Dubai Helishow 2006 - a unique and exceptional event in the Middle East

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This biennial event designed to address the specific requirements from the civil, public, defence and paramilitary sectors, will be held at East Hall, Dubai Airport Expo, from December 5th to 7th, 2006.

Dedicated to the international civil and military helicopter technology and operations, Dubai Helishow is entirely focused on the helicopter industry and opens up lucrative business opportunities. The exhibition will have indoor displays, static craft displays and flight demonstrations.

A large international audience from Middle East, Arabian Gulf and across Europe and Asia including buyers/decision makers from government agencies/defense organizations, commercial customers, owners and users are expected for this mega event.

The maiden show, which was held in 2004, was an instant success with the world media giving it wide coverage. During the last event more than 3000 specialized visitors from around 80 different regions including global manufacturers visited the air show. The event was organized under the patronage of H.H. General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE.

With a heritage of organizing successful and specialized exhibitions for diverse sectors, Mediac Communications & Exhibitions LLC - the organizer for Dubai Helishow, is making elaborate and extensive preparations. This year, the number of visitors are expected to be much higher.

Along side the event, there will be a special one-day military and civil helicopter conference to be organized by Tangent Link. The conference will be designed to address the specific issues of the Middle East with speakers from around the world. The conference is expected to benefit the helicopter industry as well as the region as a whole since it will bring out expertise opinions and suggestions on the variety of topics discussed. Meanwhile, the exhibition will also make an excellent venue for potential buyers to see demonstration of various helicopters.

Significant Opportunity

The Middle East offers enormous potential to the Rotary aviation industry, thanks to the continued interest shown to this aviation sector by many of the Sheikhs and Ruling families of this affluent region. Meanwhile some of the latest improvements happening in the region also show signs of greater importance for Dubai Helishow 2006.

Some of the major happenings in the rotary aviation industry in UAE are mentioned below.

Established in 1978, Dubai Police Air Wing has grown immensely from just 2 aircraft and 3 expatriate pilots to five aircraft and 16 UAE national pilots. It is instrumental a range of operations including search/rescue, special/ emergency operations, police patrol, emergency transfers, VIP transport/escort and documentation/research.

Successfully positioning itself as the centre of aviation training in the Middle East, Emirates-CAE Flight Training (ECFT) has recently signed agreements with Dubai Air Wing and Elite Jets for type training on full-flight simulators at its Dubai-based facility.

Formed in 1976, Abu Dhabi Aviation (ADA) has been growing steadily ever since. Today it's the largest commercial helicopter operator in the Middle East, operating 41 helicopters, 3 fixed-wing aircraft; employing over 650 personnel, including 125 pilots and 150 aircraft maintenance engineers. An authorized operator of fixed wing aircraft and license to conduct 3rd party aircraft maintenance.

UAE's army has appointed Italy's Agusta SPA to modernize the army helicopters at a cost of AED 261 million. Meanwhile, UAE will be purchasing helicopters' navigational systems worth AED 12.8 million from Rockwell-Collins France and electronic systems worth AED 12.7 million from South Africa's Avitronics Ltd, Ketbi said. BAE Systems PLC will be supplying radar-warning system for UAE helicopters.

Boeing won the contract to upgrade UAE's 30 Apache combat helicopters and are due to commence shortly with completion scheduled for 2010. The 30 A64-A aircraft acquired by the UAE in the early 1990s are being upgraded to A64-D Block II(Longbow) configuration over a three year period.

The Air Ambulance Service of Abu Dhabi Police Air Wing, established in 1997, is a highly trained helicopter emergency medical service and rescue operation wing, which has seven Bell 412 helicopters and three Eurocopter BK 117's. By 2007, the fleet will have an additional 8 new AW139 helicopters.

UAE Air Force has recently ordered from Bell/Agusta Aerospace Company eight AW139 medium-twin helicopters for about US$83 million, and 20 AW139s from SEACOR Holdings. These are for search and rescue operations, and VIP transport. The UAE is the third country to choose the AW139 for SAR applications, following previous orders by the governments of Oman and Ireland.

'When we launched the Dubai Helishow in 2004, it was the first of it kind in the region, and it received an immense response. Thanks to the hard work, research and efforts taken by everyone at Mediac and to our sponsors. Considering the tremendous growth marked in the region with innovative class-leading projects like The World and The Palms, this small yet significant sector of the aviation industry is sure to gain more and more importance in the years to come. Hence an exhibition of this profile will play a crucial role in the Region,'

said Mr. Abdulla A. Abdulhoul, Managing Director, Mediac Communications & Exhibitions LLC.