HELI-EXPO 2019

Back in early March of this year I was in my Jetta, steaming along at a high rate of speed on northbound I-85 through Alabama.  I was getting better than 38 mpg, headed for Georgia. Above and somewhat behind me, my friend Nate was aboard a north-eastbound Delta Airlines jet out of New Orleans. Further west, my buddy Brandon had left the left coast and was streaking across the sky eastbound in an American Airlines 767.

We three were converging on Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. Nate would arrive first. I’d pick him up and then he and I would go check into the Airbnb house we’d rented to make sure it was satisfactory. It was. Then we’d go back to the airport and fetch B-boy. We did.

The purpose of the trip was for us to attend an annual event called Heli-Expo, which is a convention put on by the Helicopter Association International. And it is the show to go rub elbows with the big shots of the helicopter industry.

Initially it seemed implausible that Brandon, Nate and I would all be free on this particular week. But the stars aligned and both of them got the time off. I, of course, can take time off as I please, being the self-employed man of leisure with the easy-going boss.

The annual HAI convention is always a big deal. They’ve been holding them since the organization was formed in 1948. I’ve wanted to go to Heli-Expo for a long time. But it’s usually held inconveniently far away from me, either in California, Dallas, or somewhere down in South Florida - too far for me to drive.  On the other hand, Atlanta is only a five-hour drive. This year I had no excuse.

Had I gone alone I could have stayed with my buddy Matt, which would’ve been nice. But he has a teenage son. I couldn’t inflict the three of us on him during a work and school week. So we did the Airbnb thing.

The convention was held in the Georgia World Congress Center in downtown Atlanta. The place is huge. The convention occupied two ginormous exhibition halls. As you’d expect, there were helicopters and vendors galore.

While Heli-Expo used to be the place that airframe manufacturers would unveil their new designs, things at that end of the spectrum have stagnated. There really wasn’t much new. But technology-wise, the advances in navigation, systems-monitoring, and other ancillary equipment (e.g. camera mounts, hoists, fire-fighting buckets) have made tremendous advances.

No longer do the helicopter builders make major sales announcements or unveil new designs, along with rosy projections of overall growth in the near future. Things were much more subdued as sales in most non-airline segments of aviation have been fairly flat.

Ironically, it was reported that this was the "biggest" Heli-Expo show ever. Perhaps they meant it in terms of size of the arena.  Because then I don’t doubt it – I nearly walked my dang feet off. In dress shoes. Man, my dogs were barking! I had been warned, and had I had been smarter I would’ve worn more comfortable shoes. Even though David Letterman pioneered the suit-and-tennis-shoes look (which never really caught on), I just could not “rock it” as the kids say. However, there were people who did!  I'll know next time. 

Honestly, the show was not for me. I’m nearly retired now – I’m not looking to buy anything for our fleet of elderly helicopters in Washington, nor am I looking for a job. I did see and meet up with some people I’ve known over the years, which was nice. But talking with them on Facebook has been okay too.

The boys, Brandon and Nate, who are much younger than I, drank a lot and stayed out late, partying with their friends, old and new. Me, I’m way past those kind of shenanigans. So I turned in early every night, leaving them to Uber back to the house.  It's funny to think about how much I used to drink.  There was a time when those boys would've had trouble keeping up with me.

Never mind the helicopters; on any given trip, you know I’m all about the food. One night we met up with my buddy Matt and his wife Alisha, who took us to a really great Peruvian(!) restaurant called The Freakin’ Incan. Those Peruvians really do know how to cook some tasty meat! We were all sticking our forks in each other’s plates. Next night we went to a German restaurant in town called Der Biergarten, where the sauerbraten was wonderful and they serve their beer in quart-size steins. For me, those were the highlights of the trip.

Although the show ended Thursday afternoon, we stayed over until Friday. The plan was to do some sightseeing before the boys flew out in the afternoon. But they got something of a (ahem) late start that morning and were really in no shape to wander around some dumb aquarium for a couple of hours, much less take the tour of the CNN Center or Coca-Cola headquarters.

We went out to lunch, and then I dropped them back off at the airport before heading southbound back to Florida. We helicopter pilots get scattered to the winds as we pursue our various jobs around the country.  It was great seeing Brandon and Nate again, and doing it in conjunction with the helicopter convention was as good an excuse as any.