Copters fly over meltdown blues

Even as the general civil aviation industry is going through a meltdown, the helicopter segment appears to be unaffected and in fact excited. Moreover, India is gaining importance for helicopter manufacturers. Leading helicopter maker Bell says it will sell 17 helicopters this year and between 25-30 next year. The importance of India for the company is underscored by the visit of the company's president and chief executive officer Richard J Millman's visit to India Aviation 2008. "The fact that I'm here shows how important it is for us," he quipped. Further, Bell is setting up a heliport design and operations centre. "We have been asked by the government to help them in this," Millman clarified. Interestingly, India has just about 60 heliports, while Shanghai in China alone has between 60-100, he pointed out. Further, Millman said that there is a severe shortage of helicopter pilots in India. Seeing this need, Bell is planning to set up a training academy here. "We are looking at several prospective partners for this," he said. In all likelihood, the academy would be in place by next year. "While we are looking at one, the government wants us to set up one in the north and the other in the south. But we are yet to decide on that and also the location," Millman added. It may be noted that most of the helicopter pilots come from the Air Force, Army and Navy as there are hardly any training facilities to train helicopter pilots, unlike in the fixed wing segment. Meanwhile, to address the pilot shortage issue, Bell is wooing its customers with a free training slot for pilot training. "You buy a chopper from us, we will give you a training slot free at Fortworth Texas," proferred Millman. Right now many of its customers are hiring foreign pilots. When asked whether the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), christened Dhruv, developed by the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) would offer competition to its products, he said: "It's much bigger than what we build. Also, in the civilian world it has to be certified by the FAA and others. I have a lot of regard for HAL and we are looking at collaborations with it and others". Millman also said that the issue of regulation and infrastructure in India are quite different from those in the developed countries. For instance, the need to file a flight plan for every flight defeats the purpose and the basic purpose of a helicopter which is quick turnaround time. Once these are addressed, then one can expect the market to grow substantially, he observed.