Kate Sarsfield/LONDON
Belgian helicopter distributor Heli Fly has widened negotiations with Boeing to include the acquisition of the entire former McDonnell Douglas civil helicopter line-up.
Heli Fly, which was originally negotiating to acquire just the MD902 Explorer line while Boeing sold the rest of the product line to Bell Helicopter Textron, is now in the final stages of also securing the sale of its MD500 and MD600 stablemates. "Heli Fly wants to keep the helicopters together rather than split them," says a source.
The revelation comes fewer than five months after the US Government's Federal Trade Commission blocked the sale of MD500/600s to Bell Helicopter, saying that it would give the manufacturer a monopoly in the single-engined light-turboshaft sector. The decision forced Boeing to return the product line to the market.
According to an industrial source, Halen-based Heli Fly has appointed Turkish Aerospace Industries to build the MD Explorer fuselage from its Ankara factory. The parts will then be shipped to Brustrem, near Sint-Truiden, Belgium, for assembly. The MD500/600 assembly line will remain in Mesa, California, close to the existing Boeing factory. "If the deal is secured, Heli Fly will keep the existing workforce and subcontractors, as they are highly skilled and familiar with the products," adds the US industrial source.
Heli Fly's plans include a reduction in the the price of the Explorer from $3.5 to $2.95 million. It is believed to have forecast an rise in production from 12 aircraft a year in 1998 to 50 a year in 2003. MD500/600 production is also expected to rise.
The operator is thought to be planning to target the "growing" police, emergency medical services and corporate helicopter markets within Europe, South America and the USA, and to expand its international maintenance and service centres to accommodate the increased sales. It may also change its name, to MD Helicopters.
Source: Flight International
