Evergreen gets new helicopters
Evergreen Helicopters Inc. took delivery this month of the first of three Bell/Agusta AB139 helicopters. Evergreen has placed orders for two additional AB139 aircraft. Expected delivery dates for the aircraft are second quarter 2005 and first quarter 2006.
A company spokesman said Evergreen is still working to determine where the new aircraft will be stationed. Alaska is a possibility, he said. Evergreen plans a demonstration of the new craft in Alaska sometime in 2005.
The 15-passenger, medium twin-engine helicopter with advanced avionics and performance capabilities is the most modern aircraft on the market, Evergreen International Aviation chairman and founder Delford Smith said in a press release. The speed and range of the helicopters surpass other medium twin-engine helicopters.
The AB139's power to weight ratio and high-speed capability make the AB139 suited for offshore, search-and-rescue and VIP operations, the release said. With a maximum cruise speed of over 190 miles per hour, the aircraft is capable of maintaining high cruise speeds at all weights, altitudes and temperatures.
Evergreen International Aviation Inc. is based in Oregon and has five aviation companies, including an international cargo airline that owns and operates a fleet of Boeing 747s, an aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul facility, a helicopter service company, a full-service aircraft ground handling company, and an aircraft sales and leasing company.
- By the Journal of Commerce
Gov. Hickel to teach UAA class
Former Alaska Gov. Walter Hickel will lead a graduate-level course on land resources and environmental issues related to managing the Alaska Commons at the University of Alaska Anchorage beginning Jan. 10.
Hickel and a speakers list that includes several prominent Alaskans will take on a range of topics, including the owner-state, resource development issues and Alaska as a model for solutions, said Greg Protasel, chairman of the UAA Department of Public Administration.
UAA officials also plan to record all the course sessions to preserve in university archives, Protasel said.
Hickel serves as secretary-general of the Northern Forum, a nonprofit international organization composed of regional governments from 10 northern countries that works to address common political, environmental and economic issues.
Hickel is also the founder of the Anchorage-based Institute of the North, a leader in studies of Alaska's unique governmental and economic system - a combination of constitutional democracy, free enterprise economy and commonly owned lands and resources, or "the commons."
The Institute of the North on its Web site describes the commons as "an emerging academic discipline of great significance to those dedicated to eliminating poverty in community-based cultures, as well as those concerned about the total environment - people, people's needs and nature."
Several staff members of the Institute of the North, including senior fellows Walt Parker and Malcolm Roberts, and managing director Ben Ellis are slated as guest speakers in the course.
- By the Journal of Commerce
