Diversify. & Conquer: national helicopters. August/September 2010

Transcription

1 August/September 2010 USA / Canada $7.99 Diversify & Conquer: national helicopters

2 An AgustaWestland Grand operated by National on behalf of a private customer flies over downtown Toronto, Ont. &Diversify Conquer Toronto area-based National Helicopters is celebrating its 25TH year of operations a testament to THe wisdom of its diverse business model. by Elan Head 54 verticalmag.com August/September

3 below National's diverse contracts include conducting aerial surveys for unexploded ordnance using remote sensing equipment. Doug Christie Photo opposite top left National conducts sightseeing and charter flights in the Niagara Falls region, including Peller Estates Winery. opposite top right National Helicopters vice-president of operations Andrew Dunt, left, and president Dan Munro. opposite bottom National employs 11 engineers and apprentices who look after a diverse fleet. s If one lesson has emerged from the economic downturn, it s that there s strength in diversity. In tough economic times, diversity has been the key to the survival of the helicopter industry as a whole. It has also been the key for individual operators small and medium-sized ones in particular. But there s diversity, and then there s diversity. For National Helicopters, based just north of Toronto, Ont., an unusually high degree of diversification has been the secret to its success. From managing private helicopters to searching for unexploded ordnance, from construction work in Toronto to scenic tours in St. Maarten in the Caribbean, National has demonstrated a unique ability to recognize and pursue extremely diverse business opportunities. And that has put the company in the strong position it s in today, in 2010, when it s celebrating its 25th year in business. Right From the Start We ve always been really diversified, said Dan Munro, president of National Helicopters, who has been with the company for 23 of its 25 years. (Munro is also on the board of directors for the Air Transport Association of Canada, and active within the Helicopter Association of Canada.) He began his career with Toronto Helicopters in 1978, going on to fly Bell 212s and 412s on air ambulance and oil and gas contracts. He also flew Aérospatiale AStars and TwinStars for Air Canada s short-lived airport shuttle service (between Pearson International Airport and downtown Toronto) before joining National in National Helicopters was founded in 1985 with one Bell JetRanger, gradually adding helicopters and types as it picked up contracts and identified various market opportunities. For example, it started out using JetRangers for charter and film work, then acquired a Hughes 500 it used for powerline stringing all over Ontario. ( It was very difficult flying, Munro recalled of the powerline work.) Later, it bought a Bell LongRanger that it used on fire contracts with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. For 10 years, it also operated two Bell 212s on construction jobs, selling the medium twins about two years ago. The [medium] market was very competitive, said Munro. Here in Eastern Canada it s hard to find work for the mediums in the winter time. The company s contracts have taken it far afield sometimes very far. National has worked fire contracts in Australia with one of its 212s. And, for three years, it performed seismic and bird-towing (magnetometer) work We ve always been very flexible. I think that s what appeals to customers we re ready, willing and able to accommodate them in any fashion. 56 verticalmag.com August/September

