MD Helicopters, Inc (MDHI) and Avion Pacific Limited (AVION), MD’s Distributor for Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, announce a sales contract with Jiang Su Huaxi Group (HUAXI) for a September delivery of a new MD 902 Explorer.

Huaxi Village, also known as “The No.1 Village of China,” located in the east of Jiangyin city in Jiangsu Province has a population of thirty thousand and a physical size of around 30 square kilometers.  Over the past 40 years, the village and region has become an industrial and commercial powerhouse offering a wide range of opportunities to its residents. Huaxi, considered the richest village in China, has annual sales revenue which exceeds 30 billion RMB, and claims more than 1 million tourists a year.

The new MD Explorer will be used for general corporate purposes and sight seeing.  Powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada 207E engines with 720 shaft horsepower per engine, the MD Explorer has the highest payload in the light-twin class.  With a maximum gross weight of 6,500 pounds (2948 kg), it boasts exceptional power for take-off and landing on elevated platforms.  The Category A rating allows for continuity of takeoff with safe return to the takeoff point in the event of a failure of one of its engines.  The NOTAR system makes the MD Explorer the quietest and safest helicopter in its class.  The MD Explorer is certified by the FAA, China’s CAAC and Europe’s EASA for Category A and single pilot instrument flight rule (IFR) operations.

About AVION
AVION is a distributor for all MD helicopter products in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.  AVION, established in 1993, specializes in aircraft sales, operations, consulting and after sales support in China.

About MD Helicopters, Inc.
MD Helicopters, Inc., is a leading manufacturer of commercial and military helicopters.  The MDHI family of rotorcraft is world renowned for its value, versatility and performance.  The MD Helicopters family includes the twin-engine MD Explorer®, and single engine versions of the MD 600N®, MD 520N®, MD 500E® and MD 530F®. The NOTAR® system for anti-torque control is used exclusively by MD Helicopters. The Company is based in Mesa, Ariz.  For more information about MDHI visit http://www.mdhelicopters.com .

About Patriarch Partners LLC
The Patriarch platform is a vertically integrated private equity firm with robust in-house operational turnaround expertise. Patriarch Partners , founded in 2000, was built upon a proprietary patented financial model designed to manage and monetize the distressed portfolios of financial institutions. Patriarch has since evolved into a global investment firm that concentrates on direct investments in distressed businesses with a focus to rebuild them, managing funds with over $7 billion of equity and secured loan assets with equity investments in more than 70 companies, and controlling interests in approximately two-thirds of these.  For more information, please visit http://www.patriarchpartners.com.