Soon to be used by the Guangzhou police, Airbus Helicopters said its H155’s “state-of-the-art glass cockpit is compatible with night-vision goggles, which makes it fully available night and day.” (Photo : Airbus Helicopters )
For those in the country who are in the business involving helicopters, the future appears to be brighter with the present already a sunny one.
Shanghai-based General Dynamic Aero Tech (GDAT) opened its second store--a 1,000-square-meter hangar--in February in Hubei Province, reported China.org.
Its venture, GD Aero E Store, boasting a 2,000-square-meter showroom in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, opened in April 2015 and has since sold 95 helicopters priced between 4 million yuan and 120 million yuan.
GDAT sells helicopters, mostly Bell helicopters, according to its website. It also sells aviation mission equipment as it serves an agent of the American company Simplex Aerospace operating in Oregon, U.S.A.
One need not spend more than 3 million yuan to buy a private helicopter in China, according to Jing Daily in a 2014 article.
The article also said that the number of registered private helicopters in the country totaled 156, which could reach up to 200 if those without Certificate of Airworthiness would be counted in.
For Chris Jaran, the managing director in China for Texas-based Bell Helicopter, government support plays an important role in stimulating sales of helicopters, reported China Economic Review.
“We see significant growth in China in the next 10 years, but it will depend on how fast the government opens up the airspace and how quickly pilots and mechanics can be trained,” said Jaran during his interview with the magazine in 2014.
In terms of sales for Bell Helicopter, at the time of the interview, Jaran said its top sellers were Bell 407 and Bell 429.
“They are mainly used for corporate and utility purposes,” he said.
In “China Helicopter Operations Update,” his report dated April 16, 2014, Jaran said the country has “approximately 465 civil helicopters.”
Airbus Helicopters, a division of Airbus Group and headquartered in Marignane, France, expressed hopes that China will become its biggest market in the near future, reported Reuters.
“I am pretty sure around 2020, China will be the first market for Airbus Helicopters,” said Norbert Ducrot, the president of Airbus Helicopters China, in 2014.
The company said on its website in 2015 that China “will need 3,000-5,000 helicopters in the next 20 years.”
At the end of 2016, Airbus Helicopters will deliver one H145 light helicopter to the Guangzhou police, who ordered for one in 2015.
Ducrot said that the H145 “will be the first of this type to enter the Chinese market.”
The H145 can transport eight to 10 persons at a time. It is equipped with, according to the company website, “a powerful searchlight, external hoist, rappelling ropes, tactical radio, cargo sling, Bambi Bucket and stretcher.”
A Bambi Bucket is used to deliver water for aerial firefighting.
The company announced on Jan. 13 that the Shaanxi Provincial Public Security Department signed an order for one H155 medium helicopter to be delivered in 2017.
General Dynamic Aero Tech and similarly related companies in the country may consider joining the 2017 Hai Heli-Expo to be held in Dallas, Texas, on March 5-9 and organized by the Helicopter Association International.
Airbus Helicopters participated in the 2016 expo last Feb. 29 to March in Louisiana, Kentucky.
