Cotati, Calif. (Marin Independent Journal) - The Marin-Sonoma Mosquito and Vector Control District to use helicopter to fog for mosquito larvae at McInnis Park in San Rafael and Deer Island Basin.

The Scotsman - Boasting a fearsome armoury, the new state-of the-art helicopter is the Royal Navy's latest recruit which will play a vital role in protecting its fleet around the world.

Alexandria, La. (San Francisco Chronicle) — A Sikes man has been sentenced to more than three years for shooting at a Louisiana Army National Guard helicopter during a drug surveillance operation.

The Telegraph - The Royal Air Force will be commanded by a helicopter pilot for the first time in its 95-year history. Air Marshal Sir Andrew Pulford will become Chief of the Air Staff in a shake-up of senior Armed Forces posts, the first non-fighter pilot to hold the job. The Royal Navy will also have a new chief, as Admiral Sir George Zambellas becomes First Sea Lord, a former helicopter pilot and frigate captain.

Press TV - Iran's Khajeh Nasir Toosi University of Technology is building an indigenous eight-seat helicopter which will be unveiled in the next two years.

Shippensburg, Pa. (The Evening Sun) - Adams Electric is to begin its 2013 aerial inspections by patrolling critical overhead distribution lines and equipment, including lines in the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Sandy last fall. The patrols are scheduled to begin in the Shippensburg area and then proceed to the Gettysburg area and then to the York area.

National Defense Magazine - If the U.S. Army decides to hold a competition to replace its aging Kiowa Warrior scout helicopter fleet, the earliest the defense industry could expect to see a request for proposals is the summer of 2014.

Bangalore, India (The Times of India) -  Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is set to release the weaponized version of Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), Rudra, at the Aero India 2013, to be held in the second week of February in Bangalore.

fallschurch.patch.com - Helicopters are being used as part of a radiation assessment by the National Nuclear Security Administration. They began flying over the northern Virginia area Dec. 27, measuring naturally occurring radiation. The flights will continue until Jan. 11 during daylight hours only.

Derbyshire, England (Ripley and Heanor News) - The police helicopter crew helped arrest 136 crime suspects in Derbyshire between January 1 and December 1 2012. During the same period, the crews searched for 134 missing people, traced 29 stolen or suspect vehicles and airlifted four casualties to hospital.

New Delhi (DefenseNews) - India has contracted weapons purchases worth around $3 billion from Russia during Russian President Vladmir Putin’s Dec. 24 visit to New Delhi.

PRWeb - According to new report 'Global Civil Helicopter Market 2013-2023: Commercial Prospects for Rotorcraft,' the value of the global civil helicopter market in 2013 will hit $3.69bn.

Russia Beyond the Headlines - Russia's Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Yuri Slyusar, recently announced that the state program for the promotion of the aviation industry was approved by the government in November and will be adopted by the end of the year.

Kent, England (BBC News) - A boy has been charged after a laser pen was shone at a helicopter as its crew helped search for an injured man near Hersden in Kent.

Calgary, Canada (Calgary Herald) - Senior oilsands producer Cenovus Energy Inc. reveals that a pilot program to use a helicopter and an experimental lightweight rig to drill stratigraphic test wells is working so well it is building a second rig to put to work next year.

Reuters - The Pentagon has backed the U.S. Air Force's handling of a $6.8 billion helicopter competition, but says it may have to use other tools to ensure a good price after five of the six potential bidders pulled out.

Los Angeles Times - John D. Silva was the chief engineer for KTLA-TV in 1958 when he outfitted a Bell helicopter with a TV camera and changed television news coverage forever. His "Telecopter" was the first of its kind and remains a staple of local television news stations to this day, along with the mobile unit he also had a hand in developing.

New Delhi, India (The Economic Times) - The Indian gvernment has decided to allow the Army to have its own heavy duty attack helicopter fleet, Defence Minister A K Antony has said.

helimx.com - The International Helicopter Safety Team (IHST), a worldwide organization leading a multi-year effort to enhance safety and reduce the civil helicopter accident rate, has added Robinson Helicopter Company President Kurt Robinson to its Executive Committee.

dailytech.com - The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center recently conducted a demonstration test of a specially equipped JUH-60A BLACK HAWK helicopter that needs no pilots to land, fly, and avoid threats.

Aviation Week - As it draws up requirements for an advanced rotorcraft to replace its Sikorsky UH-60 BLACK HAWK helicopters after 2030, the U.S. Army wants to demonstrate configurations capable of speeds up to 230 kt. — 50 percent faster than today's helicopters.

