Italian charterer Elisem has blossomed into an aviation organisation comprised of three distinct companies, based in Sulmona. Elisem still undertakes aerial work such as corporate air taxi, photography and medevac with its Robinsons; Elisem Flight School is in the process of acquiring FTO certification; and Euroeliali srl is an authorised dealer and service centre for Robinson helicopters.

The company’s fleet is comprised of two Robinson R-22 Betas, one R-22 Beta Mariner, two R-22 Beta IFR trainers, two R-22 Beta IIs and one AS 350 Squirrel.

“The strengths of the Robinson helicopter are many, but at the top of the list are its dependability and low operating costs,” said Nicola De Feo, sales manager at Euroeliali, “and Elisem has chosen to use many as a result of the high market demand. We do have plans to buy others, and we are already one of the biggest Robinson R22 users in Europe.” Two other mono-turbine helicopters and two new generation bi-turbine helicopters are on the shopping list, De Feo reports.

The charterer undertakes a lot of search and rescue work. EBAN asked De Feo to divulge some of Elisem’s more interesting escapades: “Examples of animal and person rescue are the transportation of a four day old baby in an incubator and the lifting of a horse fallen in a ditch with the baricentric hook. In some instances of aerial work with the baricentric hook it is improper to define the event as dangerous – it can be considered extreme or at the limit for various factors.

“The hours flown for the cinema and advertisements are those most well-liked, the helicopter and the pilot are actors and directors at the same time,” he added.

Fire observation and repression, crop spraying, heli-ski and patrol flights and tourist flights are also undertaken by Elisem. The company was founded in 1990 with two R-22 Betas from a base at San Benedetto del Tronto.

The principal customers for air charter that the company is seeing are industrial and management people. Charter flights tend to be to Italy, Switzerland and France, and most passenger flights are undertaken in the Squirrel. “The Italian market for air taxi in Italy at the moment is in rapid recovery,” said De Feo.

In 1996, Elisem opened a base at Forlí Airport on a contract to train government pilots. “In collaboration with the Ministry of Public Instruction, we train pilots that then are used in the civil field, in roles

such as forest warders, fire fighters, police force, and financial guards,” said De Feo.

Courses available at the flight school include the private and commercial pilot’s licence, IFR, VFR/IFR instructor licences, type qualification, ATPL qualification and theoretical courses. 200 pilots have qualified since 1996.

“There have never been as many people interested in pilot training as in these past five years,” said De Feo. “There are three primary reasons for this: There are a greater number of helicopters used today, there has been a significant generational change, and in the civil field it has been demonstrated that there are a greater number of pilots used that are not militarily trained.”

The third part of the Elisem group is Euroeliali srl, the consulting and maintenance part of the business, born in 1995.

Its first goal, De Feo reports, was to import, certify and become the dealer for the DTM3 agricultural kit within Italy. The kit facilitates the spraying of fields, forests and vineyards, and is built exclusively for the R-22 helicopter. Consultation work followed, and the company obtained certification as a maintenance business, employing new, experienced personnel. In 1999, it was authorised by Robinson Helicopter as a dealer and service centre. It has an 8,000 square foot hangar and its own offices, warehouses and workshops at its Sulmona base.