Post Release: Second International Helicopter Industry Exhibition HeliRussia 2009
HeliRussia-2009 – Second Time in Russia
Second International Helicopter Industry Exhibition HeliRussia-2009
May 21 – 23, 2009, Moscow, Crocus Expo International Exhibition Centre
On May 21-23, 2009 the Crocus Expo International Exhibition Centre hosted the Second International Helicopter Industry Exhibition HeliRussia-2009 organised at direction No. 8-р of the Russian Government of January 14, 2008. The exhibition was organised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation under the initiative of the Helicopter Industry Association. The planner of the exhibition is CJSC Russian Helicopter Systems. The Steering Committee was chaired by Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov. Eurocopter Vostok acted as the general sponsor of the exhibition.
144 companies from 16 countries participated in the Second International Helicopter Industry Exhibition HeliRussia-2009. These included: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, USA, UK, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Columbia, Japan, Poland, New Zealand and OAE. For comparison, the participants of the first exhibition were represented by 129 companies from 10 countries, including 22 foreign companies.
The list of participants of HeliRussia 2009 comprised developers and manufacturers of helicopters, helicopter simulators, components, cabins and special helicopter equipment. The companies providing ground support, radar control and helipads development, service centres and fuel stations also had a chance to demonstrate their products. The list of participants also includes transportation, leasing and insurance companies as well as helicopter dealers.
13 helicopters were demonstrated at the exhibition. Those included: Ka–52 Alligator, Ka–226, Ansat, Mi–171, Mi–2, EC 145, AS 350, BK 117C, Colibri EC 120B and R 44 (4 items).
In order to mark the opening of the main annual event of the Russian helicopter community on May 21the helicopter of the Russian Federal Security Service Ка–226 carried the biggest flag of the Russian Federation, with the surface area of over 1,500sq.m. At 1 pm Ка–226 made three circles around Crocus Expo and continued its flight along Moscow Ring Road. At 1:30 pm the helicopter came back to Crocus Expo and made another circle of the exhibition centre commemorating the opening of HeliRussia 2009.
The participants, organizers and guests of the exhibition received letters of congratulations and telegrams from President Medvedev and Vladislav Putilin, the First Deputy Chairman of the Military and Industrial Commission under the Government of the Russian Federation.
The welcoming speech of President Medvedev was read at the opening ceremony by Leonid Reyman, advisor to the President of the Russian Federation and President of the Russian Helicopter Federation.
The following officials took part in the formal exhibition opening ceremony at 12 pm on May 21, 2009 in Pavilion No 1 of the Crocus Expo Exhibition Centre:
- Mr. Leonid Reyman, Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation,
- Mr. Denis Manturov, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation,
- Mr. Vladimir Popovkin, Deputy Chief of Armaments of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation,
- Mr. Andrey Reus, CEO of OPK Oboronprom,
- Mr. Mikhail Kazachkov, Chairman of the Board of the Helicopter Industry Association,
- And other officials.
Advisor to the President Leonid Reyman declared that thanks to the governmental support the Russian helicopter industry has very good development prospects and this exhibition will also contribute to its growth.
Mr. Reyman read out the message of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev addressed to the guests and participants of the exhibition. It was stated in the document that “the Russian helicopter industry has big scientific and technical potential and traditions”. “Such exposition will foster the exchange of technologies and strengthen international cooperation in the helicopter industry”, says the message of the Russian President. It also states that “the growing number of the exhibition participants and guests testifies to the good perspectives of this show space”.
In his turn, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov who was present at the ceremony noted that “Russia had always taken pride in its helicopter industry”. “The scientific and technical potential that we managed to preserve and the transformation that is happening in the industry now create the basis for coming back to the tasks the domestic helicopter industry has always faced”, – he said.
Mr. Manturov added that the Ministry of Industry and Trade together with the helicopter industry representatives consider mutual projects related to the development of a new line of Russian helicopters.
Another participant of the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation Vladimir Popovkin noted that the military department is interested in the development of the domestic helicopter industry as at the moment the task of fitting out the military units with helicopters is of paramount importance.
