Lift and thrust supplied by rotors allow helicopters to take off and land vertically, to hover as well as fly forward, backward and laterally. Utility helicopters are by nature designed to fulfill multiple purposes and typically have twin engines, an unobstructed flat floor cabin, large sliding cabin doors, high-mounted tail rotor and exceptional cockpit visibility. They are operated in almost every country and the demand for the aircraft, air crews and maintenance technicians is increasing throughout the world. Utility helicopters are designed for multiple purposes for military, governmental and civilian uses. The military deploy utility helicopters for
- troop transport
- search and rescue
- ground attack
- air assault
- reconnaissance
- logistics
- medevac
- command and control functions
State and local governments employ the helicopters for similar roles to assist police and first responders with
- fire fighting
- transportation
- medical evacuation
- search and rescue
- reconnaissance
In the civilian sector, utility helicopters are used in firefighting, logging and personnel transport to remote locations; such as, oil and gas platforms. . Although the Sikorsky UH-60 Black hawk is the predominant U.S. made medium lift utility helicopter, there is a wide array of utility helicopters made both in the U.S. and overseas. Our table is a virtual utility comparison on the most popular utility helicopters.
