event, with the city of Rio providing an EC135 and an AS365 for official VIP transport. Seven specially-equipped civilian Ecureuils will also provide aerial images for the media.

Helibras will keep a support team at Rio’s Parque dos Afonsos air force base, as well as client support and logistics managers, four dedicated technical representatives and back office teams between its factory in Itajubá, Minas Gerais, and its logistics center in Atibaia, São Paulo. It has also stocked extra parts, tools and supplies.

Rio's main general aviation airport, Jacarepaguá, is near the Olympic Village and will handle only public safety flights during the Games. Rio's airspace has already been closed to drones, hang gliders and sightseeing flights, which ATC officials note were identified as one of the highest security risks during the Olympics. Heads of state began arriving yesterday for Friday’s opening ceremony. In fact, the Prince of Monaco was among the first dignitaries arriving yesterday, flying into Rio’s Galeao air base aboard a Dassault Falcon 7X.

The U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (Navair) conducted its first demonstration flight of an aircraft fitted with a 3D printed flight-critical component. The July 29 test flight of an MV-22B Osprey helped prove that the part can be safely incorporated in the aircraft, the command said.

The component flown in the demonstration was a titanium link and fitting assembly used in the V-22’s engine nacelle, one of four that secure the nacelle to the primary wing structure. It was “printed,” or built using additive manufacturing (AM) techniques, at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Lakehurst, N.J.

“The flight was great. I never would have known that we had anything different on board,” said MV-22 project officer Maj. Travis Stephenson, the pilot.

The U.S. Navy has used additive manufacturing as a prototyping tool since the early 1990s and in recent years has started printing non-flight-critical parts and tools, Navair said. The aim is to provide digital data that fleet maintainers and industry can use to build parts ondemand at dispersed locations, eliminating the need to order, ship and stock parts. Multiple V-22 components built at Lakehurst and the Pennsylvania State University Applied Research Laboratory have been tested at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., to validate their performance, Navair said.

“The flight today is a great first step toward using AM wherever and whenever we need to,” stated Liz McMichael, Navair AM integrated product team lead. “In the last 18 months, we’ve started to crack the code on using AM safely. We’ll be working with V-22 to go from this first flight demonstration to a formal configuration change to use these parts on any V-22 aircraft.”

The link and fitting assembly will remain on the MV-22B test aircraft for continued evaluation, Navair said. McMichael’s team has identified six total safety-critical parts it plans to build and test on three U.S. Marine Corps rotorcraft platforms: the V-22, the UH/AH-1 and the CH-53K. Three of the parts will be made from titanium; the other three will be stainless steel.

Italy’s Mecaer Aviation Group (MAG) added FAA approval for two more STCs—already EASA validated—for its Leonardo-Finmeccanica AW139VIP interiors. The added approvals are in response to “growing demand for additional options in the U.S. for VIP-configured AW139s containing a higher level of technology,” said MAG co-general manager Armando Sassoli.

The STCs cover more than eight different interchangeable layouts and configurations, ranging from four seats with multiple cabinets and consoles to eight-seat layouts. According to the aviation systems manufacturer, the interior can quickly be changed from one seating configuration to another.

MAG has customized nearly 200 twin-engine AW139s with VIP interiors, primarily in Europe, and expects the new FAA approvals “will assist in a more even distribution” of the installations. MAG’s proprietary SILENS (Speech Interference Level Enhanced Noise System) and I-FEEL (In-Flight Entertainment Enhanced Lounge) are available under both new STCs. “The market, and specifically the operators near our Philadelphia facility, wanted a quieter and lighter weight [interiors] option,” said Sassoli.

Sharply lower oil and gas flying helped send helicopter service provider PHI's latest quarterly revenues plunging by $31.4 million year-over-year for the quarter ending June 30, but the company still managed to post a modest $4.277 million profit for the period thanks to a strong $13.9 million quarterly profit from its air medical sector. Overall revenues for the quarter were $167.1 million, compared with $198.5 million in the same period last year, with $29.7 million of that decline directly attributable to lower volume of oil and gas flying.

Its oil and gas segment posted a loss for the quarter of $5.8 million, compared with a profit of $11.3 million a year ago. While air medical was profitable for the quarter, both profit and revenues were down in the sector compared to the same period a year ago, with profit falling from $15.5 million and revenues down $6.1 million from the year ago period.

PHI's oil and gas revenues for the first six months of the year dipped almost $61 million from the year-ago period. For the first six months of the year, the company posted an overall net loss of $4.6 million versus a profit of $16.8 million in the same time frame last year.