TURBOMECA - Safran Group

Blair Peddle supports Turbomeca operators in a vast territory stretching from Eastern Canada’s southern border to the Arctic Circle. It helps to have experience working in remote areas far from major maintenance centers. Blair has supported helicopters in Thailand, Mozambique, South Africa, England and Norway. For most of his 13 year maintenance career, Blair has worked in the offshore oil sector. Before joining Turbomeca in 1999, he spent five years with Cougar Helicopters supporting Super Pumas in offshore service. These Makila-powered helicopters (the first Super Pumas in North America certified for known icing) made regular runs to an oil platform 315 kilometers off the coast of Newfoundland. "Knowing these aircraft were going so far offshore, and into some of the worst weather on the planet, taught you great caution in performing maintenance," he says. "It also gives you tremendous respect for the inherent reliability of the equipment, especially the Makila 1As on these helicopters."

Though now based in cosmopolitan Ottawa, Blair still goes to the ends of the earth for customers. "Every operator has unique requirements, dictated by weather and environment or type of usage. I see my role as working with them to find the best solutions to their particular needs."

Longtime Noria Manager, Louis Labourdet retired this February after seven years serving customers in this position. He oversaw the implementation of dozens of significant upgrades, working tirelessly to make implementation as smooth as possible for operators. We wish Louis well as he throttles back a bit to enjoy retirement. Replacing Louis in the newly defined position of Global Noria Team Manager is Herve Descoustey, who most recently served as Noria team leader in Tarnos. Previously, the Noria team resided in two principal locations, Bordes and Tarnos, France. Shortly, the entire Noria team of seven will be centralized at the Tarnos facility. There are also Noria hubs in Dallas and Sydney. For additional information regarding the Noria Team, Mr. Descoustey may be contacted at : +33 5 59 74 44 31 ; fax: +33 5 59 74 45 72 ; email: herve.descoustey@turbomeca.fr

Make plans now for our Operator Symposium to be held on April 7th and 8th 2004 in Sevilla, Spain. This symposium is designed for operators in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. If you plan to attend and have not already confirmed your participation, please do so at your earliest convenience by faxing the invitation form to +33 5 59 90 34 99 or +33 5 59 74 45 10 or you may confirm directly on the internet at www.turbomeca.com/symposium2004/ .

Raul Moreno, our Field Representative formerly based in Las Vegas,USA will be moving to Athens, Greece to provide dedicated support for an operator there. Scott Franklin will assume Raul’s position as our Field Representative to the Southwest U.S. Mr. Franklin was previously a technical instructor with Turbomeca USA.

Canada: Helicopter Association Canada (HAC)—April 4th through 6th. We look forward to meeting customers at our booth. For more information, please contact sophie.fouriscot@turbomeca.ca

Chile: See us at the FIDAE show in Santiago from March 29th through April 4th. Several members of Turbomeca senior management will be in attendance, including Turbomeca do Brasil and Turbomeca Sud Americana CEO as well as other management members from South America and France. Turbomeca will provide an update on company programs on the 30th of March at 9:30 a.m.

North American Customer Council members will meet in the village of Mont-Saint-Sauveur, 35 miles north of Montreal on April 29th. Council members will review Turbomeca service initiatives and provide input. The day will conclude with a guided tour of TMC.

Day in and day out our customers perform amazing feats with their Turbomeca-powered helicopters, including many daring rescues. Here is one we would like to recognize. Though now based in cosmopolitan Ottawa, Blair still goes to the ends of the earth for customers. "Every operator has unique requirements, dictated by weather and environment or type of usage. I see my role as working with them to find the best solutions to their particular needs." According to a report from the Green Bay Press Gazette and County Rescue Services, Green Bay’s County Rescue Service EC 135 (Eagle III) was dispatched to rescue two snowmobilers whose machines had broken through lake ice. Both snowmobiliers were successfully rescued by the heroic crew from the Eagle III helicopter. Congratulations to the entire crew of Eagle III. We are proud to be part of your support team.

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