Aviationtoday.com: Sun Peeks Through

Making the journalistic rounds at February’s Heli-Expo 2009 in Anaheim, Calif., I encountered spirited debate about an issue that surfaces every year at this show: the lack of adequate infrastructure (in the form of heliports) and the related need to reform regulations that govern airspace.

Every time this issue is broached at Heli-Expo, it stimulates a flurry of promises and plans of action, which inevitably peter out. I should know: I served as editor-in-chief of Rotor & Wing magazine from 1998-2003. The issues that I heard in February were unresolved back in 1998 — and way before then. Sometimes, hearing this stuff at trade shows, I feel like Bill Murray in "Groundhog Day," where events keep repeating themselves ad nauseam.

That said, Heli-Expo this year was a success. Despite the worldwide economic recession, the rotorcraft market remains aloft. Demand for the inherent capabilities of these lifesaving and productivity enhancing tools is relatively strong, especially in the context of slumping sales for the rest of the aviation sector.

However, on the minds of attendees at Heli-Expo was a troubling question: Will rotorcraft continue to weather the storm, or is the industry on borrowed time?

This question tops the agenda of "Today’s Best Opportunities in Rotorcraft," an Aviation Today Webinar scheduled for April 23. If you miss the event, you can still access a recorded version on our Webinar archive at www.AviationToday.com. The Webinar also addresses the latest advancements in helicopter avionics and how new electronics in the cockpit are changing helicopter missions and flight profiles.

Regardless of today’s economic anxiety, attendance at Heli-Expo was relatively high and optimism abounded. Which is not to say that attendees were completely in denial. At the Eurocopter press breakfast I attended at the show, the Franco-German rotorcraft manufacturer announced that the grim global economic climate probably would push down the company’s sales by more than 30 percent in 2009. The good news, executives said, is that the expected downturn in civil sales will be mitigated by the company’s robust military and governmental backlog.

This consistently strong military demand is fueling avionics sales and technical development in all aviation niches. At Heli-Expo, Eurocopter highlighted its new EC-135 Avionics Trainer, exemplifying the company’s aggressive expansion into full-flight mission simulators.

The recession is not expected to put a dent in the need for training simulators and cockpit innovation. This heartening trend is underscored in a new study, now available in the research reports section of Aviation Today, titled "Business Aviation Avionics Market Analysis and Outlook." This latest report from G2 Global Solutions, an aviation consultancy in Kirkland, Wash., examines the business aviation avionics market, using detailed analyses.

Among the report’s findings is that Rockwell Collins, Honeywell and Universal Avionics continue to dominate the medium to higher avionics market segments, with Garmin establishing a solid foothold with emerging light jet programs.

As the G2 report explains, pockets of growth still exist. Eurocopter CEO Lutz Bertling insisted that his company was sticking to its goal of doubling revenue by 2020, citing the fact that it experienced its second best year ever in 2008.

Bertling noted that the EC-175 program remains on schedule, with first flight planned for mid-December and first deliveries slated for 2012. He also said the company wouldn’t be significantly affected by the civil downturn because of continuing strong demand for military and government aircraft, which account for 71 percent of Eurocopter’s $19 billion backlog.

However, despite Eurocopter’s relatively strong position in the global helicopter market, Bertling emphasized that no company is immune from an economic picture that he termed as "uncertain" and "unpredictable."

Eurocopter’s revenue picture, as conveyed at Heli-Expo, serves as a microcosm of the industry’s wider fortunes. For details about the rotorcraft market’s prospects — and how those prospects affect the avionics niche — register for our April 23 Webinar.

The commercial helicopter world gathered in Anaheim under darkening storm clouds but, to the pleasant surprise of industry observers, plenty of California sunshine peeked through the gloom.