Communicating the latest advice and regulations to improve safety procedures and training across all parts of a diverse European helicopter community is no small challenge. During Helitech Portugal’s first ever conference on 5th and 6th October at Airport Cascais, near Estoril, the European Helicopter Safety Team’s (EHEST) Communications Sub-Group Leader, Duncan Trapp, will be reporting on some of the safety issues facing today’s helicopter users – and the resources they can turn to for help and support, irrespective of whether they are a lone general aviation pilot or a small or large operator.

Mr Trapp is currently Safety & Regulatory Manager for all CHC Helicopter’s European Operations; his role covers looking after the safety of around 100 helicopters and being able to connect with the strategic activity happening in the European safety arena is vital, hence his involvement with EHEST’s essential work.

EHEST is the European branch of the International Helicopter Safety Team (IHST). Both organisations are made up of volunteers from operators, regulators and manufacturers – all with the aim of improving safety within the helicopter community. In 2006, IHST set itself the goal of reducing rotary accident rates by 80% by 2016. In Europe more than 300 accident reports have now been analysed and common themes and trends from these highlighted.

These results have prompted EHEST to focus on a number of key areas on the road to improving the helicopter accident rate. The first area – and one of the Helitech conference’s hot topics – is the introduction of Safety Management Systems (SMS). Although most of the large operators have already deployed SMS, which sees them formalising processes such as regular risk assessments or carrying out safety audits, smaller operators are less likely to have an SMS. Statistically it is smaller operators that tend to experience the majority of accidents across the world. In response to this the IHST has already drawn up an SMS Tool Kit to offer basic guidelines – free to download on the organisation’s website. With the majority of helicopters across the world being operated by companies with between one and five aircraft these types of operations are the IHST’s target audience.

“Helicopters tend to fly in more dynamic environments than most fixed-wing aircraft,” says Duncan Trapp, “so it’s really important that we try to reach out to all areas of the helicopter community – no matter how small – to communicate the latest safety advice, promote training best practice and flag up new ways of meeting regulatory requirements.”

Duncan Trapp will be leading two conference sessions during Helitech. At 2pm on Tuesday 5th October he will be focusing on current training practices and if they should be changed, while at 2pm on Wednesday 6th October he will be discussing why a high percentage of accidents take place during aerial firefighting and the lessons that can be learned.

Helitech’s two-day conference programme is being held within the conference theatre at the show. For more information on the conference visit www.helitechevents.com/programme

Ends

For further press information about Helitech please contact Victoria Bailey or Carol Seath at CMS Strategic on tel: +44 (0)20 8748 9797 or email: info@cmsstrategic.com

Notes to editors:
For more information about any Helitech event please visit: www.helitechevents.com or contact Sue Bradshaw, Exhibition Director, Tel: +44 (0) 208 439 8886 or email: sue.bradshaw@reedexpo.co.uk
 
About the organiser:
Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events organiser, with over 440 events in 36 countries. In 2009 Reed brought together over six million active event participants from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and organised by 35 fully staffed offices.

Reed organises a wide range of events, including trade and consumer exhibitions, conferences and meetings. Its portfolio of over 440 events serves 44 industry sectors, including: aerospace & aviation, automobiles, beauty & cosmetics, broadcasting, building & construction, electronics, energy, oil & gas, engineering & manufacturing, food service & hospitality, gifts, healthcare, interior design, IT & telecoms, jewellery, life science & pharmaceuticals, machinery, marketing, business services & training, medical education, printing & graphics, security & safety, sports & recreation, and travel.

Working closely with professional bodies, trade associations and government departments Reed ensures that each and every event is targeted and relevant to industry needs. As a result, many Reed events are market leaders in their field.

Reed Exhibitions is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc, a FTSE-100 company and world-leading publisher and information provider. In 2008, Reed Elsevier made an adjusted profit before taxation of £1,205 million on turnover of £5,334 million.

Helitech Portugal’s inaugural conference will lift off with a session about how the industry is working ‘Towards consistent simulator standards’, led by the Helicopter International Working Group. As flying hours become increasingly expensive, helicopter operators are investing more than ever in simulators as a reliable alternative. Consequently, not only are the simulators expected to provide basic training in emergency procedures, but also advanced job-specific flying skills such as load-lifting, search and rescue, and confined area work for qualified pilots.

Helitech takes place for the second time in Portugal this year, from 5-7 October at Airport Cascais, near Estoril. The two day conference programme is being held on Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th October within the exhibition hall at the show.

Other highlights from the first day of the conference programme include Stephan Brade, from ADAC (Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club), Europe’s largest automobile organisation, which provides 44 helicopters for urgent medical rescues in Germany. Mr Brade will be igniting debate on the expanding simulation market in a session entitled ‘Whole-crew flight and mission training via simulator’.

There is a growing requirement in the rotary industry for higher performing, more cost-effective helicopters – a need which reflects a more general focus on lowering pollution levels, creating less noise and increasing recyclability of aircraft. Reconciling these demands may appear a difficult task, but manufacturers’ R&D teams, coordinated by the European Commission, are leading the way in rising to the challenge with initiatives such as the Green Rotorcraft project which is tasked with designing improvements such as airframe drag and rotor blade design. At the forefront of discussion on the second day of the conference will be an update on this. ‘Project Clean Sky - the joint European initiative’, will be delivered by Sebastien Dubois from ACARE Europe.

