From May 17-19, as part of continued efforts to expand its global presence and outreach to members, HAI participated in the 5th International Helicopter Industry Exhibition, HeliRussia, at the Crocus Expo Center in Moscow.

Matt Zuccaro, president of HAI; Stan Rose, HAI director of Safety; and Nick Prelosky, staffer of the Helicopter Foundation International (HFI), joined more than 200 companies from around the world at the only exhibition in Russia that features the entire range of products and services provided by the helicopter industry.

At the opening ceremony on the first day of the exhibition, declared “Day of Russian Helicopters,” Matt Zuccaro spoke to a gathered audience of industry representatives, noting the excellent job the producers of HeliRussia have done over the years in developing a professional, productive trade show, and extremely relevant and comprehensive discussions and educational forums.

Global market leaders including Eurocopter, Sikorsky, AgustaWestland, and Bell Helicopter were present – in all, 15 companies from the USA had a presence at the show this year. HeliRussia 2012 also featured two world premières: Russian Helicopters Holding presented a multi-purpose transport-passenger helicopter, medium class, developed by Kamov JSC; and Russian-Czech company, RUMAS Group, presented the Rumas 10 light 2-seater coaxial helicopter.

At the Sikorsky display, Matt Zuccaro spoke with Kevin Bredenbeck, Sikorsky Chief Pilot and test pilot of the X2, about current technology initiatives. The HAI team also met up with Sergei Sikorsky, thanking him once again for his fascinating keynote address at HAI’s Salute to Excellence Awards dinner at HELI-EXPO 2012 in Dallas, Texas.

The exhibition hosted numerous safety-based seminars, including “New Technologies of Helicopter Safety Management,” which shared the experiences of international members of the industry, while Matt Zuccaro and Stan Rose met with AgustaWestland CEO Bruno Spagnolini and senior vice president of Commercial Business, Emilio Dalmasso, to talk about industry safety initiatives.

Over the three days of the exhibition, more than 30 international conferences, round tables, seminars and presentations took place. HeliRussia has already established itself as a springboard for entry into the European and global markets. One of the key events of the exhibition was the “Helicopter Market: Reality and Prospects” conference, which considered the parameters of the Russian helicopter market from the perspective of helicopter consumers and producers. The discussion brought together representatives of leading helicopter operators and manufacturers, and featured reports on the Russian helicopter market, global helicopter market predictions from Honeywell Aerospace, and on the U.S. helicopter market from Matt Zuccaro.

HeliRussia 2012 also featured a number of celebratory events. The main event this year was the annual Helicopter Industry Association award ceremony, which took place at an association gala evening on May 18.

Reflecting on another successful show, HAI President Matt Zuccaro said, “HAI has supported the HeliRussia initiative from the beginning, and we will continue to do so.”