Touch down at any heliport in theworld today and there is a goodchance that some of the local

helicopters are showcases for Canadiantechnology.

For more than six decades, Canadahas been the world’s second largest civilhelicopter market – with nearly 3,000 inservice today – but over the past 40years, Canadian companies have alsobecome important developers andproducers of advanced rotorcraftsystems.

The best known companies includePratt & Whitney Canada, Bell HelicopterTextron Canada, Airbus HelicoptersCanada Limited and CAE. But there arecountless other Canadian companiesmaking helicopter components andproviding support services.

Early Rotorcraft in Canada

Canada’s first rotorcraft were a pairof Pitcairn autogyros imported in1931-1932 by Fairchild Aircraft of

Canada, based in Longueuil, Quebec,

across the St. Lawrence River fromMontreal. Three brothers – Douglas,Nicholas and Theodore Froebe – livingin Homewood, Manitoba developed thefirst Canadian “helicopter” to getairborne in late 1938. The aircraft,powered by Gipsy engine from a GreatLakes biplane trainer, got all threewheels off the ground during a series of“hops,” reaching altitudes of up to threefeet (1 m). (The Froebe helicopter is nowon display at the Western CanadaAviation Museum in Winnipeg,Manitoba).

After World War II, Sikorsky and BellAircraft competed for the first helicoptersales in Canada. Canadian Pratt &Whitney Limited (as P&WC was thenknown) had been formed in 1928 andwas a major producer of piston engines;it was also the post-war sales agent forSikorsky Aircraft in Canada. In 1947,P&WC began delivering the first ofseven Sikorsky S-51s to the Royal

Canadian Air Force (RCAF) for flighttraining and search and rescue (SAR)use. Meanwhile, Bell Aircraft’s helicopterfactory in Niagara Falls, New York wasliterally minutes from the border, and in1947 it began delivering Bell 47Bs toCanadian civil customers.

In the 1950s, the Canadian civilhelicopter fleet expanded with newmodels of the Bell 47 and theintroduction of the Hiller 360, SikorskyS-55 and S-58, as well as militarydeliveries of the Piasecki HUP-3, H-21and H-44, and Sikorsky H-19, HO4S-3and H-34. The first Sud Aviation (laterAerospatiale, now part of AirbusHelicopters) SE3130 Allouette IIhelicopter was delivered to a Canadiancustomer in 1958; it was Canada’s firstturbine-powered helicopter.

Attempts to develop an indigenoushelicopter development and productioncapability, however, were long stymied.In August 1945, Intercity Airways began

Vol. 60, No. 3 1

Helicopter Canada By Kenneth I. Swartz

Airbus Helicopters Canada final assembly line for new AS350B3 and EC130 T2 helicopters forCanadian customers. (All photos by the author except where noted.)

development of the Sznycer-GottliebSG-VI Grey Gull helicopter, which flewfor the first time July 9, 1947. It receiveda Canadian Certificate of Airworthinesson March 15, 1951, becoming the firsthelicopter designed, built and certifiedin the British Commonwealth. Two werebuilt, but it was never put intoproduction. (The surviving prototype ison display at The Reynolds-AlbertaMuseum, Wetaskiwin, Alberta.)

Efforts by Fleet Aircraft of Fort Erie,Ontario to enter the helicopter industrywith Doman Helicopters of Danbury,Connecticut were short lived. TheDoman-Fleet LZ-5 was developed andflown in Canada and wassimultaneously Type Certificated in theUS and Canada in 1954, but it similarlynever entered production.

However, when the Canadiangovernment cancelled the ambitiousAvro CF-105 Arrow supersonicinterceptor in February 1959, itnegotiated a US defense productionsharing agreement as part of acommitment to buy American jetinterceptors.

York Gears of Toronto (now part ofNorthstar Aerospace) won a contract inthe early 1960s to build the forward andrear rotor transmissions for the BoeingVertol Model 107 and Jarry Hydraulics ofMontreal (today part of UTC AerospaceSystems) won a contract to design andbuild the landing gear for the CH-47Chinook; after which, Canada placed anorder for 18 Vertol 107 tandemhelicopters to equip RCAF and Armyunits, known as the CH-113 Labrador.Piasecki Helicopter and later BoeingCanada operated a military helicoptermaintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO)

plant near Ottawa in Arnprior, Ontariofrom 1954 until 2004 when the CH-113fleet was retired.

