HeliRussia 2009

If you buy from all over the world, you will get customers from all over the world. This is the philosophy of Richard Booth, founder of the Hay-on-Wye Book Festival, which now brings in enthusiasts from everywhere on the globe. This is something the founder of HeliRussia, Mikhail Kazachkov aspires to, but has not yet managed to achieve.

HeliRussia is a unique and interesting show, but it is not yet international. Interesting absences from the 2009 show included: Sikorsky, Agusta, MD, Enstrom and Schweizer. Robinson was represented by Japanese dealer, Shizuka Saito, who is also selling her Sumotor, heli-moving wheels, and Bell was represented by an independent dealer Alexey Doronkin. Eurocopter, on the other hand, were there in force, in the form of Eurocopter Vostock, their Russian dealership as were Turbomeca, the only foreign engine manufacturer at the show. This, incidentally, was commented on with some warmth by the Bell dealer, who pointed out there are 17 Bell helicopters in the Russian Federation as compared to some 70 Eurocopters....