CEO of OPK Oboronprom Andrey Reus said that despite the difficult economic situation, the Russian helicopter industry, and the holding company Helicopters of Russia is one of the companies that represents it, managed not only to keep the production volume on the same level but also increase it. The Helicopters of Russia holding company works a lot on civil and military helicopters, said Mr. Reus. He assured the participants that the domestic helicopter manufacturers will be able to complete the tasks they are facing.
Over a hundred of Russian companies (both members of OJSC Helicopters of Russia and independent manufacturers and operators from the regions) presented a large scope of expositions. Samples of military products were also demonstrated at the exhibition showing the spectrum of national achievements in this field. The most striking example of defence products was the military helicopter Ка–52 Alligator, which was exhibited before the public outside of Crocus Expo Pavilion No.1.
The helicopter holding company OJSC Helicopters of Russia was in the centre of the Russian exposition. It presented its developments in cooperation with the Ural Optical Mechanics Plant named after Yalamov and CJSC Transas. The exhibition stand of OJSC Helicopters of Russia ran non stop presentations of Russian helicopters, which gathered big audiences.
Russian helicopter manufacturers also demonstrated brand new developments. For example, KB Maslova–Sever, LLC showed their new product – helicopter RU MAS 133. This is a light three-seat single-engine helicopter – a modernized version of the American helicopter with a reciprocating engine. This helicopter is only an interim stage on the way of creating a new twin-engine RU MAS 245, a kind of a flying laboratory for refinement and diagnostics of the company’s own developments, which were also presented at HeliRussia 2009.
New agricultural equipment HeliPod III Spray System used on board of helicopter R 44 for irrigation and pollination of agricultural land was presented at the exhibition. Its effectiveness is obvious – one helicopter substitutes 20 agricultural machines. This equipment was presented by Russian Helicopter Systems.
Over 30 foreign helicopter companies took part in HeliRussia 2009. The list included such leaders of the world helicopter market as Eurocopter, Bell Helicopter, MD Helicopters, Turbomeca, Becker Avionics, Pall Corporation, Breeze-Eastern, Honeywell Aerospace, Kamatics, Simplex Manufacturing, Semia and others.
Becker Avionics, Systems Simplex Manufacturing and Breeze-Eastern not only presented their products at the exhibition stands but also held presentations in the conference halls of the Crocus Expo Exhibition Centre. Japanese Gen Corporation made a video presentation of its in-house development – the smallest helicopter in the world, unofficially called a “flying seat”. Another Japanese company, Аlpha Aviation Co., presented a device for convenient hauling of helicopter R 44, which caused a lot of interest among the owners of these light helicopters.
The exhibition was visited by the representatives of INTERNATIONAL HELICOPTER SAFETY TEAM, and its Program Director Mark Liptak made a presentation at one of the conferences. The Helicopter Association International (HAI) has become a traditional participant of HeliRussia. This year its delegation not only organised an exhibition stand but also participated in the international conference Helicopter Market: Reality and Perspectives.
Ambassadors and military attachés of Bangladesh, Bolivia, Egypt, Korea, Thailand, Peru, Libya, India, Indonesia, Germany, Israel, Canada and other countries expressed their interest in the exhibition.
A big business programme was part of the exhibition. One of the key events was International Conference Helicopter Market: Reality and Perspectives, organized by Helicopter Industry Association with the support of AviaPort Agency. The conference touched upon the parameters of the Russian helicopter market from the point of view of consumers and helicopter producers. The presentations included: report on the forecast of the world helicopter market by Honeywell Aerospaсe (Market Analysis Director Charles Park), report on the American helicopter market by Helicopter Association International (Vice-President Edward DiCampli), report on the Russian helicopter market (Chairman of the Helicopter Industry Association Board Mikhail Kazachkov), report on the development prospects of the biggest Russian helicopter operators Aviation Company UTAir. The conference was held on the first day of the exhibition and caused a broad resonance among the Russian helicopter market participants.
There is a big number of Russian helicopters being operated in the world and therefore the helicopter holding OJSC Helicopters of Russia held a conference Safety of the Russian Helicopters, which was interesting both for Russian and foreign operators.
