Features Safety & Training Standards & Regulations
Editorial: We Have a New Look

There have been some interesting changes here at HELICOPTERS magazine
over the past year and we’ve decided that it was time to reflect some
of those changes in the pages of our magazine.

Last
year, we celebrated our 25th year as Canada’s national rotary-wing
magazine. With that important milestone behind us, we are now turning
our attention to the next 25 years. Our new look is both a salute to
our legacy and investment in the future. It underscores our ongoing
commitment to the Canadian helicopter community.

To change and
to change for the better are two different things. We started the
process of redesigning the magazine almost six months ago. We took into
consideration all of the feedback that you provided through our
readership surveys and through conversations with readers and
contributors. Our art department took up the challenge and developed an
up-to-date layout and design that we are very proud to present to you.

Our
goal was to improve both the utility and overall appearance of the
magazine. We carefully selected a new font, one that is both easier to
read and more appealing to the eye. We sampled a multitude of colour
combinations and chose those that best reflect the overall “feel” of
our publication. We completely redid our layout to better highlight our
stories and photography. The new layout makes our magazine more
user-friendly and at the same time allows us to pack in more content.
This is possible only because of the unique talents of our art and
design team. We feel confident that we have achieved our goal.

We’ve
also sharpened our focus. We’re in the business of “helping you do your
business.” That means providing you with a cross-section of information
and stories from the frontlines, the shop floor, the boardroom and the
bush. If it’s of interest to Canadian operators, we’re covering it.

With
that renewed vigour, we will be featuring articles such as the one that
appears in this issue, written by renowned international aviation
specialist Bill de Decker. I first met Bill at last year’s HAC
convention and trade show in Vancouver. He had just captivated his
audience with an analysis of cost and asset management for helicopter
operators. As I spoke to the operators in the room, I realized that
everybody was saying the same thing: “This guy had some very important
things to say.” I knew then that his contributions would be of great
value to HELICOPTERS readers.

There are also some very unique
business opportunities that arise from time to time. We’ve identified
the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver as one of those opportunities.
Staring with this issue, we are dedicating a new column to planning for
the 2010 Games and beyond. “Vancouver Olympics 2010 Countdown” will
focus on helping you wend your way through the maze of information that
is out there. Our Olympic columnist Mark McWhirter will provide you
with updates, stories, events and anything else that relates to
helicopters and the Vancouver Olympics.

Another key element of
our new magazine is on our back page. We’ve reserved that page to allow
one of Canada’s most experienced and knowledgeable helicopter pilots,
Ken Armstrong, to discuss critical issues in the Canadian helicopter
industry.

For those not familiar with Ken, he has logged over
15,000 hours of flight time, worked as both fixed- and rotary -wing
test pilot, flown military operations, been a flying instructor, and
has held positions such as aviation sales manager, chief pilot and
aviation manager with four companies.

In addition to what is
sure to be a “must-read column,” Ken will also continue to inform and
entertain us with feature articles and personal stories.

Well-known
aviation writer Richard Purser has also joined the HELICOPTERS team. To
those of you who also read WINGS magazine, you will know Richard’s
wisdom and experience as well as his elegant writing. Richard’s columns
will always give you something to think about.

Ken Swartz will,
of course, continue to research and write the popular “A Look Back”
column and correspondent Ken Pole will now contribute both feature
articles and columns from his Ottawa perspective. We’ve also made a
commitment to members of the helicopter community to make safety
coverage an integral part of our editorial lineup. In this issue, we
begin that coverage with an article on the International Safety
Symposium initiative and upcoming announcement at HELIEXPO in Dallas.

Our
commitments extend across the industry. Our new look is our promise to
you that we will provide the Canadian helicopter community with the
most insightful and comprehensive coverage of the helicopter industry
for you, our Canadian readers.