In late 1962, the Canadiangovernment ordered the first of 41Sikorsky CHSS-2 Sea King helicopters forthe Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). Thecontract win meant that P&WC had tobecome a helicopter manufacturer anddevelop and integrate a new weaponssystem, which was new for the enginemanufacturer. The first four Sea Kingswere manufactured by Sikorsky, but theremaining helicopters were built inCanada at Longueuil, and later St.Hubert, Quebec. The first Canadianaircraft to fly was RCN No. 4005 atLongueuil on April 9, 1964 – 50 yearsago this year.

While P&WC was assembling the SeaKings in Longueuil, across the St.Lawrence River in Cartierville, a suburbof Montreal, Canadair was developingthe innovative CL-84 tilt wing aircraft.The prototype CL-84 made its first hoveron May 7, 1965. Three additional,improved CL-84-1s were built in theearly 1970s. All total, the CL-84 mademore than 700 flight test and militaryevaluation flights in Canada and the US,but ultimately lost out to theenthusiasm growing for the tiltrotor,instantiated in the XV-15. The counter-rotating tail rotor technology of the CL-84, however, was used by Canadair (nowBombardier) in the 1970s to develop theCL-227 Sentinel VTOL unmannedaircraft system (UAS), and the evolvedCL-327 Guardian inthe 1990s.

The PT6 – The Core ofCanadian Power

In 1957, P&WC hired a small team todevelop new small gas turbineengines. The first engine the team

designed was a small turbofan, whichwas taken over by the parent companyin the US and put into production as theJT12 (J60); the turboshaft version, theJFTD12 (T73), powered the Sikorsky CH-54 Tarhe and S-64 Skycrane.

The PT6 was the next enginedeveloped by the P&WC team. Theengine was designed as a free turbineso that it could be utilized in helicoptersand fixed-wing aircraft. The firsthelicopter (or aircraft for that matter) tofly solely with PT6 power was themilitary-focused Hiller Ten99 in July1961. It was followed in early 1962 bythe high-speed, experimental Piasecki16H-1 Pathfinder helicopter, the rigid-rotor Lockheed XH-51A helicopter inlate 1962, the twin-engine Kaman K-1125 helicopter in early 1963, and theLockheed Model 286 helicopter (theplanned civil production version of theXH-51) in 1965. None of these aircraft,however, went into production.

P&WC’s entry into the commercialhelicopter business was the PT6T-3Twin-Pac engine developed in the late1960s with the support of the Canadiangovernment, which wanted a twin-engine version of the Bell UH-1. TheTwin-Pac entered service in the early1970s, powering the Sikorsky S-58T,

2 VERTIFLITE May/June 2014

This Boeing Vertol 107 – known as the CH-113 Labrador in Canadian service– was used for search and rescue from 1964 to 2004. Several of thecomponents were made in Canada.

Sikorsky CHSS-2 No. 4005 was first Canadian-assembled Sea King forthe Royal Canadian Navy. It made its first flight at Longueuil on April 9,1964. Test pilots Seth Grossmith (RCN) and W. Ross Lennox (P&WC) areat left. (Photo by W. Ross Lennox/author’s collection)

Bell 212, Agusta-Bell 212, military UH-1NTwin Huey, and the AH-1J Sea Cobraattack helicopters sold to the US MarineCorps (and pre-revolutionary Iran). TheTwin-Pac-powered Bell 412 enteredservice in 1981.

P&WC developed the PT6B-36turboshaft for the Sikorsky S-76B in themid-1980s. The S-76B was originallydeveloped for “hot and high” militaryoperations, but most were sold forexecutive use where passengers valuedthe PT6’s outstanding reliability.

