21 Independent Service Centres 8 Independent Distributors 4 Independent Service Centres 2 Independent Distributors ØSTNES HELICOPTERS AIRBUS HELICOPTERS IN ITALIA INTERNATIONAL AIRCRAFT SERVICES (IAS) In their words A sampling of Airbus Helicopters’ network of service and customer centres tell Rotor what it means to be close to customers, especially during times like the current pandemic. Article: Heather Couthaud America America “Proximity to customers is important” “We’re a one-stop shop for operators in the Nordics who would otherwise have to rely on various companies for their fleet’s needs. We offer spare parts and components, but also base maintenance, new and second-hand helicopters, even leasing. Proximity to customers is important because we know the area and the culture, be it language or the most efficient way to do things. We had an AOG with an EMS helicopter in a remote part of Norway and we just put the tech rep and tools on the bus to get up there. To go from being a sales agent to being responsible for the whole value chain is a big step for us. During COVID, we established our Part 145 business in record time, even around the constraints. Recruitment was virtual. We hired three technicians, and a technical manager from Iceland, who had to build up everything from his home office. That made it harder but we managed, and today we are doing delivery 3 out of the service centre.” Frode Østnes, Leif Salomonsen, and Stine Østnes, founding and executive team at Østnes Helicopters ØSTNES HELICOPTERS Supports: range of operators, mainly utility, in the European Nordic region Partner with Airbus since: late 1995 as sales agent; 2020 as distributor and service centre Marius Johansen, Executive Director of Scandair, explains the inspiration behind his company’s modified truck, used for spraying lime on lakes. “We asked what was the most essential thing we had and that’s the helicopter, so it was important it didn’t have to wait to get material. We manufacture things that are so good it doesn’t matter how fast operations go, there should always be a new bucket of material available.” They have to be efficient to drop some 30 slings per hour of lime on Scandinavia’s lakes as part of the region’s environmental upkeep. Material distribution, as it’s called, helps offset factors like a too-low pH value in lakes that have been polluted by acid rain. In 2010, with a sole H125, Scandair got its start contracting with a lime producer working for the Swedish government to spray lime on lakes. They gradually took on contracts for private- and government-owned forest holders, dropping fertiliser and wood ash on forests. This year, they will carry out approximately 60,000 sling loads with their three (soon to be four) H125 helicopters. With a sling and a bucket… The lime is driven out to the site in big bags before the helicopter arrives. When Scandair’s team of a pilot and two ground crew gets there, their crane driver fills a silo on their customised truck with around six tonnes of lime. From that, a screw fills two drop buckets equipped with a hook for the H125’s sling. “When you have sprayed, you can just fly back, make the exchange with a full bucket, and go,” says Johansen. They carry out lime drops year round, flying above the surface and spraying a radius of 10 metres at a time. “Our customers measure the acidity of lakes around five times a year to keep track,” says Johansen. “With some, they want us to put the lime on top of the ice so when it melts it mixes with the polluted snow on the lake. Most customers want it done in the summer so it can mix directly.” They also drop clean wood ash on young forests as part of the region’s policy of putting back in the soil the nutrients taken away by logging. This work must be done in the growing season, so Scandair’s forest work usually starts up in May when the snow has melted and continues until August. A hard working fleet Scandair manufactures its own equipment, including a GPS-controlled bucket system. This means the pilot at the controls of the H125 simply focuses on flying a slow 50 knots while the GPS automatically signals the bucket when to make a drop and how much, depending on speed. At an average of 700 flight hours per helicopter per year, the fleet is one of the hardest working in the area, considering the company also helps out with fire fighting when there’s a need. “We have ordered 16 new helicopters in 10 years,” says Johansen. “We have a high cycle consumption, so it gets expensive if we keep them for too long.” The volume of work for Scandair’s seven pilots hasn’t diminished with the pandemic. And as long as the environment needs a boost, this niche industry may become mainstream. “Airbus has always supported IAS as a maintenance centre” “Our maintenance services support both our own fleet and external clients. To this aim we employ 15 full-time technicians who primarily maintain our 12 company aircraft. In addition, they also do line maintenance for institutional and private customers in the region. This is due to our reactivity, and geographic proximity. By means of illustration, we had a contract with a West African government for two Dauphins, a police helicopter and