Hectic week in the Czech aerospace sector
26 Jun. 2015 | CzechInvest | The Paris Air Show took place and Bell Helicopter concluded an agreement on cooperation with LOM Praha.
Two major events involving the Czech aerospace sector occurred in the past week, the first of which was the 51st edition of the prestigious Paris Air Show, which was held from 15 to 21 June 2015. Traditionally the most important aerospace event of the season, the air show is annually attended by more than 2,200 exhibitors from around the world and from all branches of the aerospace sector.
The Czech Republic was officially represented at the air show by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and CzechInvest. The Czech national stand featured ten leading Czech aerospace firms and the country’s two main professional organisations, the Association of Aerospace Manufacturers of the Czech Republic and the Confederation of the Czech Aviation Industry.
One of the main events at the Czech stand was a presentation of Aero Vodochody’s L-39NG development project, which is going according to plan, with the maiden flight of the first plane bearing the NG designation scheduled for this year. LOM Praha s.p. will be the first customer.
Aero Vodochody also received confirmation of a plan to cooperate on modification of L-39 aircraft from two top aerobatic teams, Breitling Jet Team and Black Diamond Jet, and announced the signing of a memorandum of understating with the Czech company VR Group, the main supplier of simulation technologies for the L-39NG programme.
The second major event of last week was the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Bell Helicopter and LOM Praha, s.p. involving maintenance of military helicopters manufactured by Bell. The company will provide assembly, custom modifications and maintenance of helicopters not only for the Czech Republic, but also for the broader region of Central and Eastern Europe. Bell is thus expanding its activities in the Czech Republic, where it operates a regional customer-service centre for deliveries and final preparation of civil aircraft for European customers.
The company also announced the signing of an agreement with the Air Service of the Police of the Czech Republic on delivery of an additional Bell 412EPI helicopter, the first aircraft of this type sold in Europe, which by the end of this year will be added to the current fleet of four helicopters operated by the Czech police.
