In 2015, a group of visionary business leaders collaborated to launch Vertiport Chicago, an ambitious downtown helicopter facility that serves corporate, medical, construction and tourism operators in one of America’s largest and most congested cities. It was an audacious idea rooted in a rock-solid business plan. Chicago is the third-largest city in the U.S., with hundreds of business executives traveling between suburban airports and the city’s downtown financial district each day. Chicago is also located in the heart of the Illinois Medical District, one of the world’s busiest and most innovative health care centers. Chicago is home to several private aviation and corporate department businesses, and a raft of downtown construction projects provides a steady stream of oppo...

“Engineer, build, fly.” That’s the slogan for Icarus Aero — and it couldn’t be more fitting. Based in Gravenhurst, Ontario, the company is celebrating its 10th anniversary and recently tripled the size of its facility to 13,000 square feet (1,200 square meters). Icarus has extensive experience working with a range of helicopter models from Leonardo, Sikorsky, Bell, Airbus, and more, as well as a multitude of fixed-wing platforms, including DC-3s, King Air 200, 300, 350, 360, DHC-8-100 / 200 / 300 / 400, DHC-6-100 / 200 / 300 / 400, Beech 1900, and PC12, among others. The company provides a wide range of products and services supporting several missions, such as integrated surveillance and reconnaissance, firefighting, evacuation and medical transport, search-and-rescue, explo...

It all started in 1980 with one helicopter and one instructor and has since grown into an internationally renowned helicopter school. Hillsboro Heli Academy’s success comes from a simple recipe — an extreme focus on teaching the fundamentals. “That’s what I drive home to our instructors, that there’s a foundation that needs to be built,” said Jared Friend, Hillsboro’s director of helicopter operations and chief instructor. “Our reputation with employers and the success of our graduates is built around getting the foundation right and not getting distracted, while recognizing that every student is a little bit different. Every student has a different motivation.” Hillsboro is considered one of the larger helicopter flight schools in the U.S. But even with that scale, Friend po...

As a helicopter owner or operator, have you found yourself in any of these situations? 1. You have your eye on a helicopter that just hit the market. The asking price seems high, but you would like to make a reasonable offer. 2. Your lender is asking for an updated valuation of your aircraft, so you can move forward on another opportunity. The lender requests a certified appraisal for the new addition to your fleet. 3. You are thinking about selling a helicopter and want to get an accurate indication of its value, so you can price it appropriately. 4. You are a lessor, and a valued client has asked you to supply them with another aircraft. An opinion of residual value at end of the lease term will help you decide if this is a worthwhile investment. 5. You are sensit...

“It’s hard to overstate how monumental this is for aviation.” That’s the way Loft Dynamics’ main investor and board member Sky Dayton describes the company’s revolutionary virtual reality (VR) full-motion helicopter flight simulator. It is the world’s first and only VR full-motion simulator qualified by a national aviation regulator, achieving flight simulation training device (FSTD) Level 3 authorization from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in 2022. Building on this epic achievement, Loft Dynamics has just rebranded and raised $20 million in financing to expand globally. Dayton explained that “as a jet pilot, I have spent countless hours in traditional flight simulators and again and again, experienced their many limitations. When I tried Loft Dynamics, I...

The future looks bright for Leonardo as it continues to grow its product offerings with the versatile AW09. The addition of the AW09 strengthens Leonardo’s position in the single-engine market, offering a new, extremely competitive and attractive platform, complementing the AW119 and satisfying an even more diversified market demand. The AW09 perfectly melds into Leonardo’s product portfolio. The AW09 continues to be developed by Kopter in Switzerland, with the contribution of joint Leonardo-Kopter teams. The fourth AW09 prototype — PS4 — began flight testing in Mollis, Switzerland, and will be complemented later this year with a fifth prototype, PS5. These two aircraft are the primary workhorses for Leonardo’s ongoing certification campaign. The AW09 has benefited from consider...

There’s a new sheriff in town and things in the world of MD Helicopters are changing for the better. In August 2022, newly formed MD Helicopters LLC purchased the assets of MD Helicopters Inc., taking over management and production of the iconic helicopter line. Aerospace industry veteran Brad Pedersen stepped in as president and CEO, bringing more than 35 years of business growth experience to the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). A former test pilot and program manager at MD Helicopters when it was under the ownership of McDonnell Douglas, Pedersen also served as a program manager at Sikorsky for multiple helicopter programs. From there, he stepped into the C-suite at several smaller aerospace companies as president and CEO where he led multiple successful turnarounds. He has...

The global commercial helicopter market is on a path to recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic that shook the industry and its supply chain. Airbus Helicopters is evolving with the market, meeting the needs of its customers so they can continue to perform essential missions. The company has risen to the challenge, implementing a global transformation plan to improve how it designs, produces, and maintains the current fleet of Airbus helicopters all while preparing for the future. From digitalization, to enhanced safety and upgraded performance, Airbus’s approach encompasses a range of missions and conditions that its partners and operators face every day. Airbus aims to help its customers make the world a safer place, unite people who are passionate about helicopters, and constantly i...

After a busy period of growth and transition, StandardAero is running at peak efficiency, delivering the unparalleled service that customers have come to expect. As the largest independent maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) provider in the world, StandardAero delivers a full suite of rotary-wing services through its global helicopter division. StandardAero prides itself on customer-centric service that is the hallmark of everything its 7,000 employees do in more than 50 major facilities worldwide. In the summer of 2021, the company acquired Signature Aviation’s engine repair and overhaul (ERO) business, including four entities: Dallas Airmotive, H+S Aviation, International Governor Services, and International Turbine Service. The transaction added 1,100 employees in 14 locations...