A HELICOPTER meet will mark the 60th anniversary of the Cierva Skeeter’s maiden flight. The event will be held on 3 August in Eastleigh, near Southampton, where the helicopter was built. The local borough council is holding the meet, which will feature aircraft from the past plus more recent examples.The Skeeter was the first British-designed, British-built helicopter to enter service, and organisers have managed to attract three original S ... more

Faster, new helicopters operated by CHC under private contractTHE first two of three brand new AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters have arrived at the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency’s new state-of-the-art hangar at Lee-On-Solent.The aircraft, G-CGIJ and G-SARD, have been specially configured for search and rescue ops (SAR). They arrived during March and will be used primarily on the south coast. The crews immediately went into training wi ... more

First woman to receive DFCFLIGHT Lieutenant Michelle Goodman of the RAF is the first woman to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). She won the medal for her actions and leadership on 1 June 2007, as a Merlin AW101 aircraft commander of an Incident Reaction Team (IRT), based at Basra Air Station in Iraq.The official release says: At 23:15 hours on 1 June, Flt Lt Goodman was alerted that there was a serious casualty following a mort ... more

WELL-known industry expert Nick Lappos has been poached by Bell Helicopters to head up its XworX Research & Development dept.Lappos spent 32 years at arch-rival Sikorsky, helping to develop aircraft such as the S-92 and S-76, before leaving in 2005 to join Gulfstream. Lappos’ appointment is part of the reorganization plan of chief executive Richard Millman, who was brought in a year ago to shake up the company. Lappos has been a vocal ... more

 “YOU can’t do that with a helicopter!” That’s the usual reaction to seeing the Red Bull Aerobatic Helicopter Display. It will perform at this year’s EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2008 for the first time. Red Bull’s BO-105 CBS helicopter, a stock Bolkow, is flown by Chuck Aaron, the only pilot licensed in the US to fly aerobatics in a helicopter.His performances feature aerobatic manoeuvres achieved previously only in fixed-wing air ... more

PATRIOT Aviation has bought CSE Aircraft Sales. CSE had been forced to close earlier this year due to upheaval at its Oxford airport base.Scores of CSE staff were made redundant in February after CSE’s parent failed to agree terms with the new owners of Oxford airport.That meant the Cessna sales arm, one of only two Cessna Sales Team Authorised Representatives in the UK would also close. But Patriot Aviation has stepped in and snapped up th ... more

Lancair Evolution turboprop makes historic maiden flight in States.ONE of the most anticipated selfbuilds ever broke cover in the US last month when the sleek Lancair Evolution turboprop made its first flight in Oregon. The four seater carried with it the hopes of the entire Lancair factory as it set off from Roberts field in Redmond, Oregon on its maiden 30-minute flight in the hands of test pilot Len Fox.The plane is no ordinary self-build, ... more

BRIT Paul Bonhomme - now writing an exclusive column for LOOP - is dominating qualifying for the first round of the 2008 Red Bull World Air Race Series, being held in Abu Dhabi this weekend.Bonhomme has set an amazing time of 1min 3.95sec round the Abu Dhabi seafront course, well ahead of his nearest rival, American Kirby Chambliss, who posted a best a best of 1min 7.25sec - a staggering 3.3 seconds behind.Defending champion Mike Mangold (U ... more