Creating a CanadianHelicopter Industry

In the mid-1970s, the Canadiangovernment bought Toronto-basedde Havilland Canada from Hawker

Siddeley and Montreal-based Canadairfrom General Dynamics to protect theirmanufacturing capabilities and developnew export products, such as the Dash 8

airliner and CanadairChallenger businessjet, respectively. Thegovernment inOttawa also began toexplore opportunitiesto increase Canadianmanufacturingparticipation in thehelicopter industry tooffset imports ofmore than 150helicopters a year thatwere used to supportnatural resourcedevelopment.

A market studyrecommended that Canada seek a“world product mandate” to build lighttwin helicopters in Canada for domesticand export use that could also launchdevelopment of a new P&WC turboshaftengine.

In late 1983, Ottawa announced thatit had accepted proposals by BellHelicopter Textron and Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) to establish lighttwin helicopter factories in Quebec andOntario respectively, with the financialparticipation of the two provincialgovernments.

Unfortunately, the large forecastdemand for light twin helicopters in the1980s failed to appear after the worldoil price collapse of 1986 that groundedhundreds of helicopters working the oiland gas sector (see “Offshore Canada,”Vertiflite, Jan-Feb 2014). This dampeneddemand for new aircraft, but led to thedevelopment of more fuel-efficientmodels of helicopters and engines.

PW200 Turboshaft Success

In 1983, P&WC’s announced plans tobuild a high power engine with lowfuel burn for the emerging light twin

market. The aim was a new generationturboshaft in the 400 – 500 shp (300 –375 kW) range, though this was soonincreased to 500 – 800 shp (375 – 600kW). The goal was to achieve a 10% to12% lower fuel burn than existingengines, and a 15% to 20% reduction infuel burn compared to a PT6B of similarpower.

The design that would becomeknown as the PW200-series featuresthree major rotating components: asingle-stage turbine powered thesingle-stage centrifugal compressor,while a single-stage power turbinedrove the front-mounted gearbox. Atthe heart of the PW200 is a high-speed8:1 centrifugal compressor with animpeller rotating at 58,000 rpm toproduce high pressure ratios.

The PW205B first ran on February 7,1987 and first flew on October 6, 1988 inthe Bo 105LS B-1 testbed aircraft X-01 atMBB Canada in Fort Erie, Ontario.

P&WC’s huge technologicalinvestment eventually paid off when thePW200 was selected to power sevennew light twin helicopters developed inthe 1990s and 2000s. The firstproduction helicopter to use the PW200was the MD900 Explorer (PW206 andPW207E); the engine was also selectedto power the Bell 427 (PW207D), Bell429 (PW207D1), AgustaWestlandAW109E Power (PW206C) and AW109SGrand (PW207D), Kazan Helicopter

Vol. 60, No. 3 3

The PW&C PT6 design team. Allan Newland, chief designer, is the tall man inthe middle. (Copyright Pratt & Whitney Canada. Used with permission.)

The Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6T Twin-Pac combines two PT6 powerturbines driving a common output gearbox. It was P&WC’s firstproduction turboshaft, ordered in 1968 by Bell Helicopter for the TwinHuey. (Copyright Pratt & Whitney Canada. Used with permission.)

BHTC started building the Bell 412 at Mirabel in 1989. NiagaraHelicopters took delivery of the Bell 412SP in 1991 to fly tourists overNiagara Falls. (Niagara Helicopters photo/author’s collection)

Ansat (PW206C), and the unmannedBoeing A160 Hummingbird.

On the strength of MBB’s extensiveevaluation of the PW200 on the Bo105LS and Bo 108 research aircraft, thePW206 was selected as one of twoengine options for the new EC135 (theother being the Turbomeca Arrius 2B).

New Generation PT6-Powered Helicopters

At the 1995 Paris Air Show, Agustadisplayed a mockup of a newsingle-engine eight-seat

helicopter called the A119 Koala thatwould use the cabin and rotor system ofthe A109E. P&WC finally entered thesingle-engine helicopter market whendeliveries of the 1,000 shp(750 kW) PT6B-37A-powered A119 Koala beganin 1998.

Meanwhile, in 1997,Agusta began developmentof the 15-seat AW139 to filla gap in the marketbetween transport aircraftlike the Bell 412 andEurocopter Super Puma. Topower the new aircraft,Agusta and its partner Bellselected the PT6C-67C toprovide excellent CategoryA single engineperformance. The prototypeAB139 flew on February 3,2001 at Vergiate, Italy anddeliveries began in 2003. In

February 2012, P&WC celebrated thedelivery of its 75,000th engine, a PT6C-67C delivered to AgustaWestland for anAW139.

