Vietnam Helicopters (VNH), formally the Vietnam Helicopter Corporation (), also known by its military designation Corps 18 (), is a transportation business owned by the
Vietnam Ministry of National Defense. It operates helicopters to transport cargo, train pilots and export/import devices in the aviation industry. It also offers tourist transportation.
History
The Company was founded on April 20, 1979. The first flight squad of the Vietnam Air Force for oil and gas services was set up on September 13, 1983. In March 1985, Helicopter Vietnam was established. In 1989, the Service Flight Corporation of Vietnam was established by the Vietnamese Government with Northern Service Flight Company and Southern Service Flight Company as subsidiaries.
In 2007, the Service Flight Corporation of Vietnam expanded with a new subsidiary, Hai Au Company, in addition to
Northern Service Flight Company as well as
Southern Service Flight Company
Vietnam Helicopters (VNH), formally the Vietnam Helicopter Corporation (), also known by its military designation Corps 18 (), is a transportation business owned by the Ministry of Defense (Vietnam), Vietnam Ministry of National Defense. It operate ...
. It has one joint venture, Bien Hoa Helicopters, a maintenance and repair company. In 2010, Service Flight Corporation of Vietnam was renamed the Vietnam Helicopter Corporation.
Operations
VNH operates a fleet of 28 aircraft with the ability to carry from 4 to 24 passengers .
Petroleum exploration
VNH is the first company in
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
to provide aviation transport for employees in the oil and gas industry in
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. Over three decades, VNH has provided aviation transport services for more than 30 companies, including
Vietsovpetro
Vietsovpetro, headquartered in Vung Tau, Vietnam, is a joint Russian-Vietnamese enterprise for oil and gas exploration.
According to the VNR500 (Top 500) ranking, Vietsovpetro is Vietnam's 8th largest company.
It was established in 1981 under ...
,
Premier Oil,
BHP
BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...
,
Petronas
Petroliam Nasional Berhad (National Petroleum Limited), commonly known as Petronas, is a Malaysian oil and gas company. Established in 1974 and wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia, the corporation is vested with all oil and gas reso ...
,
BP and
Chevron
Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to:
Science and technology
* Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines
* Chevron (anatomy), a bone
* ''Eulithis testata'', a moth
* Chevron (geology), a fold in rock lay ...
.
Charter flights
VNH flies 50+ routes to destinations such as
Hạ Long
Hạ Long () is the capital city and first-class provincial city of Quảng Ninh province, Vietnam. The name Hạ Long () means "descending dragon". The city was founded in 1993, when the old capital, Hòn Gai, was merged with Bãi Cháy – ...
,
Cat Bi,
Móng Cái
Móng Cái () is a city of Quảng Ninh Province in northern Vietnam. Located on China–Vietnam border, it sits on the southern bank of Beilun River across Dongxing city of China's Guangxi Autonomous Region. It has a population of about 103,000 ...
,
Lào Cai
Lào Cai () is a city in the Northwest region of Vietnam. It is the capital of Lào Cai Province. The city borders Bảo Thắng District, Bát Xát District, Sa Pa and the city of Hekou Yao Autonomous County, in Yunnan province of southwes ...
,
Sa Pa
Sa Pa (, also written as Sapa) is a district-level town of Lào Cai Province in the Northwest region of Vietnam. As of 2018, the town had a population of 61,498. The town covers an area of 677 km2. The town capital lies at Sa Pa. It is one ...
,
Hòa Bình,
Thanh Hóa
Thanh Hóa () is the capital of Thanh Hóa Province. The city is situated in the east of the province on the Ma River (Sông Mã), about 150 kilometers (93 miles) south of Hanoi and 1560 kilometers (969 miles) north of Ho Chi Minh City. Thanh ...
,
Vinh,
Huế
Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...
,
Da Nang
Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one ...
,
Vũng Tàu
Vũng Tàu (''Hanoi accent:'' , ''Saigon accent:'' ) is the largest city of Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province in southern Vietnam. The city area is , consists of 13 urban wards and one commune of Long Sơn Islet. Vũng Tàu was the capital of the pr ...
,
Côn Đảo
The Côn Đảo ("Côn Island") are an archipelago of Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province, in the Southeast region of Vietnam, and also a district () of this province.
Geography
Situated about from Vũng Tàu and from Ho Chi Minh City, the group ...
,
Cà Mau and
Phú Quốc.
Pilot training
VNH Training Center is
Ministry of Defense-certified as a training center. It trains pilots, ground services staff, aviation engineering staff, and pilots on its modern group of aircraft including the
EC225
The Airbus Helicopters H225 (previously Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma) is a long-range passenger transport helicopter developed by Eurocopter as the next generation of the civilian Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma, Super Puma family. It is a twin-engin ...
, Super Puma AS-322 L2,
EC155 B1, Mi-172, and the Mi-17-1V.The VNH Training Center has trained its own staff along with the
Vietnam People's Air Force, and the
Vietnam People's Navy. Trainers themselves were trained by helicopter companies in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
and
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
.
Missing in Action program
The MIA program started as flights to search for missing Americans following the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. The MIA program was established between the United States and the VNH on 18 April 1990. VNH has flown more than 100 searches throughout Vietnam, including many over dangerous regions and in hazardous weather conditions. These actions contributed to the normalization of
United States–Vietnam relations.
Aeronautical engineering services
The aeronautical engineering centers of VNH:
Northern Vietnam Helicopter Company,
Southern Service Flight Company
Vietnam Helicopters (VNH), formally the Vietnam Helicopter Corporation (), also known by its military designation Corps 18 (), is a transportation business owned by the Ministry of Defense (Vietnam), Vietnam Ministry of National Defense. It operate ...
and Helicopter Technical Services Corporation (Helitechco) are licensed by the AMO aircraft maintenance organization of
Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam
The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV or simply CAA; vi, Cục Hàng không Việt Nam, lit=Authority of Aviation of Vietnam) is the aviation authority under the Ministry of Transport of Vietnam. It handles and regulates civil aviation ...