Waterford, Conn. (The Day) — With the precision of a surgeon and the finesse of a tailor, a helicopter hovered about 100 feet above the ground on Boston Post Road, pulling and threading nylon rope into a pulley mounted on new high-voltage towers.

Cumberland, Md. (Cumberland Times-News) - Hundreds of people have been rescued and scores of lives saved by helicopter crews led by David Cooper, a military and police pilot who is stepping out of uniform after more than 40 years of service. Cooper retired Dec. 1 after outstanding careers in both the Maryland State Police and the U.S. Coast Guard. His latest service was a state police pilot for Trooper 5 in Cumberland.

Reuters - The U.S. Defense Department may fund initial work on a new military helicopter in a year or two to preserve the industry's critical design capabilities for that sector.

Sydney, Australia (The Sydney Morning Herald) - A man has pleaded guilty to pointing a laser at a helicopter in south-west Sydney, temporarily disorientating the pilot.

HeliHub - Staff and helicopters of UTair Aviation were evacuated from the airport of Goma (DRC) due to a conflict in the region. Within a few hours after taking off from Goma, the city was seized by armed rebels.

newlaunches.com - Japan’s Hirobo in Hiroshima Perfecture may be introducing their single-passenger helicopter by 2021, which will be used in times of emergencies and disasters.

AINonline - Some aircraft fulfill their missions so well that they seem to last almost forever. The Sikorsky S-61/H-3 Sea King helicopter, the prototype of which made its first flight way back in 1959, appears on its way to achieving this "never die" status.

Dyfed-Powys, Wales (BBC News) - Both candidates in the Dyfed-Powys police commissioner election want the force to keep its helicopter. The force, geographically the largest in England and Wales, faces losing the aircraft in 2014 under plans for a national service.

One day before the U.S. House of Representatives was slated to clear a bill shielding U.S. airlines from compliance with the European Commission's EU emissions trading scheme, news leaked that the EU plan for non-EU airlines has been placed on hold for a year.

Dalton, Ga. (The Daily Citizen) - The 10 spinning saw blades suspended from a helicopter hovering over a treeline easily strike through the limbs and branches in their path.

Aztec, N.M. (The Daily Times) - The San Juan County Sheriff's Office has had a helicopter since 2001. It is the only police helicopter in hundreds of miles, the next closest is in Albuquerque. The air support unit's role in local law enforcement has been steadily increasing, especially in the last four years because the unit has shortened its response time and received additional training and equipment.

Flightglobal - North Sea helicopter operators are scrabbling to acquire additional aircraft as they struggle to cope with the effective grounding of certain Eurocopter Super Puma types following a controlled ditching of an EC225 on 22 October.

Like everyone else that bore the brunt of Hurricane Sandy, helicopter operators in the New York and New Jersey area are cleaning up in the wake of the storm. Many HAI members have reported sustaining significant personal property damage. As they deal with their immediate personal needs, many — understandably — have not yet had an opportunity to assess the storm’s impact on their businesses.

R³ Engineering LLC announces the first ADS-B based, fully autonomous collision avoidance sequence, executed by a sense and avoid system installed on an unmanned aircraft system.

Suffolk, England (EADT24) - The very first helicopter operation of its kind in the UK - with technicians flown in by hoist to provide maintenance for the giant turbines at the offshore wind farm.

The Seminole County Sheriff's Office says its helicopter pilots had to stop pursuing a burglary suspect because they were blinded by a laser pointer aimed at them from the ground.

United Technologies Corporation's flight department recently received a Certificate of Registration from the International Business Aviation Council for the second stage of the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operation (IS-BAO).

AVweb - NASA is considering the creation of an Unmanned Aircraft challenge with the goal of finding solutions to problems involved in integrating drones into the U.S. National Airspace.

Waco, Texas (wacotrib.com) - A man faces a misdemeanor charge after shining a bright spotlight on a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter.

Frederick, Md. (your4state.com) - A helicopter touched down for the first time on Oct. 12 for a test landing at Frederick Memorial Hospital's new helipad. Those at the hospital hope the helipad will make it easier to care for patients.

San Bernardino, Calif. (redlands.patch.com) - San Bernardino County sheriff's helicopter crews identify scores of private properties in and near Redlands and Loma Linda that pose a West Nile risk due to untended swimming pools, ponds and stagnant water where mosquitoes may be breeding.

