This is a list of aviation-related events from 1981.
The Westland Whirlwind helicopter was a British licence-built version of the U.S. Sikorsky S-55/H-19 Chickasaw. It primarily served with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm in anti-submarine and search and rescue roles.
The Westland Wessex is a British-built turbine-powered development of the Sikorsky H-34. It was developed and produced under licence by Westland Aircraft. One of the main changes from Sikorsky's H-34 was the replacement of the piston-engine powerplant with a turboshaft engine. Early models were powered by a single Napier Gazelle engine, while later builds used a pair of de Havilland Gnome engines.
The Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma is a four-bladed, twin-engined medium transport/utility helicopter designed and originally produced by the French aerospace manufacturer Sud Aviation.
The AgustaWestlandAW609, formerly the Bell/Agusta BA609, is a twin-engined tiltrotor VTOL aircraft with a configuration similar to that of the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey. It is capable of landing vertically like a helicopter while having a range and speed in excess of conventional rotorcraft. The AW609 is aimed at the civil aviation market, in particular VIP customers and offshore oil and gas operators.
The Sikorsky S-92 is an American twin-engine medium-lift helicopter built by Sikorsky Aircraft for the civil and military helicopter markets. The S-92 was developed from the Sikorsky S-70 helicopter and has similar parts such as flight control and rotor systems.
The Sikorsky H-34 "Choctaw" is an American piston-engined military helicopter originally designed by Sikorsky as an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft for the United States Navy. It has seen extended use when adapted to turbine power by the British licensee as the Westland Wessex and Sikorsky as the later S-58T.
The Westland Widgeon was a helicopter developed by Westland Aircraft as a private venture improvement on the Westland WS-51 Dragonfly.
The AgustaWestland AW139, now known as the Leonardo AW139, is a 15-seat medium-sized twin-engined helicopter developed and produced by the Anglo-Italian helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland, now part of Leonardo. It is marketed at several different roles, including VIP/corporate transport, military use, offshore transport, firefighting, law enforcement, search and rescue, emergency medical service, disaster relief, and maritime patrol.
Bristow Helicopters Limited is a British civil helicopter operator originally based at Aberdeen Airport, Scotland, which is currently a part of the U.S.-based Bristow Group which in turn has its corporate headquarters in Houston, Texas, U.S. In 2020, Bristow Group was merged with Era Helicopters, a large U.S.-based commercial helicopter operator that was previously a division of Era Aviation, with the two companies then continuing to use the Bristow name.
The Sikorsky S-61L and S-61N are civil variants of the SH-3 Sea King military helicopter. It was developed and produced by the American helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft.
The Airbus Helicopters H225 is a long-range passenger transport helicopter developed by Eurocopter as the next generation of the civilian Super Puma family. It is a twin-engined aircraft and can carry up to 24 passengers along with two crew and a cabin attendant, dependent on customer configuration. The helicopter is marketed for offshore support and VIP passenger transport duties, as well as public service missions.
The Bacton Gas Terminal is a complex of six gas terminals within four sites located on the North Sea coast of North Norfolk in the United Kingdom. The sites are near Paston and between Bacton and Mundesley; the nearest town is North Walsham.
Bristow Helicopters operate a large fleet of 490 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. In 2015 it operated 24 helicopter types, however as a result of their restructure due to previous financial difficulties it now operates approximately six types, a significant reduction. The fleet includes unconsolidated affiliates and joint venture partners.
The AgustaWestland AW189 is a twin-engined, super-medium-lift helicopter manufactured by Leonardo S.p.A. It is derived from the AW149, and shares similarities with the AW139 and AW169.
The Leman gas field is a natural gas field located in the North Sea.The field is 30 miles (48 km) north-east of Great Yarmouth and is named after the Leman Sandbank beneath which it is situated. The gas reservoir is an 800 ft (240 m) thick Rotliegendes sandstone reservoir at a depth of about 6,000 ft (1,800 m). It is about 18 miles (29 km) long by 5 miles (8.0 km) wide. It was discovered in August 1966 and extends across two blocks. Block 49/26 is licensed to Shell and Block 49/27 was originally licensed to the Amoco-Gas Council joint venture, Block 49/27 is now licensed to Perenco UK Ltd. The field was discovered in 1966 and began production in 1968 and produces natural gas and condensates to the Bacton Gas Terminal on the coast of Norfolk via several pipeline systems. The total proven reserves of the Leman gas field are around 11 trillion cubic feet (316 km³), and production is slated to be around 200 million cubic feet/day (5.7×105m³).
On 13 March 2014, an AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter of Haughey Air crashed shortly after taking off at night in fog from Gillingham, Norfolk, United Kingdom, killing all four people on board. Among the victims was Edward Haughey, Baron Ballyedmond.
On 14 September 1982 a medical evacuation helicopter flight operated by Bristow Helicopters crashed during the early hours of the morning in driving rain and poor visibility over the North Sea. All six crew members on board died when their aircraft plunged into the sea near the Murchison platform while trying to locate the Baffin Seal seismic survey vessel.
The Leonardo Next-Generation Civil Tiltrotor is a tiltrotor aircraft demonstrator designed and developed by the Italian aerospace company Leonardo S.p.A. Studies for a two times larger tiltrotor than the AgustaWestland AW609 started in 2000. Since 2014, its development is sponsored by the European Union's Clean Sky 2 program. By May 2021, major components were under production By 2023, the maiden flight had been pushed back to 2024, from a 2020 initial plan.
