FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1999
1999 - 0326.PDF
HAI HSU EXPO EC-funded tiltrotor hits setback EUROCOPTER'S HOPES of establishing a pan-European consortium to pursue a European Commission-funded tiltrotor de monstrator has suffered a setback, witii Agusta instead pressing for aid to develop a compound helicopter. "We're proposing that Agusta and Westland study something that does not exist now, such as a compound helicopter. Money has been invested in the USA in tiltro- tors, so we don't see why we have to spend money in Europe," says Giuseppe Orsi, Agusta deputy gen eral manager marketing and sales. Manufacturers expect to submit proposals shortly to the Commis sion for Large Scale Integrated Platform funding of new aerospace technology projects. Eurocopter is seeking tiltrotor research financing and hopes to enlist the support of former Eurofar study partners Agusta and GKN Westland. Eurocopter president Patrick Gavin says: "We're working to launch a technology programme to see if we could offer to the com mercial market an aircraft dian can be operated economically. It's a continuation of Eurofar.. .We intend to have partnerships with odier European companies." Agusta already holds a 25% stake in the six/nine-seat Bell BA609 tiltrotor and plans to estab lish an assembly line at its Vergiate plant from 2002. The Italian com- Agusta questions whether Europe should replicate tiltrotor research panys joint venture agreement with Bell precludes it from partici pating in competing tiltrotor developments up to an 18-seat class, says Orsi, who is also a Bell/ Agusta Aerospace board member. A compound helicopter pro gramme would demonstrate the technical viability of adding a fixed wing and a tail-mounted ducted propeller for enhanced perfor mance. Westland, which has announced plans to merge with Agusta, has been looking at a Rolls- Royce Turbomeca RTM3 2 2 -pow ered compound Lynx and, possi bly, a larger EH101 version, although it has had difficulty get ting development assistance from die UKMinistry of Defence. The earlier Eurofar tiltrotor studies focused on tiltrotors with 12, 19 and 30 seats. By July, Eurocopter expects to conclude its own internal study of tiltrotors and tfreir anticipated impact on die tra ditional helicopter market. It has also been commissioned by the French defence ministry to con duct a study of military tiltrotor applications. Gavin has already stated he regards a BA609-sized tiltrotor as too small to be commercially viable. The company is understood to be focusing attention instead on larger developments, including possibly a 2 5t-class transport, seat ing up to 30 passengers. This, in turn, has caught the attention of powerplant suppliers R-R says that the RTM322 would be suitable for a 9,100- 11,400kg (20,000-25,0001b)-class tiltrotor, while a twin-pack version could be another possibility for a larger, four-engine, development. Pratt & Whitney Canada similarly says that it is"staying in tune" widi development, with an eye to a future tiltrotor application for its PW100 series turboprop. • Helicopter operators face airspace restrictions The largest Heli Expo ever, held in Dallas, Texas, on 21- 23 February, set a generally optimistic tone, but sound ed warnings about the chal lenges facing the com mercial helicopter industry, including waning public acceptance and a shrinking pilot population. PAUL DERBY, PAUL LEWIS AND GRAHAM WARWICK RETORT. PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAVID HIGDON. Heli-Flite plans for shared ownership launch in Texas HELI-FLITE IS in discus sions to link its planned heli copter fractional ownership pro gramme with one of the major US-based business jet shared own ership schemes. The company plans to start op erations in April in Texas, with two Bell 430s serving die area within a 450km (250nm) radius of Dallas/ Fort Worth. Heli-Flite hopes to have at least fivehelicopters in ser vice by year end, including Bell- owned core fleet 430s at a ratio of one for every two fractionally owned aircraft. "We are talking about a possible alliance with two of the major fixed-wing [fractional ownership] operators," says president Mark Ozenick. Alink-up would allow die operators to offer "door-to-door" service to owners. Heli-Flite plans to grow its heli copter fractional ownership pro gramme widiin five years to a total of 35 aircraft in five regions. After the Texas launch, the company plans to locate two 430s each in Denver, New York and Soutftern California. Ozenick says Heli-Flite plans to offer only Bell products. The com pany is looking at offering shares in the Bell 407 and 427, and is "definitely interested" in the Bell/ Agusta BA609 tiltrotor. "The 609 would allow us to expand our oper ating radius," he says. • AMAJOR CHALLENGE fac ing helicopter operators in the next millennium will be maintain ing die freedom to fly in unrestrict ed airspace, says Helicopter Associ ation International president Roy Resavage. Speaking at the show, Resavage said that a proposed bill before Congress effectively would give US communities the power to control the number of helicopter flights above their cities. The proposal would mean that any conurbation with more than 500,000 residents would be able to petition the US Federal Aviation Administration to perform a survey of rotary operations. The FAA would then have a 60 days to respond widi a series of actions to reduce helicopter noise. "Taking the responsibility for regulating airspace out of die hands of die FAA would be a major mis take in our opinion," says Resavage, The industry is being challenged by pressure groups keen to limit helicopter operations, he says, especially in areas where sightsee ing flights are enjoying a boom. Congress approved a law last year requiring the FAA to work with die National Park Service to develop airspace management plans for parks. The legislation stopped short of banning the con struction of commercial airports close to national park boundaries. Resavage says: "Another exam ple is the situation in Hawaii, where pressure is being applied to halt many helicopter excursions. But, if you look at die environmental impact of die helicopter compared to, say, die motor car, we match up very well." The loss of key heliports in major US cities is also a concern to operators. New York now has just three heliports following the clo sure of its East 60fh Street facility and Boston may also lose a site later this year. • 30 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 3 - 9 March 1999
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
