• Eagle Single Bell 212 twin-to-single conversion. (Eagle Copters)
    Eagle Single Bell 212 twin-to-single conversion. (Eagle Copters)
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Exhibition space for the Australian Helicopter Industry Association's (AHIA) Rotortech 2016 has been completely sold out.

The annual expo for the helicopter industry will be held at the Novotel Twin Waters Resort on the Sunshine Coast from 27-29 May.

With all 50 booths and floorspace now subscribed, AHIA has had to explore options for expansion. Two companies are already on the waiting list should any booth holders cancel.

One option is for a large marquee to be erected on the grassed area allocated currently for helicopter parking. Doing so would reduce the parking capacity from 35 aircraft to 30.

According to AHIA, international companies account for nearly 50% of the exhibition space, with the USA, New Zealand and Canada leading the way.

With the exhibition being held only a short distance from Sunshine Coast Airport at Maroochydore, AHIA says it has been negotiating with airport operators for special concessions for helicopters coming into Rotortech 2016.

The success of Rotortech comes in spite of a flattening market in the helicopter industry.

In April last year, AHIA noted that after 20 years of 7-8% annual growth, industry expansion slowed to a mere 0.62% for the June 2014 to April 2015 period.

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association also reported a 6% decrease in helicopter shipments for the first three quarters of 2015 compared with the same period in 2014.

Rotortech 2016 is sponsored by Eagle Copters Australasia, Aviall and Onboard Systems International.

 

 

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