Los Angeles, Calif. (Los Angeles Times) - A 20-year-old man was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Oct. 10 after pleading no contest to shooting at a Los Angeles police helicopter over Van Nuys and forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing.

(Rotor & Wing) - The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has informed Congress that Indonesia wants to buy Boeing AH-64D Apaches - a deal worth an estimated $1.4 billion.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) cut its global growth forecast on Tuesday for the second time since April, and warned U.S. and European policymakers that failure to fix their economic ills would prolong the slump. "A key issue is whether the global economy is just hitting another bout of turbulence in what was always expected to be a slow and bumpy recovery or whether the current slowdown has a more lasting component," it said.

(Portland Business Journal) - Erickson Air Crane has bought back one of its S-64 Air Cranes from San Diego Gas & Electric, in order to allow Erickson's aerial services to pursue business in markets such as oil, gas and powerline construction in South America.

(This Is Cornwall-Polyphant, U.K.) - With no ground units in the vicinity, a police helicopter operating in Cornwall, England, landed so that the two Air Observers aboard could get out and detain two suspects from a high speed chase.

Itajuba, Brazil (DefenseNews.com) - Eurocopter's Brazilian subsidiary, Helibras, on Tuesday inaugurated a new plant that will assemble helicopters for the armed forces by 2017.

AINonline - Helicopter EMS provider Air Evac Lifeteam has entered the third level of the FAA's safety management system voluntary pilot project. Air Evac has 110 bases in 15 states and has been enrolled in the pilot project since February 2010.

New Delhi (The Financial Express) - The Indian Coast Guard's plan to boost its maritime surveillance capabilities will have to wait as the defence ministry has scrapped its tender to procure 16 light helicopters.

Rotorhub - The Royal Navy's new upgraded Merlin Mk2 anti-submarine warfare helicopter has conducted its first shipborne operations.

Gurnos, Wales (walesonline.co.uk) - A Merthyr Tydfil man has been cautioned after he was caught shooting a high-powered laser pen at a South & East Wales Police Air Support Unit helicopter.

Grants Pass, Ore. (oregonlive.com) - Court records made public Sept. 25 show that a new search of an Oregon defense contractor accused of providing phony helicopter and truck parts to the military was prompted by testimony from a purchasing agent who is helping investigators.

Chicago, Ill. (Chicago Tribune) - Officers hovering overhead in a Chicago Police helicopter spotted a band of suspected burglars breaking through the roof of a retail clothing store on the far South Side.

Jakarta Globe - The United States said Sept. 20 it will sell Indonesia eight AH-64/D Apache helicopters to strengthen security ties with the largest country in Southeast Asia.

Wilkes-Barre and Scranton, Pa. (The Sacramento Bee) - Saker Aviation Services, Inc., an aviation services company specializing in ground-based services to the general aviation marketplace, has been named as the Eastern Region Helicopter Council Heliport of the Year at that organization's annual meeting.

Boston, Mass. (necn.com) — One of the three Boston MedFlight helicopters has been grounded due to mechanical problems. The helicopter is not blocking the other two from using the roof of the trauma center.

Wings, Wheels and Rotors 2012 will take place on Sunday, October 28, from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. at the Los Alamitos Army Airfield, Los Alamitos, Orange County, Calif.

Princeton, N.J. (The Landmark) - The town common will be filled with members of fire departments from at least eight surrounding towns Sept. 18 as the Princeton Fire Department hosts a regional session for Life Flight safety training.

HeliHub - Bond Offshore Helicopters’ clinical lead, Dr. Mark Bloch, gives insight into the critical work of paramedics on search and rescue (SAR) helicopters, and the challenges they face working in extreme conditions offshore.

Rotor & Wing Magazine - The UTair Training Center, located in Tyumen — one of the most important industrial and economic centers east of the Urals and a vast oil-rich region stretching from the Kazakh border to the Arctic — is recognized throughout the industry for its high level of professionalism and commitment to safety and excellence.

infopackets.com - A group of researchers at China's Zhejiang University have used fast-emerging 'thought-control' technology to successfully launch a helicopter into the air and have it perform a controlled series of maneuvers.

SanteePatch - A helicopter capable of dropping more than 10 tons of water at a time will be available over the next several months to help fight area wildfires, according to San Diego Gas & Electric.

RIA Novosti - Russia has delivered the next batch of Mi-35M Hind E attack helicopters to Brazil and will complete the contract by the end of the year.

