HeliExpo 2009

 

As might be expected in these interesting times, this was a helicopter show with complexities and contradictions. On the one hand, the manufacturers, in particular Agusta and Eurocopter (notably Europeans) were upbeat, hailing the diversity of helicopter usage as putting the industry beyond the problems of the downturn, unlike other forms of aviation such as airline flying, which is unidimensional. On the other hand, there were the operators and businesses themselves, on the floor of the show, who admitted that they were hurting, said that their orders were down, and were making cuts in as many ways as they could.

Manufacturers do have large backlogs, which of course will help to maintain cash flow and production, and so far many of their clients have not cancelled orders. Certainly in the fields of EMS, fire fighting and the military, the need for helicopters continues much as before; but in some industries, such as news gathering, and private and corporate flying, there have been considerable re-adjustments and reductions. Moreover, many manufacturers had been looking at this slow-down period as a time for investing in research, and most of them were considering greener alternatives...