HAI president and CEO James Viola marked this year’s return of Heli-Expo on an Airbus Helicopters H225 Super Puma to kick off the event’s fly-in on Friday. Configured for firefighting missions, the Air Center Helicopters Super Puma, N561AC, is among the 41 helicopters on the slate of arrivals at the vertiport adjacent to the convention center that range in size from that aircraft and the Sikorsky S-92 to the Guimbal Cabri G2.
Upon arrival, the helicopters were towed into the convention floor. In the cases of the larger aircraft, the blades were removed on-site before the helicopters were stationed either on the static display or at a booth. Along with those flying in, another handful was trucked into the convention.
Although Viola participated in the previous fly-in in Anaheim, California, piloting a Bell 505, this year was the first time HAI has staged a ceremonial first-flight event and was especially poignant for the participants as Heli-Expo resumed. He was joined on the H225 flight by Airbus Helicopters North American head Romain Trapp, Visit Dallas president and CEO Craig Davis, and Rod Tinney, founder, president, and CEO of Air Center Helicopters, which brought the Super Puma to Heli-Expo for display.
“It was very emotional,” Trapp told AIN, saying this was particularly the case since Heli-Expo this year is in the “backyard” of Airbus Helicopters’s Grand Prairie, Texas campus. He noted that Airbus Helicopters has had a presence in the region for 50 years and being on the first flight to Heli-Expo 2022 following last year’s pandemic cancellation was “especially meaningful.”
For Davis, this year’s Heli-Expo marked the beginning of the return of events. Although Dallas never shut down to the extent of many other locations, the pandemic—and especially the presence of Omicron—was a deterrent for events, according to Davis. Heli-Expo is the city's first major business event since the outbreak of the Omicron variant, he said, saying it signifies a “Dallas, Texas comeback.” Noting he is somewhat of an aviation buff, Davis said he was pleased that the first post-Omicron major business show is Heli-Expo, calling it a “cool event.”
Davis said he is already looking toward future Heli-Expo shows, noting Dallas is planning to build a new convention center in the next half-dozen years and expects to have a vertiport that could accommodate future fly-ins. He and Viola have also discussed accommodations at the vertiport for future designs, including charging infrastructure for electric aircraft.
Meanwhile, Viola—who stepped into HAI's leadership role just before Heli-Expo 2020 in Anaheim—celebrated the beginning of the fly-in, calling it “a great day” and expressing encouragement that event registrations looked strong despite pandemic-related international restrictions that discouraged some attendance. “I think that anybody that can is coming,” he concluded.