The first Verticon exhibition closed its doors on 13 March, after four days dedicated to vertical aviation in Dallas, Texas. The former Heli-Expo, which was renamed to include all kinds of vertical mobility (helicopters, UAS, drones, etc.), gathered a total of 14 414 attendees from 88 countries.
It featured 686 exhibitors with 44 aircraft on display, making it the world’s largest trade show of its kind. While The Bulletin was on site, here is an opportunity to take a look at the novelties displayed and the announcements made during the exhibition.
Robinson and Airbus Helicopters as main highlights
One of the biggest news was the unveiling of the R88 by Robinson CEO, David Smith, on the day prior to the show. A large helicopter “designed for a variety of missions, including aerial firefighting, air medical transport, utility work, passenger transport and more,” according to the company’s press statement. The first brand new aircraft the California-based company will produce in nearly 15 years has eight cabin seats plus two pilots, which would be the highest capacity for a single engine currently. It has a payload capacity of 1800lb (816 kg) with full fuel for a range of over 350nm and an endurance of more than 3.5h. The expected date for entry in service is still planned “by the end of the decade” with a price already fixed at $3.3mn for the standard version.
Experts welcomed the announcement, praising the general quality of the products and the conscientiousness of the company. However, they were surprised by the size of the rotorcraft as the helicopter range of Robinson is nowadays composed of light helicopters. Leonardo executives generally consider that this newcomer further validates the market for the AW09 without elaborating more on the potential competitor. The company is used to assembling around 300 helicopters per year and still has some production capacity available, David Smith told us, therefore not requiring further production facility in the short term.
Robinson was not the only manufacturer to reveal a new helicopter during Verticon: Airbus Helicopters unveiled the H140, a 3-tons class rotorcraft (MTOW 3T), between the H135 and H145. Its missions include passenger transport, private and business aviation, commercial air transport and law enforcement but focuses on the EMS. According to the French manufacturer, the H140 offers the best ratio payload/autonomy of its class, while having low maintenance and operating costs. These arguments seemed to seduce customers, as the H140 programme chief Dirk Petry said Airbus has already received more than 70 orders. It represents more than two years of production, with an entry in service expected as soon as in 2028.
These two new helicopters make Cedric Goubet, the President of Safran Helicopter engines, very enthusiastic as both will be propelled by Safran engines: the Arriel 2W (950shp) for the R88, and the Arrius 2E (700shp) for the H140. The development of the latter engine began in 2020 with a complete redesign of the hot section for a higher operating pressure ratio, Goubet told journalists. The overall architecture remaining the same as the other version of the Arriel engine. With these two new opportunities, the French engine manufacturer appears as one of the winners of this first edition of Verticon.
Leonardo and Sikorsky stay in the background
Leonardo’s press conference highlighted the development of the autonomy of its helicopters and the relevance of its leadership position on the energy market. The Italian company did not announce any new helicopter during Verticon, but continued to extend its global network of distributors for the AW09. As such, Kaan Air becomes Leonardo distributor of the former Kopter SH09 in Turkey, adding five more preliminary sales contracts to the five it already had. Meanwhile, Synerjet becomes Leonardo distributor in Colombia, Peru, Chile, Ecuador and Paraguay for the AW119Kx, AW169 and AW109. The week before the show, Leonardo resumed the light single-engine helicopter’s flight tests after an issue on the gearbox. Certification is still expected by the end of the year, to start the deliveries of the more than 123 units ordered.
Speaking about gearboxes, Sikorsky unveiled the long-awaited Phase IV main gearbox that will equip the new version of its S-92, the S-92A+, also providing a more powerful-version of the CT7 engines from GE as an option. This new gearbox includes an auxiliary lubrication system, adding a welcomed redundancy in case of the loss of the primary one. Leon Silva, Sikorsky’s vice president of Global Commercial and Military Systems said during Verticon: “We still see a significant interest for the S-92,” not so much for offshore missions but more for head-of-state transport. Sikorsky exposed its plan to ramp up production from 2 helicopters/year to 12/year, a significant increase but for a production rate lower than the 40/year delivered in the 2015s. With its production location having already changed four times in the last two decades, it is still possible that another site would be used in the future, Silva said.
Bell focuses on the 525
With a version on display and a recently-appointed SVP in charge of the Program, Mike Deslatte, bringing the Bell 525 to the market remains a key for the American Company. “Our team has a very strong path forward with only a handful of tests left before we submit our final documents to the FAA”, according to Deslatte. Bell currently has two aircraft engaged in cold weather testing in Alaska and icing testing in Michigan. With a full commercial lineup on display at Verticon, the airframer celebrates its 90th anniversary this year.
MD on the verge
MD helicopters, which had a booth at the exhibition, is reducing production rates to 5 helicopters this year, having about 1,700 helicopters produced. After entering Chapter 11 procedure in 2022, the Arizona-based manufacturer managed to emerge from bankruptcy, “fixing the supply chain, improving the service centre network, oiling the machine so that it’s running properly”, a senior director of the company told us. According to him, the biggest opportunity seen for by company is the replacement of the 2200 dual-engine LUH-72A Lakota light utility helicopters for the US Army Flight School Next Generation… That could be a life-line.
Written by ADIT – The Bulletin and republished with permission.
