Bristow Helicopters Ltd. today announced that it will exhibit at Helitech 2011, Europe’s largest helicopter exhibition, at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, near Cambridge in the United Kingdom, from September 27-29. Bristow will cohost Chalet #9 with Bristow Group affiliate FB Heliservices Limited.

Bristow representatives will present Bristow’s offshore helicopter services to prospective customers focused on its industry-leading Client Promise program to deliver zero accidents, zero complaints and zero downtime.

Search and rescue training and operations also will feature significantly at the exhibition. Bristow has been active in search and rescue (SAR) since 1971. Since then Bristow has amassed considerable expertise in the creation and operation of SAR services and pioneered the research, development and implementation of specialist SAR techniques and deployment of SAR role-specific aircraft and equipment to both commercial and governmental bodies.

Bristow Helicopters’ European Commercial Manager Scott Butler will be a speaker in Session One on September 28, from 13:50 – 14:10, in the Airspace Lecture Theatre. Butler will discuss the role helicopters will play in offshore wind energy installations.

“Speed of response will be vital to operators of 5MW and larger turbines, said Butler. “Helicopters will be the most cost effective and efficient solution since they’re not restricted by sea conditions.

“That being said,” he continued, “The helicopter industry needs to come together and educate the wind farm market on the wide and varied scope of work on offer, as well as the true whole-life cost of service, especially as the market evaluates and costs access solutions. Our industry has a price perception to correct.”
Bristow continues to be at the forefront of safety innovations in the aviation industry with the company having launched a revolutionary traffic collision avoidance system, TCAS II, which will be demonstrated at the show by Bristow’s Manager of Centralised Engineering Mark Plunkett and the Technical Services team.

Director of Centralised Operations John Cloggie described how Bristow’s safety leadership continues to be evident with the launch of this latest innovation. “Bristow has developed many of the safety advancements and modifications that have become standard equipment on offshore helicopters. Examples are the IHUMS (Integrated health and usage monitoring system), HFDM (helicopter flight data monitoring systems), automatic flotation deployment and externally stowed life raft systems,” he said.

“Bristow is pioneering these systems because of our commitment to ensuring the highest standards of flight safety,” he continued. “We are determined to provide the safest, most reliable service to our clients across all our operations. Our promise is to give our clients ‘confidence in flight’ through our Target Zero program focused on no accidents and minimum downtime or complaints.”

TCAS II uses on-board systems to detect nearby aircraft that may represent a collision risk. The system then directs each crew to execute coordinated avoidance actions to ensure maximum clearance between the aircraft.

“A similar system has been in use on commercial airliners for a number of years,” said Bristow’s Director of European Operations Mike Imlach, “but its usefulness in slower moving helicopters was questioned until Bristow developed the first TCAS II system a number of years ago specifically for rotary wing aircraft, proving the concept. Since that time Bristow has been developing TCAS II solutions for its entire fleet to improve flight safety.”

Bristow’s European Commercial Manager Fiona MacLeod was recently appointed to Helitech’s first Steering Group Committee, a 13-member panel that includes representatives from AgustaWestland, Eurocopter, Sikorsky and Bell Helicopter.

“I am delighted to be representing Bristow Helicopters on the first Helitech Steering Committee,” said MacLeod. “This is a great opportunity for Bristow to be involved in helping shape the future development of Helitech, as well as being able to work closely with some of the industry’s leading figures to share and exchange ideas about the rotary wing marketplace.”

Bristow Academy also will participate in Helitech and will host stand #1410 in the Helitech Main Hall. Samantha Willenbacher, Bristow Academy director, said her team will provide information on the range of training offered at the Academy’s locations in the U.S. and UK.

“Helitech is a great opportunity for us to showcase our JAA approved Commercial and multi-engine Instrument training, said Willenbacher. “These, combined with our FAA courses, mean we offer customers a one-stop provider for their rotorcraft training solutions.”