Heli Expo 2016 locale and concerns
 

It was a surprise for most of us hearing that next 2016 venue is in Louisville, and having read the article below is even more interesting

HeliHub International visitors lower priority for Heli-Expo 2016

Any thoughts?

Cheers

It will be an new experience for all involved. A break from the Orlando-Houston-DFW-Las Vegas-Anaheim rotation of late may not necessarily be a bad idea. But I am one of the lucky ones with a direct flight. The lack of international connections is somewhat interesting in an increasily international show.

Interestingly enough, I have never been to this city - by choice. I don't intend to change that by attending HAI next year, because like most people in North America, I also can't get a direct flight there.

Who picked this location and why, is beyond me. Is there a single good reason for ever going there?

okay...
 

The Louisville Slugger baseball bat factory is downtown. Fascinating tour and pretty nice museum. You can buy a personalized bat (your very own signature). Yes, there are some amazing and lovely hotels along the river that cater to the horse race crowd etc. Cincinnati, KCVG is close but no longer a powerhouse Delta hub. Indianapolis is not far if you want to drive in to the city. Fly in to Lexington, rent a car and drive through the beautiful and famous horse country. Visit Fort Knox. Its certainly not Vegas but I bet the price reflects that. It could work. Whats wrong with a short layover in Chicago, Denver, Phoenix, Dallas or Atlanta etc? Louisville from any of these stops is a short flight. I have to agree it is an unusual choice but again, the cost might have a lot to do with it. Try a new experience. See more of America than the trip from the megahub to your hotel. Having said all that, Phoenix would be a dandy place that time of year.

Won't the weather be not too great at that time of year, maybe preventing aircraft getting onto the stand and any demos, we thought it was an odd decision when it was announced at this years event

It's cheap!

The weather can be a bit hit or miss. As to flights most Americas are used to changing flights. Easy from Europe via New York, Detroit or Chicago. But I won't be going anyway as it really only a trade fair.

While price may have been a factor, Venues large enough to accommodate HeliExpo are few and far between. Also getting away from the Plastic worlds of California and Florida is a welcomed change.

Roll call
 

A month to go, so whose definitely going from here? :) I will be there for sure digs booked albeit a tad further away from the event central (not out of choice )

Btw does anyone know if anything new will be unveiled revealed by any of the OEMs?

cheers

I will be there.

Hey, it's south from where I live :E

I'll be there :cool:

Louisville in mid winter? What were they thinking? I cant get there from a major U.S. northeast city without considerable hassle so I wont be attending. (No direct flights, some connections with two changes, etc.)

Bad weather and no direct flights.
This will be the fist HeliExpo I will miss for 12 years.
A location well severed by international flights is essential

When I was at Heli Expo last year and saw it was Louisville, I looked at the weather at the time and it was snowing, that killed it for me on the spot, will wait till next year in Dallas, direct flt from Australia.

I booked my flight and hotel weeks ago .... and maybe I will need the snow boots.....

Not going simply due to location.

Attendance numbers will be interesting with only 20 direct flights.

Hearing from many that aren't going this year,especially from Europe and other long distance travellers. Louisville not an attractive venue ,safety concerns and of course the weather are putting people off. Even US visitors are likely to be down...no big operators in the area either and so far xhobitor numbers down too.
The story goes that HAI were offered the venue free of charge or at least heavily subsidised and new marketing personnel have adopted a hard line policy to maximise income. Perhaps they've been taking lessons from Helitech ! Time will tell and not long to go.

What are the "safety concerns"......?

Gordy...you need to ask with the present state of the world?

In general nope, but with reference to Louisville vs Orlando, or Anaheim, or Dallas etc then yes.

I had thought someone was concerned over the safety in the city of Louisville.

Booked my flights earlier today and don't see any problem travelling from the UK.
in and out via Chicago is not to expensive and leaving London at 12:15, I will be in the hotel by 10pm local time.
Looking forward to getting the chance to see what Kentucky has to offer, as it is a part of the US I would not usually visit.

Louisville is not the safest city in the country, but neither are Vegas, Anaheim, Dallas, Orlando, Houston, or New Orleans (the other cities that have hosted in recent years) They stopped doing Miami 20 years ago after some attendees got robbed.

It is a pain for me heading west. I have two options for flights, both are crappy times, long layovers in Chicago or Atlanta, and expensive. However... I'm also looking forward to seeing a part of the country I've never spent any time in.

I travel Orlando, Vegas, LA, Dallas and Houston a few times a year each, so a change of scenery is welcomed.