For helicopter companies considering expanding their firefighting capabilities, the final afternoon of the conference offers an insight into how to navigate from contract tendering through to operating. This session will help assess specific customer needs and the infrastructure that is necessary. Speakers include Luis Neto from the National Authority for Civil Protection, Carlos Santos from EMA and José Afonso Pereira from Helibravo.

“This is the first time Helitech has organised its own conference,” said Sue Bradshaw, Helitech’s Exhibition Director. “We have worked hard to address some of the most pressing themes of the European rotary wing sector such as aerial fire fighting; greener and safer helicopters; and simulation. As Helitech is now recognised as an annual opportunity for bringing the helicopter industry together, part of the conference will include a discussion forum, led by experts from across the training spectrum, who will examine the issue of how to plug the recruitment gap left by retiring aircrew as well as some of the issues arising from 21st century training.”

For more information on the conference visit www.helitechevents.com/programme

Ends

For further press information about Helitech please contact Victoria Bailey or Carol Seath at
CMS Strategic on tel: +44 (0)20 8748 9797 or email: info@cmsstrategic.com

Notes to editors:
For more information about any Helitech event please visit: www.helitechevents.com or contact Sue Bradshaw, Event Director, Tel: +44 (0) 208 439 8886 or email: sue.bradshaw@reedexpo.co.uk
 
About the organiser:
Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events organiser, with over 440 events in 36 countries. In 2009 Reed brought together over six million active event participants from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and organised by 35 fully staffed offices.

Reed organises a wide range of events, including trade and consumer exhibitions, conferences and meetings. Its portfolio of over 440 events serves 44 industry sectors, including: aerospace & aviation, automobiles, beauty & cosmetics, broadcasting, building & construction, electronics, energy, oil & gas, engineering & manufacturing, food service & hospitality, gifts, healthcare, interior design, IT & telecoms, jewellery, life science & pharmaceuticals, machinery, marketing, business services & training, medical education, printing & graphics, security & safety, sports & recreation, and travel.

Working closely with professional bodies, trade associations and government departments Reed ensures that each and every event is targeted and relevant to industry needs. As a result, many Reed events are market leaders in their field.

Reed Exhibitions is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc, a FTSE-100 company and world-leading publisher and information provider. In 2008, Reed Elsevier made an adjusted profit before taxation of £1,205 million on turnover of £5,334 million.

AgustaWestland and EADS’s Defence and Security division are the latest big names from the helicopter industry to sign up for Helitech 2010, which is taking place, at Airport Cascais near Estoril in Portugal from 5 – 7 October. 

As one of the industry’s key players, AgustaWestland is a powerful addition to the exhibition floor as visitors are always keen to see the latest airframes and their interior configurations from the OEMs.

EADS’s Defence and Security division has also signed up, through EADS Deutschland, to exhibit for the first time at Airport Cascais. Sited alongside Eurocopter, the company will be demonstrating activities from its business units including defence and communications systems and defence electronics.

Other first time exhibitors include: LITE FLITE from Denmark which develops and supplies a wide range of helicopter rescue equipment including rescue harnesses and stretchers; Kannad which specialises in the design of positioning, measuring and data transmission systems for hostile environments; and ARS (Air Rescue Systems) which offers training and equipment for rescue missions.

Helitech’s Exhibition Director, Sue Bradshaw, says: “Helitech held its inaugural event in Portugal in 2008 to widespread acclaim and this year we’re building on that success. The Helitech ethos is all about representing every area of the rotary wing supply chain so it’s really important to have companies such as AgustaWestland and EADS headlining the exhibition. But it’s not just about the major players – some of our smaller exhibitors are often at the forefront of industry innovation and the Helitech environment allows them to meet and network with other areas of the supply chain.”

In addition to the products and services being showcased in the exhibition hall and the external static displays, Helitech is organising its own two-day conference on site. Topics that are planned to be covered include safety management systems (SMS) for the smaller operator, the latest training issues and aerial firefighting.

ends

For further press information about Helitech please contact Victoria Bailey or Carol Seath at CMS Strategic on tel: +44 (0)20 8748 9797 or email: info@cmsstrategic.com

For more information about any Helitech event please visit: www.helitechevents.com or contact Sue Bradshaw, Event Director, Tel: +44 (0) 208 439 8886 or email: sue.bradshaw@reedexpo.co.uk

Notes to editors:

About the organiser:
Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events organiser, with over 440 events in 36 countries. In 2009 Reed brought together over six million active event participants from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and organised by 35 fully staffed offices.

Reed organises a wide range of events, including trade and consumer exhibitions, conferences and meetings. Its portfolio of over 440 events serves 44 industry sectors, including: aerospace & aviation, automobiles, beauty & cosmetics, broadcasting, building & construction, electronics, energy, oil & gas, engineering & manufacturing, food service & hospitality, gifts, healthcare, interior design, IT & telecoms, jewellery, life science & pharmaceuticals, machinery, marketing, business services & training, medical education, printing & graphics, security & safety, sports & recreation, and travel.

Working closely with professional bodies, trade associations and government departments Reed ensures that each and every event is targeted and relevant to industry needs. As a result, many Reed events are market leaders in their field.

Reed Exhibitions is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc, a FTSE-100 company and world-leading publisher and information provider. In 2008, Reed Elsevier made an adjusted profit before taxation of £1,205 million on turnover of £5,334 million.