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Era Group Begins S92 Flight Operations

Revenue Flights Began Tuesday Over The Gulf Of Mexico

U.S. helicopter transport operator Era Group has placed into service its first Sikorsky S92 heavy helicopter in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The first revenue flight occurred Tuesday as flight operations commenced under a contract with a large independent oil and gas company.

Bell Helicopter Seals Deal With AMGH

Company Will Acquire Eight Bell 206L-4s

Bell Helicopter has secured the sale of eight Bell 206L-4s to Air Medical Group Holdings (AMGH). AMGH is one of the largest independent providers of helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) in the world, and the aircraft will be configured for HEMS missions and operated by Air Evac Lifeteam, an AMGH subsidiary. Deliveries are scheduled to begin next year.

CALSTAR Places Order For Five H135 Rotorcraft

First U.S. Air Medical Transport Service To Order The Aircraft

California Shock Trauma and Rescue (CALSTAR) has ordered five H135 air medical helicopters. CALSTAR is the first U.S. customer for this significantly improved and updated variant of the most popular twin-engine helicopter chosen by air medical transport service operators.

FAA To Move Forward On UAS Registration Policy

DOT Secretary Foxx Restates Position On Agency Blog

The FAA will move forward with the policy announced Monday to register nearly every drone sold in the U.S., according to a blog post attributed to DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx.

Aviation Consultant Says Drone Registration Is A Band-Aid At Best

At Worst, JDA Aviation Says It Is The Waste Of An Opportunity To Address A Real Problem

Monday's announcement of a task force that will craft rules for registering UAVs will create a lot of activity, but not a lot of action, according to aviation consultant JDA Solutions. And in a post on the company blog, writer Sandy Murdock says that the registration scheme is at best a "band-aid", and at worst may waste an opportunity to address a problem that actually exists.