Russian Helicopters has received initial credit ratings from two global credit-rating agencies, Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service. The outlooks on both ratings are stable.

Avionics Today - The ubiquitous navigation system has more worldwide users than ever, but safety and security concerns have insiders looking beyond the current network.

Waikato, New Zealand (stuff.co.nz) - Westpac Waikato Air Ambulance operator the Philips Search & Rescue Trust has renewed all of its principal sponsorships in Hamilton, Taupo, Tauranga and Rotorua.

Landover, Md. (Baltimore Business Journal) - Students on the Gamera human-powered helicopter team at the University of Maryland's A. James Clark School of Engineering have unofficially satisfied two of the three American Helicopter Society Sikorsky Prize competition requirements with a flight that unofficially lasted 65 seconds, stayed within a 10 square meter area and hovered at two feet of altitude. This flight also establishes new unofficial U.S. and world flight duration records.

Rotorhub - The United States Marine Corps has flown its last CH-53D Sea Stallion sorties in Afghanistan, marking the end of its Marine Corps service.
 

San Francisco, Calif. (The Examiner) - Research copters owned by the federal government will conduct daytime flyovers in The City, Oakland and Pacifica; at times, the twin-engine Bell 412 will hover just 300 feet above the ground.

Winnipeg (Times Colonist) - Manitoba RCMP have joined the growing list of police forces using tiny, remote-controlled helicopters as eyes in the sky. The one-metre-long devices come equipped with high-definition cameras that can stream video and photographs to officers on the ground. They give the Mounties a bird's-eye view of traffic accident and crime scenes.

HeliHub - The Honourable Keith Ashfield, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans; and the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services, announce that the Government of Canada is setting the stage for the purchase of new helicopters for the Canadian Coast Guard.

Joint Forces Training Base aircrews have reported several incidents of ground-to-air laser interference with aircraft.

Penzance, England (Falmouth Packet) - The future of Penzance's helicopter links to the Isles of Scilly looks secure after Tesco announced it has withdrawn its opposition for a new British International Helicopters site in the town.

Yorktown Heights, N.Y. (yorktown-somers.patch.com) - A hearing on a proposed helicopter landing pad at an IBM research center in Yorktown drew criticism of noise generated by a variety of helicopters but little other comment. IBM responded that its pilots do not fly as low as some other helicopters and that the corporation practices the Fly Neighborly Program developed by the Helicopter Association International, which seeks to reduce noise through a combination of culture and pilot technique.

Flightglobal - Among the operational entities deployed in the war in Afghanistan, civilian transport helicopters are relatively ignored - but in ferrying men, supplies and equipment to outlying regions 365 days of the year, they provide logistical air support to the fight against the Taliban.

Flying Magazine - Eurocopter is working on two new helicopter projects – the X6, a revamped model to be developed from the Super Puma family, and the X9, a project just now getting under way at the company’s factory in Donauwörth, Germany.

Blackburn, England (thisislancashire.co.uk) - A teenager put lives at risk when he shone a laser light into the cockpit of a police helicopter. But the hunter became the hunted after the pilot took evasive action and then tracked the car from which the light was shone until officers on the ground could move in and make an arrest.

County Durham, England (The Northern Echo) - A man has been arrested after a laser pen was shone at a police helicopter near the Arnison Centre on the outskirts of Durham City.

New Delhi (Times of India) - A more than six year-old tender of the Navy to procure multirole helicopters would be further delayed as the two participating vendors in the deal have been asked to extend the validity of their proposals for six more months.

Great Falls, Mont. (krtv.com) - Lots of people in Great Falls have noticed a red helicopter overhead this week, wondering if it is Mercy Flight rushing to a medical emergency. Fortunately, the mission of this helicopter is pure fun: helping Montana State Fair attendees get a sky-high view of Big Sky Country.

AIN - A global team of research organizations is quietly working on an active rotor blade in which distributed piezo-electric actuators can change blade twist almost continuously over the course of one blade revolution.

The Pennsylvania State University presents its 45th Annual Comprehensive Short Course in Rotary-Wing Technology at the Days Inn Penn State — State College, Pa., from Aug. 13–17, 2012.

Brevard County, Fla. (floridatoday.com) - Brevard County by next summer will have two new weapons in its battle against mosquitoes. The County Commission has authorized the purchase of two new helicopters for use by Brevard County Mosquito Control.

