Collins hosts annual Goodrich hoist operators’ conference

Traditionally held the weekend before Heli-Expo every year, this conference was Collins’ first since Anaheim in 2020 and attendees were excited to be back in person. The conference boasted more than 125 registrants representing a range of customers from around the world, including CHC, Leonardo, Toll Helicopters and the Texas National Guard.

“It’s a great opportunity to connect with our customers and it’s open to all Goodrich operators,” said Nick Demogines, Director of Business Development for Hoist & Winch at Collins Aerospace. “We use it as an opportunity to update our operators on the latest from Collins, but we also want to hear from them and provide everyone in attendance with a chance to network and build relationships. The overarching focus is education, and we want it to really be driven by the operators.” 

With a two-year hiatus since its last operators’ conference, Collins had several updates to share, starting with its new corporate structure. Previously, Collins was part of United Technologies Corporation (UTC), but in April 2020, UTC merged with Raytheon Company to form Raytheon Technologies. Collins is now one of four Raytheon Technologies business units along with Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon Intelligence & Space and Raytheon Missiles & Defense.

Technology and training focus

In addition, Collins provided an update on its next-generation Pegasus hoist, and its field service organization provided updates and reminders on regular hoist and cable maintenance. For the first time this year, Collins also added an emerging technology segment – featuring a presentation by Vita Inclinata on the company’s load stabilization system – and a supplier spotlight featuring Lifesaving Systems.

“The hooks for our Goodrich hoists are supplied by Lifesaving Systems, and we wanted to make sure our operators knew who that company was and how important they are,” said Demogines. “We felt this was well-received and we plan to spotlight our cable supplier next year.”

As always, one of the conference highlights was the annual presentation from CHC Ireland. This year, the group discussed some particularly unique incidents from recent rescues and posed the question: “How do you train for this?” Indeed, training was a hot topic at the conference as operators continue to explore the best ways to keep their crews sharp in all possible rescue scenarios. 

“Training is one of the biggest challenges our operators face,” said Demogines. “There are so many techniques for different environments and the requirements are constantly changing. We’re starting to see more customers look at virtual reality, augmented reality and synthetic training as a way to offset the high costs associated with on-aircraft training. A few companies are beginning to offer these new kinds of training programs, and we believe the industry will strike a balance between aircraft and simulator training in the future.”

Rescue of the Year Award given to DRF Luftrettung and ARA Flugrettung

Another annual highlight of the Collins Goodrich hoist operators conference is its Rescue of the Year award. Each year, the company honors one of its customers for a particularly daring helicopter rescue executed using its Goodrich hoist. This year, the award went to German air rescue services DRF Luftrettung and ARA Flugrettung for the professional handling of a highly challenging night-time hoist mission that saved the life of a young mountaineer.

“At the end of the day, that’s exactly why we get out of bed every morning – to provide our operators with superior products that enable them to successfully carry out their critical life-saving missions,” said Demogines. “When you hear these kinds of stories from your customers, what could be more motivational than that?”

Collins is already looking forward to its next Goodrich operators conference ahead of HAI Heli-Expo 2023 in Atlanta.