Helicopter Shipping Services – Shipping Helicopters Across North America

Helicopter Shipping Services, specifically ground transportation via truck and trailer, is a critical yet not well-known part of the vertical lift industry. Most people associate helicopters with flying, which is their primary function, but what happens when a helicopter needs to move locations but cannot be flown?

There are several reasons why this could happen, here are the situations where you need a company like International Machine Transport for helicopter shipping services.

Helicopter Recovery Operation

Helicopters are complex pieces of machinery, when a critical component fails the pilot has no choice but to find the nearest and safest landing location. Often the pilot can “limp” the aircraft to an airport or local heli-pad, but sometimes the safest option is to land in the nearest field or open area. In either case, an experienced helicopter shipping company like IMT can provide the expertise necessary to move the aircraft to a better location where it can be repaired.

Helicopter Maintenance Schedules

Like fixed-wing aircraft, critical components in the engine and transmission will eventually “time-out,” or reach the maximum number of hours the component is allowed to work before being serviced. When the aircraft becomes “unserviceable,” (not allowed to fly per FAA regulations), helicopter shipping by ground can be a cost-effective method of moving the aircraft to a maintenance facility.

Helicopter Shipping Services – Ocean and Air Shipments

One of the most common reasons for helicopters shipping on the ground is to support an air or ocean project. Helicopters can’t fly across the ocean of course so they often need to be broken down and shipped via ocean liner or cargo plane. International Machine Transport supports many customers by sending our trucks to a seaport or airport. These shipments can be fully intact helicopters or dismantled into many smaller components. Either way you need an experienced helicopter shipping company with the proper equipment to safely transport your aircraft.

Relocating a Helicopter – Ferry Flights

Helicopter operators need to re-position their aircraft all over North America (and the rest of the world) to support contracts for a variety of services. These include firefighting, long line work, tree trimming, air ambulance, etc. When relocating a helicopter over large distances, you must factor in direct costs for fuel, pilots, landing fees, insurance, etc. There are also indirect costs of using up valuable component time on your engine and transmission, without generating revenue. These “ferry flights” can also be disrupted by weather, a truck can drive through weather a helicopter would never fly through.

Helicopter shipping services is a large part of International Machine Transport and International Machine Transport USA’s business, we have been trucking helicopters all over the US and Canada for several decades. Please contact us today if you have any questions about helicopter shipping services, transporting helicopters by truck or aerospace logistics in general.