The round table Usage of Liquefied Propane and Butane – Aircraft Condensed Fuel at Mi-8 Helicopters was dedicated to Mi-8 helicopters. The round table was organized by Federal State Unitary Enterprise State Scientific Research Institute of Civil Aviation, Federal State Unitary Enterprise Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute named after Professor N.E.Zhukovsky, and OJSC InterAviaGaz. The usage of a new fuel type that helps to reduce helicopter operation costs is especially important during financial crisis; therefore the topic caused so much interest – representatives of 39 organisations participated in the round table.
Reduction of costs, optimization of business processes and work performance improvement seem to be the most vital tasks for manufacturers of helicopters and components as of today. One of the most powerful and effective instruments for solving these tasks is the world-wide acknowledged methodology of lean production (Lean Production, Lean, Kaizen, Toyota Production System). Almost all the world industry leaders – Boeing, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, Bell Helicopter Textron and others – build their production systems on the basis of Lean Production. As part of the business agenda of HeliRussia 2009, Centre Orgprom conducted a presentation seminar Lean Helicopter Manufacturing: Leadership Potential, where it explained the philosophy and methodology of Lean Production using the examples of foreign and Russian companies and presented instruments that help to achieve quick and effective results.
Seminar named Program and Project Management: Industry, Objectives, Implementation Methods organized by РМ Expert was dedicated to the optimization of corporate management methods.
It was allowed to demonstrate military products at the exhibition; and for this target group the Military Academy of the Central Command of Armed Forces and the Military and Scientific Committee of the Military Aviation Forces conducted the round table “Development of the State Helicopter Aviation: Problems and their Solutions”.
Traditionally, at the Second International Helicopter Industry Exhibition HeliRussia 2009 the Helicopter Industry Association conducted an annual prize award ceremony in three nominations: Pilot of the Year, Designer of the Year, and Engineer of the Year. The ceremony took place on May 22 at 4 pm at the Exposition Pavilion. The Presidium of the Helicopter Industry Association selected the following winners: in the nomination Engineer of the Year – Olga Ionkina, head of section 20 workshop No.18 of OJSC Stupinsk Machine Building Manufacturing Enterprise; in the nomination Pilot of the Year – Sergey Konyaev, Mi-8 captain of an air squadron of the Strezhevsk branch of Aviation Company Tomsk Avia LLC; in the nomination Designer of the Year – Alexander Bayev,deputy chief designer of the service of Chief and Leading Designers and Specialists Related to OJSC Kamov.
The ceremony of awarding the winners of the competition Helicoptes of the 21st century organized by OJSC OPK Oboronprom and OJSC of Helicopters of Russia, and a photo competition Beauty of the Rotary-Wing Machines, held for the second year by the Helicopter Industry Association, also took place at HeliRussia 2009.
The third day of the exhibition was totally dedicated to the presentations of the educational institutions. Seven training institutions, including the Moscow Aviation Institute and the Helicopter Design Department, held presentations and MAI presented the developments of its design office at the exhibition stand.
The newspaper ShowObserver HeliRussia 2009 was published during the exhibition.
Over three days the exhibition was visited by more than 7 thousand people, including prominent political leaders and public officials of the Russian Federation and other countries, representatives of foreign military departments, businessmen and helicopter amateurs. The exhibition was visited by a big number of families with children who enjoyed exploring the helicopter cabins of different producers.
It should be noted that one of the honoured guests of the exhibition – Head of the Federal Security Service Aviation Nikolay Gavrilov – came to see the exposition in an Ansat helicopter that landed close to the entrance of the exhibition pavilion.
Thus, already now one can come to a helicopter exhibition in a helicopter and for that one does not need to own a helicopter or use the company one – one can use the helicopter taxi services. We did not see anything like this last year. What will happen next year?
The next, third International Helicopter Industry Exhibition HeliRussia 2010 will also be held in Crocus Expo International Exhibition Centre on May 20-22, 2010.
We are confident that it will be even more interesting and diversified.