During the Bell and Agustacollaboration, Bell/Agusta AerospaceCompany also selected the PT6C-67A topower the innovative AB609 (nowAW609) tilt rotor. For takeoff, theturboshaft is now being rated at 2,400shp (1,800 kW), the highest rating of anyPT6. The prototype 609 flew under PT6power on March 6, 2003.

The Airbus Helicopters EC175 flew forthe first time in Marignane, France onDecember 17, 2009, powered by aP&WC PT6C-67E engine. This was thefirst time a P&WC engine had flown on abrand new helicopter developed in

France, and was considered a majorcommercial breakthrough. Like theAW139, the EC175 is targeted at theoffshore oil and gas market where PT6reliability is well established.

With an eye to capturing a slice ofthe Bell “Huey” upgrade market, GlobalHelicopter Technologies, in partnershipwith DynCorp, developed the UH-1HGlobal Eagle powered by the PT6C-67D.Temsco Helicopters subsequentlyacquired the rights to the PT6C-67Dpowered UH-1H and Bell 205A-1.

In the early 2000s, P&WC identifiedan opportunity to develop a newmember of the PW200 family in the1,000 shp (750 kW) class for newgeneration intermediate and mediumsize helicopters. The PW210 was

launched in February 2005and incorporatestechnology from otherP&WC engines, such as asingle stage compressorsimilar to that used on thePW600 turbofan.

The PW210 powers theSikorsky S-76D (which firstflew on February 7, 2009and entered commercialservice in early 2014) andthe AgustaWestlandAW169, which flew at theCascina Costa plant in Italyon May 11, 2012 and willenter service later this year.Airbus Helicopters has alsoselected the PW210 engine(along with the Turbomeca

4 VERTIFLITE May/June 2014

MBB Helicopter Canada flight test team with the PW205B powered Bo 105LS B-2 X01 during the official “first flight” for media at Fort Erie onOctober 13, 1988.

The first firm customer for the P&WC PW200 turboshaft was theMD900. This MD902 was flying customers at Heli Expo 2014 at theAnaheim Stadium.

The initial two AgustaWestland AW609 prototypes use the P&WC PT6C-67A ratedat 1,940 shp (1,447 kW); production aircraft will have an uprated version with 20%more power.

Arrano 1A) to power the next-generation X4 helicopter scheduled tofly in 2015.

The largest member of the P&WChelicopter engine family is thePW127TS, a turboshaft version of thePW127 turboprop engine beingdeveloped by a Russian consortium topower the 30-passenger Mil Mi-38,which first flew on August 25, 2004. ThePW127TS produces 2,500 – 3,000 hp(1,500 – 2,200 kW).

In May 1993, P&WC opened anengine assembly plant in Lethbridge,Alberta. The PT6T Twin-Pac for the Bell412 has been assembled here for manyyears and the PT6C family will be addedin 2014.

Together, the P&WC PT6 and PW200helicopter engines have accumulatedmore than 50 million flight hours.

Airbus Helicopters CanadaLimited

In March 1984, MBB HelicopterCanada Limited (MCL) wasestablished with a “world product

mandate” to produce the “hot and high”Bo 105LS helicopter in Fort Erie, Ontarioand develop a PW200-powered versionof the helicopter, possibly using a fiveblade rigid rotor.

The new venture was supported bythe governments of Canada and

Ontario. Fleet Aerospace in Fort Erie wasan equity partner and provided MBBwith its first office across the street fromthe construction site of the new plant.

The first delivery was an MBB BK117to ALC Airlift Corp. of British Columbia todevelop helicopter emergency medicalservices market in Western Canada. Thefirst production Bo 105LS flew at FortErie on March 13, 1986, while the 85,000ft2 (7,900 m2) factory on 180 acres (73ha) of land officially opened threemonths later on June 20, 1986.

