For the first time in two years, the helicopter community gathered in-person for the Helicopter Association of Canada’s (HAC) convention and trade show — and eventgoers were eager to reunite after the hiatus.
“It has been a couple of long years where we really haven’t had a chance to meet face-to-face with our customers,” said Jeff Denomme, president of Alpine Aerotech, one of the more than 60 exhibitors at this year’s event held in Calgary, Alberta, from Nov. 2 to 4.
And at least from Denomme’s point of view, this year’s event appeared to be busier than previous years — a positive sign for his maintenance, repair and overhaul company, which, like others at the event, uses the HAC trade show as an opportunity to connect directly with new or existing customers.
The event is also a chance for the industry to discuss issues related to the helicopter sector, and in particular, the Canadian landscape, such as the new fatigue management regulations coming into effect in December 2022, as well as growing concerns around labor shortages. The latter is an issue that HAC acknowledged by encouraging students training to become pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers, or avionics specialists to attend the event.
For Dana Washington, quality assurance manager at Select Helicopter Services, the sheer number of potential new customers and connections that the family-owned business can meet at the show’s intimate setting is what attracts the company.
“It is a great place to connect with [new customers] instead of just talking over the phone or email,” Washington said.
Since 2004, Select has specialized in repairing and overhauling helicopter hydraulic components and cargo hooks, using the HAC event to speak with customers and showcasing its products.
It’s also an opportunity for Select to talk about its new facility in Kelowna, British Columbia, adding about 2,500 square feet (230 square meters) of shop space for the business to support its customer base. The company moved into its new facility in August.
But Select is certainly not the only company that has grown since the last in-person HAC event. For companies like GPMS, the pandemic was not only a break from in-person trade shows and meetings, but it allowed the company’s team to focus on expanding its offerings for its customers.
At the start of the pandemic, the developer of the Foresight MX health and usage monitoring system (HUMS) started with just one supplemental type certificate (STC) on the Bell 407 helicopter.
“Now, we have STCs on all these other models, so it’s a lot better discussion for us at the show,” said Ronnie Ries, vice president of marketing at GPMS. Those other models include the Bell 212, 429, 412, H125, AS350 B3, MD 530, Mi-8, Mi-17, and Mi-171, with a number of others in the works. GPMS is also working with eVTOL developer Beta Technologies and its Alia-250 aircraft.
“We were head down and focused on expanding our STCs for our customers,” Ries said. “So even though we couldn’t meet through trade shows, we were really focused on the customers that we did have and expanding with them.”
Along with the trade show, the event also included training sessions for the two days leading up to the show, as well as several convention speakers discussing topics such as hiring internationally trained pilots, trends in aviation insurance and claims, and utilizing HUMS technology.
