Berlin – As the trade show portion of the ILA Berlin show comes to a close, HAI President Matt Zuccaro participated in the key conference, "Road Map to the Future (Heavy) Transport Helicopter." Representing the international helicopter operator community, he shared the stage with a panel comprised of regulatory, manufacturing, and military delegates. The discussion revolved around advanced new technology helicopter designs, with a focus on the Future Transport Helicopter (FTH) initiative.

Zuccaro presented the helicopter operator's perspective regarding the potential benefits of such an aircraft to both the operator and end-user customers. He also initiated a discussion on operator concerns regarding such issues as infrastructure/heliport requirements, economic viability of the aircraft, ease of operation, and maintenance in the utility/field environment.

Matt Zuccaro, center stage, participates in "Road Map to the Future (Heavy) Transport Helicopter" conference

Volker Grasberger, recently retired managing director of the German Helicopter Association, stopped by to chat with Zuccaro and highlighted some of the activities he has seen in Germany.

Volker Grasberger (left) and Matt Zuccaro

And as part of our show wrap up, HAI's Stan Rose awarded the show drawing prize to Justin Barnett, manager of Worldwide Authorized Partnerships for MD Helicopters.

Barnett expressed his interest in anticipation of coming to HAI's HELI-EXPO 2013 in Las Vegas, March 4-7, as part of the MD Helicopter team. We hope to see you all there as well!