BBC News - Three companies are to compete for contracts to provide search and rescue helicopter services in the UK. The winner, or winners, would take over roles provided by the Royal Navy and RAF.

Women in Aviation, International and Learning for Life join forces to promote aviation careers among youth from kindergarten to high school. A feature of the 2013 International Women in Aviation Conference will be a day devoted to girls 10 to 17 years old with a repeat of "Take Your Daughter to the Conference Day."

Flightglobal - The UK Ministry of Defence plans to complete a capability concept demonstrator programme by March 2015 to investigate the utility of equipping the Royal Navy with a rotary-wing unmanned air system post-2020.

Beijing (Aviation Week) - Avicopter sees itself becoming one of the world's great helicopter makers, alongside the likes of Eurocopter. A rather large obstacle stands in its way, however: Western countries, the world's largest helicopter markets, do not recognize Chinese rotorcraft certifications.

Charleston, S.C. (WCIV) – A Charleston based U.S. Coast guard crew was forced to land abruptly while they were searching for a distressed boater when laser lights were shone into the cockpit of the helicopter from shore.

CBS - During her 25 year career, Lorry Faber has flown the President of the United States overseas, taken dignitaries to and from Washington D.C. and hovered over Mount Fuji in a helicopter.

Stars and Stripes - Retired New York Army National Guard CWO 4 Herbert Dargue was called backed to his former unit last month. Dargue, who began service as combat helicopter pilot beginning with the Vietnam War and retired 43 years later in 2010, received a belated Meritorious Service Medal and a special souvenir, a customized pilot helmet with illustrations that commemorate his Vietnam War and Iraq combat service.

Amarillo, Texas (Amarillo Globe-News) - Amarillo’s economic engine keeps fueling one of the city’s true success stories, and the payoff is returning enormous dividends to the community. At issue is a $4.2-million deal struck by the Amarillo Economic Development Corp. with Bell Helicopter, which will build 525 helicopters at Bell’s ever-growing plant adjacent to Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport.

Houston, Texas (chron.com) - Cutbacks in the Houston Police Department's helicopter operations have prompted concerns that an officer or resident could pay the ultimate price for the limited presence of the aircraft in the skies over the sprawling city.

defense-aerospace.com - Despite some technical shortcomings, Korea has given the green light for the production of Surion utility helicopters ㅡ the nation's first locally developed rotary-wing aircraft ㅡ for the military.

The National Transportation Safety Board will host a two-day forum July 17-18, 2012, to examine ways to improve the likelihood of rescue following a general aviation accident. The forum will look at ways to aid searchers and improve the survival chances for downed pilots and passengers.

On Wednesday, June 27, 2012, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) published the final report and recommendations from the Unleaded Avgas Transition Aviation Rulemaking Committee (UAT ARC), which studied the challenges associated with the transition to an unleaded fuel to replace 100LL and made recommendations necessary to facilitate the development and deployment of an unleaded fuel with the least impact on the existing piston-engine aircraft fleet. The transition may still be years away, but this report charts a roadmap that identifies the essential elements that need to be addressed to make this happen in a way that maintains safety and the role government should play in minimizing the total cost.

Above Lonesome Lake, N.H. (The Washington Post) - Some New Hampshire ponds and lakes are so remote, the only way anglers can get to them is by hiking for miles through the woods. But the fish? They arrive by helicopter.

Aero-News Network - A team of A. James Clark School of Engineering students will fly their new human-powered helicopter, Gamera II. The team expects flights lasting longer than 60 seconds, a major step towards competing for the Sikorsky Prize offered by the American Helicopter Society.

Niagara Falls, N.Y. (YNN) — A helicopter from Pennsylvania towed the wire across the Niagara Gorge for Wallenda's walk Friday night.

Dallas Business Journal - To retain top talent, Bell Helicopter needed to expand its Fort Worth headquarters. And to retain Bell Helicopter, the City of Fort Worth had to make a deal.

Williamsport, Pa. (Williamsport Sun-Gazette) - The loss of the state police aviation unit at the Williamsport Regional Airport deals a severe blow to the region's law enforcement capabilities, according to testimony June 7 during a state hearing at Pennsylvania College of Technology.

Nova Scotia, Canada (CBC News) - Nova Scotia RCMP are warning residents after a laser light was aimed at the cockpit of an aircraft while it was flying over the Porters Lake area.

Bellingham, Wash. (Bellingham Herald) - Helicopters are shaking water off cherry trees in some Tri-City orchards.