. Helitechco is the only engineering center in Asia that has been ratified by the MIL Institute to maintain Russian-made Mi-type aircraft. More than 200 CAAV certified-staff are undergoing training at universities and colleges in domestic and international aviation. Engineers and technical staff attend courses in the operation and maintenance for helicopters in Russia and France as well as planes including the
EC225
The Airbus Helicopters H225 (previously Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma) is a long-range passenger transport helicopter developed by Eurocopter as the next generation of the civilian Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma, Super Puma family. It is a twin-engin ...
, Super Puma AS-322 L2,
EC155 B1, Mi-172 and
Mi-17-1V. Helitechco and aeronautical engineering centers of VNH can:
*Overhaul Mi-type of plane with technical maintenance for 500 hours
*Technical maintenance for more than 2200 hours for the
EC225
The Airbus Helicopters H225 (previously Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma) is a long-range passenger transport helicopter developed by Eurocopter as the next generation of the civilian Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma, Super Puma family. It is a twin-engin ...
, Super Puma AS-322 L2 and
EC155 B1.
*Accessory maintenance for Eurocopter and Mi planes
Other services
* Tourism, aerial photography, cargo sling; MEDEVAC, search and rescue
* Subcontracting operations services, pilots and mechanics for other helicopter owners
* National security and defense
* General businesses: office and warehouse leasing; supply and transportation of aviation fuel; forwarding logistics services
Leaders
* General director: Hà Tiến Dũng
* Political commissar: Vi Công Dũng
* Vice general director: Kiều Đặng Hùng
* Vice general director: Trần Đình Nam
Fleet
*
Eurocopter EC225
*
Eurocopter AS332 L2 Super Puma
*
AugustaWestland AW189
*
Eurocopter EC155 B1
*
Mi-172
The Mil Mi-17 (NATO reporting name: Hip) is a Soviet-designed Russian military helicopter family introduced in 1975 (Mi-8M), continuing in production at two factories, in Kazan and Ulan-Ude. It is known as the Mi-8M series in Russian service. ...
*
Mi-17-1V
*
Cabri G2
The Guimbal Cabri G2 is a two-seat light helicopter produced by Hélicoptères Guimbal, and powered by a reciprocating engine. Designed by Bruno Guimbal, a former Eurocopter engineer, it had its origins in the 1980s, and the first demonstrator ...
*
Eurocopter EC130T2
*
Bell 505 Jet Ranger X (VN-8650 crashed in 5/4/2023)
Subsidiaries
* Northern Vietnam Helicopter Company, based in
Gia Lam airport
Gia Lam Airport () is an airport in Hanoi, Vietnam, located in Long Biên District, on the eastern bank of the Red River. It is primarily a military field, used by the Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF), with MiG-21 fighters and Kamov Ka-28 helic ...
, Hanoi.
* Central Vietnam Helicopter Company, based in
Danang International Airport and
Nuoc Man Helibase, Danang.
* Southern Vietnam Helicopter Company, based in
Vũng Tàu Airport
Vung Tau Airport () is a small airport in southern Vietnam, in the Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province. The airport serves the city of Vũng Tàu and is located near the downtown of the city.
Facilities
There is a 1,800 m paved runway (as of 2006). ...
,
Vung Tau.
Accidents
*On 7 April 2001, a
Mi-17
The Mil Mi-17 (NATO reporting name: Hip) is a Soviet-designed Russian military helicopter family introduced in 1975 (Mi-8M), continuing in production at two factories, in Kazan and Ulan-Ude. It is known as the Mi-8M series in Russian service. ...
helicopter crashed in
Quang Binh province while conducting a US Missing in Action program mission, killing all 16 people on board (including 9 Americans).
*On 18 October 2016, an
Eurocopter EC130 crashed near
Vung Tau while conducting training flight, killing 3 crew members.
*On 5 April 2023, a
Bell 505 on a sightseeing flight crashed in
Ha Long Bay, killing the pilot and four tourists.
Achievements
* January 31, 1989: First flight to the Dan Queen oil rig of Bow Valley Energy ''(
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
)'' of flight crew UH1A
* 1985: Flight contract with
Vietsovpetro
Vietsovpetro, headquartered in Vung Tau, Vietnam, is a joint Russian-Vietnamese enterprise for oil and gas exploration.
According to the VNR500 (Top 500) ranking, Vietsovpetro is Vietnam's 8th largest company.
It was established in 1981 under ...
* 1989: Initial oil company service
* 1992:
MIA program
* 1994: Shareholder of Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank
* 1997: Becomes leader of the Vietnam helicopter services market
* 1999:
President of Vietnam issues Third
Military Exploit Order enabling training for foreign pilots
* 2000: Supply planes, pilots and mechanics for oil services in
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
* 2005: Transfer from
Vietnam People's Air Force to
Ministry of Defense (Vietnam)
The Ministry of National Defence ( vi, Bộ Quốc phòng, abbreviated as MoD for ''Ministry of Defence'' in English language, English or BQP for ''Bộ Quốc phòng'' in Vietnamese language, Vietnamese) is the governmental ministry of the Viet ...
* 2009:
Socialist Republic of Vietnam give the title
Hero of Labor
* 2014:
President of Vietnam issues second
Military Exploit Order
References
External links
Official website of Vietnam Helicopter Corporation*
*
{{Airlines of Vietnam
Airlines of Vietnam
Helicopter airlines
Vietnamese companies established in 1979
Airlines established in 1979