Rotorcraft

VAI names François Lassale as president and CEO
Vertical Aviation International Press Release | August 18, 2025

https://verticalmag.com/press-releases/vai-names-francois-lassale-as-pr…

https://www.linkedin.com/in/francoislassale/

Congratulations to François Lassale, Group Managing Director and CEO at SGi, HeliNiugini, and Allway Merit, and former Chief Executive Officer at HeliOffshore Ltd, on his appointment as President and CEO of VAI.

François Lassale is also one of the early members of EHEST—later renamed ESPN-R.

The topic of aviation safety is a difficult subject to teach as it has to reach the student’s mind AND heart to gain maximum effect. Richard’s style of teaching and education achieves precisely this objective. Richard has devoted much of his life to educating pilots and mechanics from all over the globe using a masterful blend of visual aids, memorable stories and insightfully detailed explorations of aircraft and operations. This book is the result of Richard’s commitment to overall aviation safety and, to Robinson’s benefit, his emphasis on light helicopter safety in particular. I share his passion for the topic and have greatly enjoyed reading Richard’s Tea and Biscuits lessons over the years. The subjects covered in this book do a phenomenal job of addressing common factors that result in serious and fatal accidents in light helicopters.
The Robinson Helicopter family, our customers, employees, dealers and service centers, are safer today as a result of Richard’s immense contributions and tireless dedication to this worthwhile subject. I hope you enjoy Richard’s book and hope you will share it with your pilot and engineer/mechanic colleagues. Fly Safe!

David Smith
President and CEO
Robinson Helicopter Company

Applicability of Regulation (EU) 2023/203 to Small ATOs Operating Mechanically Controlled Helicopters

Dear colleagues,

Our ATO recently received a notice from our national aviation authority that, under Regulation (EU) 2023/203, we will be required to implement a full Information Security Management System (ISMS). We operate a small helicopter flight school using non-networked, mechanically controlled aircraft such as the Robinson R44 and provide PPL(H) and LAPL(H) training.

We are concerned about the proportionality of this requirement, especially considering:
- AOC holders operating similar helicopters under commercial conditions are explicitly excluded from the scope of the regulation (Art. 2 (c)(iii)), even though they are typically subject to stronger regulatory oversight.
- Our systems are not connected to external networks, and our aircraft have no digital interfaces that would allow a cyberattack to impact flight safety.
- The ELA2 exemption for ATOs under Art. 2(d) does not apply to helicopters like the R44, although their risk profile is comparable to ELA2 airplanes.

We are interested in learning how other small ATOs are interpreting this regulation and whether there has been any guidance or flexibility from your competent authority regarding implementation.

Does anyone else feel that a risk-based, proportionate approach would be more suitable here?

Looking forward to your insights and experiences.

Best regards,
Henry