4 2010 Cobham, plc. All rights reserved. Visit us at AMTC, Oct The HeliSAS will automatically recover to a neutral attitude when the cyclic is released. National operated two Bell 212s on construction jobs for 10 years. Photo courtesy of National Helicopters National's diverse contracts have included ice surveys. Photo courtesy of National Helicopters in Mexico using AStars and Aérospatiale Lamas. All of this flying was performed in some pretty rough territory, and during the revolution fighting in the Mexican state of Chiapas, Munro recalled of the contract work in that country. The Zapatista guerillas under Subcomandante Marcos seized the town of San Cristóbal our crews were flying seismic there. That was very interesting, as we never heard from them for 10 days! Exploring New Directions Today, National s dedicated fleet includes three Robinson R22s, four LongRangers, and three JetRangers. The R22s are used primarily for flight training, while the JetRangers and LongRangers stay busy with a variety of charter, contract and tourism work. Tourism represents a large chunk of National s business (as much as 25 percent, although this is also the sector hardest hit by the economic downturn). National has two sightseeing operations in the province. One is at Ontario Place, an entertainment park near downtown Toronto. The larger operation is across Lake Ontario at Niagara Falls, which can employ as many as three JetRangers during the summer months. Helicopter tourism in Ontario is very much a seasonal business, generally running from May until (Canadian) Thanksgiving in October. A year and a half ago, with an eye toward extending its tourism season, National opened a sightseeing business in St. Maarten (on the Dutch side of the Caribbean island that is shared with France). The operation currently employs one LongRanger, a pilot and a mechanic, but it s something Munro would like to expand not least as a way of keeping pilots happily employed over the winter. Among its more interesting contracts, National has been working with a Tennessee-based company for the past 10 years, conducting aerial surveys for unexploded ordnance. The surveys employ specialized, remote sensing equipment mounted to the helicopter, and generally take place on old military bases, including ones in California, Texas, New Mexico, Florida and Puerto Rico. We ve operated all over the U.S. with this equipment, said Munro. The surveys require the pilot to fly precise lowlevel paths, while recording equipment in the back of the helicopter marks the GPS positions of sensing targets. It s not dangerous, but it does require very skilled piloting. For this work, National might be called out four to six times a year, for one to two months at a time a significant amount of flying for what is certainly a niche market. Managing a Need Founded in Woodbridge, Ont., National Helicopters moved to its current location in Kleinburg, Ont., in (Kleinburg is roughly a 40-minute drive northwest of downtown Toronto, or a 10- to 15-minute helicopter flight.) In the late- 80s, Kleinburg was mostly undeveloped farmland, acreage was plentiful and National s spacious new hangar looked far too large for the company s three humble JetRangers. We thought we were out of our minds, recalled Munro. How times change the area s farmland has been rapidly giving way to new commercial and residential development. Meanwhile, National dramatically expanded its hangar space five years ago, and with that approaching capacity, it s now considering expanding again. While National has expanded its own fleet, most of its facility growth has come in the form of helicopters it manages for others. Its first third-party customer was TransCanada Pipelines, which began contracting with National for hangar space and services 16 years ago. National now works with a variety of corporate, public and private clients, which have filled its hangars with such helicopters as a Bell 430, an AgustaWestland AW109 Grand, a Eurocopter EC 120, a Bell 206L-4 LongRanger and a few Robinson R44s. At press time, a new Bell 429 ordered by a private client was on its way; and, as a Robinson factory-approved dealer, National reported it would be importing one of the first R66 turbine helicopters, on behalf of a long-standing corporate client. National has worked profitably with a number of third-party customers over the years, including law enforcement customers. For over a decade, it has operated police helicopters for such Ontario regional municipalities as York (which has an EC 120) and Durham (which has a JetRanger). National provides the respective police departments with maintenance services, insurance and experienced pilots, who, on average, each have approximately 4,000 flight hours. These police helicopters fly around 1,000 hours a year, almost all of that at night. The programs have developed substantially, explained Munro. Nowadays, they [the police departments] consider the helicopter a mandatory tool. HeliSAS Autopilot and Stability Augmentation System The most important thing we build is trust Safety is all about attitude. HeliSAS can maintain yours. Reduces Pilot Workload. As a two-axis attitude hold, attitude command, flight control system, HeliSAS significantly reduces pilot workload. When engaged, the pilot may perform cockpit functions hands-free. Enhances Flight Stability. As one of HeliSAS two main functions, the Stability Augmentation System (SAS) provides precise control during all modes of flight, regardless of wind conditions or aircraft center of gravity. 2 The HeliSAS control panel is just 5.75 x 0.75 and weighs only 0.53 pounds. 1 Cobham Avionics One S-TEC Way Mineral Wells, TX T: F: sales.mineralwells@cobham.com STC's for Bell 206, Bell 407 & Eurocopter AS350 in process 58 verticalmag.com CAIS440_Vertical_AUG+SEP10_HeliSAS.indd 1 August/September 7/2/10 11: AM 59

