Building upon the resounding success of the conference held back in September 2011, Helitech International (formally Helitech) has firmly laid down its intentions and commitment to create a truly international rotorcraft event by addressing key issues during its three day conference.  Taking place at ExCeL, London between 24 – 26 September, the conference will run alongside the highly successful exhibition that has been running since 1986.

Organised by Reed Exhibitions, the Helitech International Conference will open on the afternoon of Tuesday 24 September with a session addressing ‘The Future for the Rotorcraft Sector’.  This session will include a keynote address followed by presentations on SESAR initiatives and milestones; Accessing the Single European Sky, specifically detailing the issues for the rotorcraft sector; The implementation of instrument flight rules and procedures for helicopter operations using GPS and EGNOS; Operator Experiences; and then concluding with a Q&A session.

On Wednesday morning, 25 September the conference will move onto the subject of ‘Night-time Helicopter Emergency Operations’.  With East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) recently becoming the first emergency service operation to be granted permission to fly during the hours of darkness, it is pertinent to address the practicalities of obtaining CCA/EASA approval.  The conference audience will have the opportunity to listen and learn how the EAAA, its operations partners and the regulators fared on the path to achieving night-time missions.

The stage will then be handed over to discuss ‘The view across Europe’, where operators will compare and contrast experiences via a panel discussion.

The afternoon agenda will then switch to ‘Rule-making – Open Issues’, where EASA will present a paper on ‘The medium term agenda’.  This session will give an overview of the new operations and flight crew licensing rules relevant for helicopter operations.  This will then make way for two presentations covering, ‘The challenges ahead’ with the first looking from the operator’s perspective on flight time limitations and the second on public interest sites; the day will conclude with an ‘Industry Discussion on the Way Forward’.

The final day of the conference will first address the topic of ‘Business Challenges and Opportunities’.  Targeted towards business leaders from manufacturing, supply chains and helicopter operators, this session will track the critical market trends, identify the challenges as well as the opportunities that look set to shape the rotorcraft sector over the next few years.

The conference will then close with a session looking into ‘Financing the Future’.

This interactive session will present an ideal opportunity for operators’ Chief Financial Officers and supplier sales directors to question some of the industry’s top financing experts and gain an understanding of the money supply issues that will impact the rotorcraft sector going forward.

John Hyde, Event Director for Helitech International said, ‘With the repositioning to Helitech International it is paramount that the conference reflects the direction we are taking the exhibition in, which is to focus on the rotorcraft industry from an international perspective. Our Conference Manager has been speaking to key industry players and researching the sector for over six months now and we are confident we have achieved our aim.’

For further information please visit http://www.helitechevents.com/conference/