Between 1984 and 1988, MBBdelivered 16 helicopters, designated Bo105S-CDN-BS-4, to the Canadian CoastGuard. The first two were delivered byMBB Helicopter Corp. in West Chester,Pennsylvania before MBB HelicopterCanada gained full responsibility for theCanadian market.

In 1986, the BK117 entered servicewith the Shock Trauma Air RescueSociety (STARS) in Alberta (flown by ALCAirlift) and the Ontario Air AmbulanceService (flown by Toronto Helicopters),followed by the delivery of a BK117 tothe Ontario Ministry of Natural Resourcefor firefighting use.

New Bo 105LS helicopters wereexported to customers in the US (NewYork State Police, California HighwayPatrol, Drug Enforcement Agency andCalStar), Mexico (Taesa) and Peru (AirForce and Federal Police) and a few Bo105Cs were sold in Canada (Sunrise

Helicopters, Department of Fisheriesand Oceans, and Trans MountainPipelines).

When development of the P&WCPW200-powered Bo 105LS was shelved,MBB Canada engineers led thedevelopment of the PW206-poweredversion of the Bo 108 and the EC135.

Eurocopter Canada Limited (ECL) wasformed in 1992 with the merger of thehelicopter divisions of MBB of Germanyand Aerospatiale of France. At the timethere were 125 Aerospatiale and 24MBB helicopter models flying in Canada.The merger was very beneficial to theCanadian company when it gained salesand service responsibility for the entireFrench helicopter product line,including the popular AS350B AStar,which has been the top selling factorynew turbine helicopter family in Canadaever since.

All helicopters are built by the parentGerman and French factories andshipped “green” to Fort Erie for assemblyand completion to customerspecifications.

The composite manufacturing hasgrown in parallel, with Fort Erie makingthe engine cowlings for the EC145 andUH-72 Lakota, as well as components forthe AS350, EC120, EC135 and EC155. Inearly 2014, the company announcedplans to hire 40 more people to buildnew composite components for theEC225.

In February 2014 the company wasrenamed Airbus Helicopters CanadaLimited (AHCL). With annual revenues ofabout C$100 million, the companyemploys 250 people at its 135,000 ft2(12,500 m2) factory and regional officessupporting 180 domestic customersflying 670 Airbus helicopters. Thecompany has won a greater than 50%share of the new sales of commercialand parapublic (i.e. police) helicopters inCanada during the past 10 years.

Bell Helicopter Canada

After the 1983 agreement with thefederal and provincialgovernments, Bell Helicopter

Textron Canada (BHTC) opened its newmanufacturing facility north of Montrealnear Mirabel International Airport in1986. The original 436,000 ft2 (40,500m2) facility on 151 acres (61 ha) of land

Vol. 60, No. 3 5

The PW210 is the latest engine from P&WC. The PW210S powers the Sikorsky S-76D and thePW210A is used in the AgustaWestland AW169. (Copyright Pratt & Whitney Canada. Used withpermission.)

was initially constructed to producethree members of the Model 400TwinRanger light twin helicopter, withthe total investment of C$512 million (in1983) to be split between Bell and thegovernments of Canada and Quebec. In1986, Bell renegotiated its agreementwith the governments after making astrategic decision to separate itshelicopter business, transferringproduction of all its commercialproducts to Canada, with the company’smilitary work conducted in Texas.

The Bell 206B JetRanger was theworld’s most popular light single-enginehelicopter and in the summer of 1986,production began shifting to Canadawith the first “Canadian” assembledJetRanger (serial 3959) flown for the firsttime at Mirabel in October. The firstMirabel-assembled 206L-III LongRangerIII flew in April 1987, the first Bell 212 inOctober 1988 and Bell 412 in 1989, withboth the 212 and 412 powered by PT6Tengines. BHTC installed the P&WCPW209T Twin-Pac engine into theprototype Model 400A at Mirabel in1987, but the TwinRanger program wascancelled before first flight.

In October 1989, Bell announced thedevelopment of the Model 230. Arefinement of the Model 222, the newhelicopter was powered by a pair ofAllison 250-C30 engines with theprototype (a converted 222) flying atMirabel for the first time on August 12,1991.

