With 700 exhibitors and 20,000 visitors, HAI Heli Expo in Las Vegas is the largest and most important meeting of the helicopter industry worldwide. Small Switzerland has a very good reputation internationally.
Kopter, that's the name of the Marenco Helicopter Group since February, presented one of its SH09 prototypes and a cabin mock-up for medical operations at HAI Heli Expo in Las Vegas. With success: The Swiss manufacturer was able to report 40 orders at the end of the trade fair.
“We are very satisfied with this year's Heli Expo, as we were able to announce several new customers for our SH09. The design and, in particular, the safety aspects generated a great deal of visitor interest,” summarizes Andreas Löwenstein, CEO of Kopter Group AG.
“As a Swiss, you're a bit proud that our small country is now one of the manufacturers of helicopters,” praises Hans-Ruedi Amrhein. With his Valair As an official importer of Robinson Helicopters, Amrhein is something of a competitor to Kopter. Nevertheless, he says: “The Kopter Group's presence in Las Vegas was a regular topic of discussion.”
The exhibition halls in the Nevada desert are huge: Covering an area of 13 soccer fields, the exhibition provides a complete overview of the internationally active manufacturers, suppliers and service providers. 60 current helicopter models and special modifications were on display.
Trading venue and dating site
For the fourth time as an exhibitor, the Swiss Rotor Solutions AG represented. She introduced her “Maximum Pilot View Kit” before, a new pilot door and cockpit floor modification for the H125 Ecureuil. It offers pilots significantly improved visibility when working outside airports, where there is an increased risk potential.
“In Las Vegas, we were able to attract hundreds of visitors and generate many dozens of specific interested parties,” says CEO Thomas Bolzli with satisfaction. “The fact that we are a Swiss company helps us with marketing. Switzerland stands for quality and precision.”
Heli Expo is both a trading center and a meeting place: “Nowhere else in the world do you get so many new contacts made. There seems to be a problem solver for every everyday problem here,” says Hans-Ruedi Amrhein, who, in addition to trading in helicopters, also manages maintenance and flight operations in Balzers.
While Hans-Ruedi Amrhein moves small and light helicopters, his brother Geni Amrhein works in heavy-duty aviation: As CEO of Heliswiss International He uses Super Puma and Kamov KA-32 all over the world. “At Heli Expo, we meet regularly with our suppliers, but also with customers and partner companies,” he says about his visit to the trade fair.
Switzerland has a very good reputation internationally: “Our work in heavy-duty aviation is observed and highly respected all over the world.”
Swissness as a quality brand
Another Swiss specialty presented the Air Zermatt Training Center: Air rescue experts from Valais pass on their skills to companies from other countries. “We train pilots, winch specialists, mountain rescuers and medical personnel in air rescue and flying at high altitude,” explains Samuel Summermatter.
He was also able to make many new contacts at Heli Expo. “Customer demands are high. Anyone who comes to a Swiss provider expects quality, service and reliability. Swissness is clearly a quality brand in aviation rescue and pilot training.”
A fact that Fribourg-based flight instructor Claude Vuichard is happy to sign: For his “Vuichard Vortex Recovery” In Las Vegas, he was awarded the renowned BLR Aerospace Safety Award, a flight process that allows pilots to escape from a dangerous downwind situation. First published 30 years ago, thousands of pilots have learned the technology. Civilian and military helicopter operators and flight schools around the world have introduced Vuichard Vortex Recovery.
Keyword “Vortex Recovery”
A so-called “vortex ring” can occur when a helicopter hovers at very low or no forward speed. A horizontal air vortex is created at the end of the rotor blades, which leads to a downwind situation above the rotor. The helicopter is therefore on its own downwind and loses altitude very quickly. This is a very dangerous situation near the ground.
The “Vuichard Vortex Recovery” technology developed by Swiss Claude Vuichard allows the pilot to fly out of the vortex vortex through a combination of increased performance and targeted tax swings while losing only a small amount of altitude.
Quality, made in Switzerland
Little Switzerland was doubly pleased at HAI Heli Expo in Las Vegas: With Claude Vuichard, a pilot and flight instructor was honored for his worldwide contributions to helicopter aviation safety. It took Vuichard years to perfect his process and much longer before it received international recognition.
It is actually no coincidence that a Swiss person receives such a coveted prize: Hardly any other country has so much experience in pilot training and operating helicopters in the mountains. In the Alpine region, helicopters play an everyday role in supplying and securing residential areas and transport routes, and our country's air rescue system is looking for comparisons worldwide. I salute Claude Vuichard and warmly congratulate him on this well-deserved award for his many years of efforts for safety.
Thanks to the Kopter Group, Switzerland will soon also be one of the manufacturers of helicopters. That also fills me with pride and joy. With its bestsellers, Pilatus has shown that our country doesn't need to hide as a technology hub, even in global aviation. It is quite possible that the SH-09 from Kopter will also underline this statement one day.
Switzerland is a globally recognized niche player. Swiss helicopter companies and their teams work day in and day out to ensure that the white cross on a red background is and remains a global quality brand even in helicopter aviation.
Martin Candinas, President Swiss Helicopter Association
This article by Christian Gartmann was published in the aviation magazine “Cockpit” (April 2018). It was produced on behalf of the Swiss Helicopter Association (SHA).