5 Although Toronto lacks a police helicopter one of the few major North American cities without one the city can tap the York and Durham aircraft through an equipment-sharing agreement. National also works extensively with Construction Helicopters out of Michigan (see p.18), bringing its Sikorsky S-58Ts and S-61s in for specialized heavy-lift construction jobs. (It uses its own helicopters for smaller construction projects.) National is frequently called upon to lift air conditioning units; on one job, it placed 400 of them on a single shopping mall. Over the past four years or so, National has seen an increasing number of private clients a growth that has mostly come through word of mouth. In addition to the aforementioned hangaring and maintenance services, National can assist clients with importing and modifying their aircraft, and provide pilots or flight training, or both. We ve always been very flexible, said Munro. I think that s what appeals to customers we re ready, willing and able to accommodate them in any fashion. Triple M Metal founder Mike Giampaolo would agree. Giampaolo recently took delivery of a brand-new AgustaWestland Grand, which he intends to use for business (and a bit of pleasure). He s also making the helicopter available through National for private charter. They re very friendly people and they try to help you any way they can, Giampaolo said of National. Flying for the Future A final component of National s business model is its flight school. The company began offering helicopter flight training in 1990 with one Robinson R22; it now has three. While the school does train a significant number of private owners, the majority of its students aspire to be professional pilots, and can come from such faraway countries as China, Croatia or the Dominican Republic. We train a lot of international students here, said Munro. They all seem to want to come to Canada. International students are able to train at National under a student visa, and the company offers limited student housing (in the form of converted apartment spaces in its original hangar). While the flight school is a source of revenue, it s equally important as a source of employees. National employs around 40 full-time staff and about 10 seasonal personnel. Most of its 18 pilots work full time, and when hiring new ones, the company looks to its flight school first. We make a point of hiring our own, always, stressed Andrew Dunt, National s vice-president of operations. I tell every student when they get in here the first day, this is the first day of your interview. That s a selling point for the flight school, because National unlike some dedicated flight schools has plenty of opportunities to put new pilots to work. Many of those opportunities come through its tourism operations. Noted Munro, We re lucky to have the base at Niagara Falls it gives them a really good start. And the benefits run both ways: having the flight school allows National to select the cream of the crop as new hires, and to oversee their training from the ground up. The combination of talent and training found in National s employees is what Munro credits for the company s clean accident record on the operations side of the house. We have a very good staff here, said Munro. We ve done a lot of work over the years without an accident. Training receives particular emphasis here. At any given time, it s a safe bet at least one National pilot is busy training whether it s a police pilot undergoing advanced training in autorotations in Penticton, B.C., or a senior pilot doing conversion training at the Bell Helicopter Training Academy in Forth Worth, Texas. The company s 11 engineers and apprentices are not let off the hook either, since National s designation as a Bell service center comes with its own extensive training requirements. Going forward, according to Munro, National would like to leverage its comprehensive maintenance capabilities to pick up additional maintenance contracts. On the flying side, it will continue to expand its tourism work, and may look at expanding its flight school as well. Of course, if its track record is any indication, National Helicopters will also continue to remain open to a variety of diverse business opportunities others might overlook. That s what has seen it through the ups and downs of 25 years of economic cycles, and what should see it through the next 25 years. Elan Head is an FAA Gold Seal flight instructor with helicopter and instrument helicopter ratings. She holds commercial helicopter licenses in the U.S., Canada and Australia, and is also an award-winning journalist who has written for a diverse array of magazines and newspapers since the late-1990s. opposite top Tourism work, including scenic tours of Niagara Falls, make up about 25 percent of National's business. opposite bottom left National operates two police helicopters under contract. Bruce Buck Photo opposite bottom right National expanded its facilities five years ago, and is now considering expanding again. above left The company's flight school is a valuable source of new employees. Photo courtesy of National Helicopters above right Like its pilots, National's engineers and apprentices must undergo regular training. 60 verticalmag.com August/September