In 1991, Bell delivered its 500thhelicopter from Mirabel; the same year,annual production passed the 200aircraft mark for the first time. In 1992,Bell received a major contract to build100 CH-146 Griffon helicopters – basedon the 412EP – for the Canadian ArmedForces to replace its existing fleet of CH-118 Iroquois, CH-135 Twin Huey andCH-136 Kiowa tactical and SARhelicopters. Designated the Bell 412CF,the PT6T-3D Twin-Pac-powered Griffonbreathed new life into the Model 412,which has become a popularreplacement for single-engine Bell UH-1military helicopters in many parts of theworld.

In 1993, the US Army selected theBell TH-67C Creek (based on the Bell206B-3) to replace the UH-1 in thetraining role at Fort Rucker. The US Armyordered 157 TH-67Cs and the Taiwan

Army bought 30. The basic helicopterwas built at Mirabel and customized forthe Army in Texas.

By 1994, the Canadian factory wasproducing about one-third of theworld’s commercial turbine helicopterswhen Bell launched development of thefour-bladed Bell 407 and 430 at Mirabel.The Model 430 was a growth version ofthe Model 230 featuring a four-bladedrotor system, an 18 inch (46 cm) cabinstretch, and more powerful Allison 250-C40B engines. The prototype beganflying on October 25, 1994.

Fleet Aerospace (now Fleet Canada)was selected to build the cabins and tailbooms for the 230 and the 430 (until2005 when Hafei Aviation Industry inChina took over Model 430 componentproduction). Bell built 136 Model 430sbetween 1994 and 2008.

The Model 407 mated the provenLongRanger IV airframe with the four-bladed soft-in-plane rotor system of theUS Army OH-58D and a Rolls-Royce 250-C47 engine. Molded fairings were addedto the LongRanger cabin to increase thecabin width by eight inches. The Model407 has been an outstanding success,with production reaching 1,500 aircraftby April 2014.

Bell delivered 13 Model 206LTTwinRangers from Mirabel between1994 and 1997 as a supplemental typecertificate (STC) modification of the206L-4, utilizing Tridair’s Gemini ST twinengine conversion kit.

In 1996, Bell announced thedevelopment of the twin engine Model427, which mated a pair of P&WCPW207D turboshafts to a modified

Model 407 airframe. The helicopter wasdeveloped in partnership with SouthKorea’s Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI)and Japan’s Mitsui Bussan Aerospace;the prototype 427 began flying atMirabel on December 11, 1997.

In 1998, Bell launched thedevelopment of the Bell 412 Plus, whichwould be powered by the PT6T-9, withfirst deliveries in 2001. A total of 26military 412 Plus helicopters weredelivered by Bell and Agusta-Bell to theRoyal Saudi Air Force and the TurkishCoast Guard, but plans for a new versionwere dropped when Bell and Agustajoined forces in 1999 to develop theAgusta-Bell AB139.

In August 2005, Bell marked thedelivery of the 3,000th helicopter fromthe Canadian factory with the deliveryof a Bell 412 to Offshore Logistics (nowthe Bristow Group). At the time, Bell wasgearing up to develop a new line ofMAPL (Modular Affordable Product Line)helicopters as well as build Model 407cabins and Model 427 tailbooms for theHoneywell HTS900-2 turboshaft-powered ARH-70A ArmedReconnaissance Helicopter (ARH)program (cancelled in March 2007). Acivil version, the Bell 417, was neverlaunched, although Eagle Copters ofCalgary plans to certify its Bell 407HPconversion powered by the HST900D-2.

The MAPL program evolved into theBell 429 GlobalRanger, a clean sheetdesign featuring an Instrument FlightRules (IFR) cockpit, a large cabin withrear clamshell doors and elements ofthe Model 427 rotor and dynamicssystem. The development of the MAPL

6 VERTIFLITE May/June 2014

BHTC Bell 430 wheeled prototype at Mirabel in December 1995. This aircraft started life as theModel 222B and 230 prototypes.

and Model 429 received a total of C$230million in government financial support,equally provided by the governments ofCanada and Quebec. The prototypeModel 429 flew at Mirabel February 27,2007 and was certified by TransportCanada on July 1, 2009.

