Dubai Helishow 2012, the premier civil and military helicopter technology and operations exhibition in the Middle East, was inaugurated today by Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, the UAE Minister of Economy, at the Meydan Hotel, Dubai on Tuesday. The event is held under the Patronage of Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Makhtoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The biennial event, organised by the Domus Group and considered the world’s third largest helicopter show, will run from November 6th to 8th 2012. It encompasses two key sectors of helicopter use -Military, Home Land Security and Civil Defence and Air Medical and Rescue Services, with the first day seeing the show’s almost 100 exhibitors network with over 1,500 trade visitors. Key exhibitors at the event include Sikorsky, Russian Helicopters, Hawker Pacific Airservices, Bell Helicopters, Enstrom Helicopter Corporation, Boeing, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, PHI Air Medical, ARMA-Global, Aerogulf, Aviahelp, HR Smith group, Enterprise control systems, and Gulf helicopters. Hawker Pacific, the local supplier of Bell helicopters, has recently closed a deal with Abu Dhabi Aviation for the provision of seven Bell 412EP helicopters, and is looking to avail similar business opportunities at the Helicopter Show. “We see a bright future for the Bell 412 and its variants in the Middle East,” said Alan Parsons, Vice President, Aircraft Sales, Hawker Pacific. Aerogulf, the offshore helicopter oil support expert, is offering its logistics expertise to the Helicopter Show in displaying and co-ordinating helicopter arrivals and timetables, and organising demonstrations of Bell’s 429 and Motor Sich’s Mil-8 helicopters. “It is important for us to have a prominent presence at this event for exploring possible future opportunities worldwide and also to be able to network in the global rotary community,” said Capt. David Butler, Chief Pilot Aerogulf. He added, “We are proud to have been asked by the Helishow organisers to provide ground support and logistic expertise, and it is a pleasure to provide help and support to the visiting exhibitors who have travelled here from far and wide.” Tangent Link is organising conferences featuring international experts concurrent with the event. The first day saw a conference, sponsored by Russian Helicopters, dedicated to High-Rise Firefighting & Rescue” a particularly pertinent issue given the UAE’s towering skyline. Conference proceedings revolved around the fact that conventional rescue above the seventh floor is impossible without helicopter assistance, lending urgency to the operation of such machines in case of emergency. The conference was attended by international emergency services, first responders, civil and government helicopter operators, helicopter and firefighting equipment manufacturers. “I am very pleased with the attention we have managed to bring to the very important topic of high rise rescues. With many millions of people now living in dense high-rise building areas, the issues involved in rescue cannot be left to chance. High-rise incidents lead to loss of life and millions of dollars in damage every year,” said Conference Chairman Admiral Terry Loughran, an experienced helicopter pilot in his own right. On November 7th, will see Loughran chair a conference sponsored by Griffon Aerospace Middle East and Schiebel and Thales, on Heli-borne Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance. The conference investigates this essential element of sovereignty in protecting key economic zones and countering the destabilising effects of piracy, insurgency, human trafficking and terrorism. Day two of the conference will also see Ivan Kristoff, dubbed the new spiderman for his expertise in rope rescues, deliver presentations on Mid Air Rescue Systems (MARS) -the Ultimate Aerial Rescue” and “The Concept of Creating HEART in Dubai.” Abdulla A Abulhoul, Managing Director of Dubai Helishow at the Domus Group said, “We are pleased with the first day of activity and business development at the Dubai Helishow 2012. Our leaders are making investments in ensuring state of the art protection for our economic and state assets while equipping emergency and civil departments with the latest equipment to avoid loss of life in case of disasters.” From Gulf Today