one for the president, which guaranteed our support on a 24/7 basis. During the time of IAS’s maintenance contract, the presidential helicopter was able to fly more than 300 flight hours in one year’s time. In a similar way, last year one of our own onshore Dauphin flew 1,200 hours in one year. Its unavailability due to unscheduled maintenance of just five days was an achievement, considering its work under very hard conditions with sand and heat. These are illustrations of the adaptation of maintenance to local conditions and constraints and performances achieved. Airbus has always supported IAS as a maintenance centre. It has been sensitive to the needs of our company. On a commercial level, we appreciate that they’ve shown good stability over the long term.” Hugues Moreau, IAS Managing Director INTERNATIONAL AIRCRAFT SERVICES (IAS) Supports: West Africa doing aerial work, onshore and offshore public transport, and line maintenance of its fleet and under individual contracts Partner with Airbus since: first aircraft 1995; Airbus Helicopters regional maintenance centre since 2014 Marius Johansen, Executive Director of Scandair, explains the inspiration behind his company’s modified truck, used for spraying lime on lakes. “We asked what was the most essential thing we had and that’s the helicopter, so it was important it didn’t have to wait to get material. We manufacture things that are so good it doesn’t matter how fast operations go, there should always be a new bucket of material available.” They have to be efficient to drop some 30 slings per hour of lime on Scandinavia’s lakes as part of the region’s environmental upkeep. Material distribution, as it’s called, helps offset factors like a too-low pH value in lakes that have been polluted by acid rain. In 2010, with a sole H125, Scandair got its start contracting with a lime producer working for the Swedish government to spray lime on lakes. They gradually took on contracts for private- and government-owned forest holders, dropping fertiliser and wood ash on forests. This year, they will carry out approximately 60,000 sling loads with their three (soon to be four) H125 helicopters. With a sling and a bucket… The lime is driven out to the site in big bags before the helicopter arrives. When Scandair’s team of a pilot and two ground crew gets there, their crane driver fills a silo on their customised truck with around six tonnes of lime. From that, a screw fills two drop buckets equipped with a hook for the H125’s sling. “When you have sprayed, you can just fly back, make the exchange with a full bucket, and go,” says Johansen. They carry out lime drops year round, flying above the surface and spraying a radius of 10 metres at a time. “Our customers measure the acidity of lakes around five times a year to keep track,” says Johansen. “With some, they want us to put the lime on top of the ice so when it melts it mixes with the polluted snow on the lake. Most customers want it done in the summer so it can mix directly.” They also drop clean wood ash on young forests as part of the region’s policy of putting back in the soil the nutrients taken away by logging. This work must be done in the growing season, so Scandair’s forest work usually starts up in May when the snow has melted and continues until August. A hard working fleet Scandair manufactures its own equipment, including a GPS-controlled bucket system. This means the pilot at the controls of the H125 simply focuses on flying a slow 50 knots while the GPS automatically signals the bucket when to make a drop and how much, depending on speed. At an average of 700 flight hours per helicopter per year, the fleet is one of the hardest working in the area, considering the company also helps out with fire fighting when there’s a need. “We have ordered 16 new helicopters in 10 years,” says Johansen. “We have a high cycle consumption, so it gets expensive if we keep them for too long.” The volume of work for Scandair’s seven pilots hasn’t diminished with the pandemic. And as long as the environment needs a boost, this niche industry may become mainstream. “First-class helicopter maintenance services” “In Italy for over 50 years, Aersud Elicotteri – and later, Airbus Helicopters in Italia – succeeded in highlighting the quality of Airbus Helicopters production, obtaining 60% of the civil market share. Beside the sales activity provided by our customer centre, our service centre – Helicopters Italia – provides first-class helicopter maintenance services. It is one of the two centres in Europe, and the only one in Italy, authorised to carry out level 3 maintenance activities on Safran Helicopter engines, and is qualified to carry out all base maintenance tasks, including structural repairs on the airframe. Being present on site allows us to be closer to the needs of customers and meet their expectations. During the total lockdown of the pandemic, we managed to keep our activity open to meet customers’ needs.” Alexandre Ceccacci, General Manager AIRBUS HELICOPTERS IN ITALIA Supports: fire fighting and aerial work, emergency medical services and private and business aviation operators in Italy Partner with Airbus since: 1963, as Aersud Elicotteri