According to one HAI board member the city of Louisville just paid for it, to get Heli-Expo to the city, part of some new marketing plan for the city as suitable venue for conventions and expo's.
So if it wont be total disaster Louisville is going to stay..... money talks
You guys just have to get marinaded in Bourbon :ugh::E

Looking forward to the show. Rented a beautiful 4 bedroom house by the expo center on Airbnb for the price of a small hotel room in Dallas. Having done a lot of Powerline construction and Aerial Saw work in Kentucky over the years, I think everybody will enjoy the area!! Especially the bourbon fans

I hear at least one Company is planning to tour it's US customers after the show because so many have said they're not. A 13-14 hour flight just to get home with a long wait enroute will require a lot of bourbon to make it enjoyable!

I do not recall HAI still pushing to fill vacant spaces among the exhibits this late in the process......

Today this landed in my In Box....

In less than one month, the Champions of Vertical Aviation will land in Louisville, KY, the City of Champions. Have you secured your exhibit space?

Join us at HAI HELI-EXPO 2016 to:
• Discover new business opportunities in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast marketplaces
• Showcase your brand and your products to thousands in the international aviation industry
• Embrace the excitement of a new HAI HELI-EXPO destination: Louisville, KY!
• Foster strategic partnerships with industry professionals from around the globe
Exhibit space is currently being assigned on a first-come, first-served basis

Have I just not noticed late marketing before.... or have they got lots of extra space this year?

Isn't there usually a queue for space cancellations.

I will be there, on the Bell stand for the duration. Agree flights etc are not ideal, but lets hope its still a good show. Come by and say hello, probably best to ask for Gary not Longbox

PA News..Some companies aren't going...others like Airbus have reduced their space....and some like long box have no choice!

Weather forecast for the Sunday - Golf day - is snow.

Not too bad getting there from down here. Air NZ to Houston, then connection to Louisville, or via Sydney to Dallas then flight to Louisville.

For those attending Heli Expo stop by our HeliOps booth and grab one of the 100th Issue Anniversary posters we are giving away.

http://i1255.photobucket.com/albums/...psglfskv81.jpg

In that case it's going to be a shock to the system after the last week in Singapore!
The few days layover in the UK will sort out that before I head west brrrrr!
And before anyone rushes to Singapore for a warm up this coming week be aware the rain has now started and is not expected to cease anytime soon!

Ned,

Real golfers golf in the snow. That's why they make orange golf balls.

weather forecast
 

https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/USKY1096:1:US

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...psl460wwbw.jpg

cheers

Snow eh? That should screw up flights coming in through the east coast!

Ned, you won't possibly be able to send one of those posters to the same address where you already sent that beautiful calendar to?

Madrid for sure would love such a gesture
;-)

Thracian

Latest weather forecast looks to be a little better, rainy, cold but no snow!

Well the predictions of those that said that this would be a weather disaster were way off the mark [although I have yet to punch out] and the weather - such as it was way worse in the UK than here.

Travel was no worse than some other locations. A flight connection is a flight connection and lots of people have to endure those for every edition of HAI.

But the event is sick.

As noted by others above lots of people did not make the journey and the footfall was well down. There will be a ready market in event specific bags ... you just take as many as you want... no need for a tear off slip of paper here.... We can only hope that the 'right' people were here for the exhibitors..... The books and guides are pulp.....

For they, the exhibitors may well not be happy.

It has come to light that the whole vast hall was given free to HAI and I have come across no-one that disputes that claim. But from the depths of the exhibitors have been a claim that rates this year are 10% up on last year. That may be a one off but the claim is floating out there. Where is there an inflation rate of 10%?

So on the basis of claim and rumour it seems that HAI did not pass on any of their windfall to their members.

But in the end what matters is whether good business was done.

And, even in these days of oil recession, it seems they did do good business .... so if they did indeed get it wrong ... this will all be forgotten and HAI forgiven.

As for the people of Louisville? First class. Welcoming and friendly.

I agree, the weather has been pretty poor, it affected the amount of demo flights we could do. Really cold! I found day one busy but not the normal, day two quieter and today pretty empty.
We signed for two aircraft and a PGB plan and other regions had signings. A few Brits on the stand, a lot of Irish, but mainly locals.
I have heard that it is contracted to be here three times over the next 10 years, so there will be more to come!

My daughter is there and is coming to get a drink off you !! I told her customers get free drinks all night long ...
Ps. When is the 505 coming to UK ??

Was told by HAI people today that the deal to hold it three times over the next 10 years hasn't been inked, so may not happen. Dallas in 17 and Vegas in 18, not clear on 19 yet.

So have HAI published the visitor numbers for the first two days or,like Helitech last year , kept them quiet?