In 2010, Bell launched the Bell 412EPIwith a new avionics system and thePT6T-9 replacing the PT6T-3D/DFengine. The new PT6T-9 provides a new30-second and 2.5-minute One EngineInoperative (OEI) rating structure,electronic engine control (EEC) withmanual backup, and improved CAT Asingle engine performance resultingfrom a 11% higher takeoff rating.

In February 2012, BHTC delivered its4,000th helicopter, a Model 206L-4 to AirMedical Group Holdings (AMGH) and atthe end of 2012, it delivered the first Bell407GX featuring a Garmin G1000Hcockpit.

Today, the 1,800 people employed atthe 660,000 ft2 (61,000 m2) BHTCfactory produce four helicopter models:Model 206L-IV LongRanger IV, Model407, Model 429 and Model 412EP. Newhelicopters are customized at Mirabel orthe Edwards and Associates facilityowned by Bell in Piney Flats, Tennessee.

Since BHTC moved to Canada,European rivals AgustaWestland andAirbus Helicopters have bothestablished helicopter final assemblylines in the United States. To rebuild a

US commercial presence, the new Bell505 JetRanger X is to be assembled inLafayette, Louisiana and the Bell 525Relentless in Amarillo, Texas.

Supporting Industries

In addition to the nation’s rotorcraftmanufacturing industry, Canada alsodeveloped a very capable helicopter

MRO industry to support its large fleetof commercial helicopters. In the 1980s,many of these companies began toexpand to support international civiland military helicopter operators. MajorMRO companies concentrated inwestern Canada include Standard Aeroof Winnipeg (engines), Vector Aerospaceof Vancouver (airframes and engines),Heli-One of Vancouver (airframes andengines) and Eagle Copters of Calgary(airframes and STC upgrades).Turbomeca Canada opened its MRO inMirabel in 2003.

CAE Inc. of Montreal is one of theworld’s leading developers of helicopterfull flight simulators (FFS) and militarymission rehearsal systems and enteredthe civil fixed-wing and helicopter pilottraining business by establishing anetwork of FFS training centers (see “TheOutlook for Simulators” in this issue).

Other leading Canadian helicopterindustry suppliers include SEI Industries(Bambi Bucket firefighting systems), L-3Wescam (electro-optic / infrared, laserimaging and targeting systems),

Magellan Aerospace (helicopter wirestrike protection system) and DartAerospace (accessories), Messier-Bugatti-Dowty (landing gear for the V-22 and AW609) and Héroux-Devtek(landing gear for the CH-47 and CH-53K).

On the military side, BHTC providesMRO support for the CH-146 Griffon,IMP Aerospace of Halifax supports theCH-124 Sea King and AgustaWestlandCH-148 Cormorant, and GeneralDynamics Canada and Boeing willsupport the RCAF’s 15 new CH-147FChinooks.

Summary

In 1947, Canada became one of thefirst export markets for the initialpostwar helicopters developed in the

United States and has since become theworld’s second largest civil market byfleet size.

In the 1970s and 1980s, investmentsby leading manufacturers – supportedby the Canadian federal government,and the governments of Quebec andOntario – helped engender a robustindigenous Canadian commercialhelicopter and turboshaft enginemanufacturing industry.

The benefits include the creation ofmore than 2,500 new helicopterengineering and manufacturing jobssince 1984 and hundreds of millions ofdollars in annual Canadian exports.

About the Author

Kenneth I. Swartz runs aerospacemarketing communicationsagency Aeromedia

Communications in Toronto, Canada. Hewas raised in Vancouver, BC and haswritten more than 600 news stories onthe civil helicopter industry whilespending most of his marketing andcommunications career working forairlines and Bombardier Aerospace. In2002, Ken joined the Board of theCanadian Air & Space Museum inToronto and, in 2010, he received theHelicopter Association International“Communicator of the Year” award forhis rotorcraft writing. He can be reachedat kennethswartz@me.com.

Vol. 60, No. 3 7

A row of Bristow Helicopters’ offshore 407s at Galliano heliport, Louisiana in February 2010. BHTChas produced 1,500 Bell 407s since the prototype first flew on June 29, 1995.

8 VERTIFLITE May/June 2014