All Helicopters articles – Page 225
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Light flier
Peter Gray/SINGAPORE With so many other light helicopters on the market, it was going to be interesting to evaluate the five-seat EC120B Colibri, the new multipurpose machine from Eurocopter and its Chinese and Singaporean partners. The aim of my evaluation, which follows Flight International's technical description, was to see if ...
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ATR seeks ways to revive Airjet
Julian Moxon/PARIS The Aerospatiale/Alenia ATR regional aircraft consortium is "urgently" studyingways of resurrecting the Airjet regional jet programme following the collapse of the Aero International (Regional)partnership with British Aerospace, according to ATR president Patrick Gavin. He says that CASA of Spain remains a potential partner in any programme, ...
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ESDU fatigue data
ESDU has released a data item which describes the standard loading sequence for fatigue assessment of helicopter rotor systems. The Helix is intended for hinged rotor systems, while the Felix is destined for fixed (semi-rigid) systems. Source: Flight International
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Canada arranges a cheaper EH101 deal
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Canada has negotiated a lower price and better offsets for its purchase of 15 EH Industries AW520 Cormorant search and rescue (SAR) helicopters. The final contract is worth C$579 million ($404.8 million), down by over C$13 million from the maximum value announced when the Cormorant ...
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Mitsubishi tackles vibration problem
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) is working to reduce vibration levels in its new MH2000 helicopter, as part of several design refinements targeted at securing full Type A airworthiness certification for the civil machine. Company efforts are focused on improving the twin-turboshaft helicopter, including better dynamic system damping and demonstration ...
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Japan promotes unmanned helicopters for crop dusting
Paul Lewis/GIFU, JAPAN Two Japanese aerospace manufacturers have begun to promote the commercial use of unmanned helicopters for agricultural crop dusting and airborne surveillance missions. Kawada Industries has developed the RoboCopter 300 based on the Schweizer 300CB and had accumulated 40h of flight time by mid-April. The company hopes ...
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UK apache runs
Ground runs of a GKN Westland WAH-64 attack helicopter fitted with the Rolls-Royce Turboméca RTM-322 were carried out for the first time on 6 April. The aircraft is scheduled to fly by mid-year. Source: Flight International
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Lucas drives on
Lucas Aerospace has been selected by Bell Helicopter Textron to supply main input drive-shaft assemblies for upgraded H-1 helicopters. Source: Flight International
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Turbine Helicopters Accidents list
David Learmount/LONDON See also Loss of Control Individual turbine-helicopter accident details have been supplied by Airclaims* from its World Airline Accident Summary (WAAS), which it compiles and publishes on behalf of the UK Civil Aviation Authority. The WAAS also provides analysis by category under aircraft type, event, ...
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Loss of control
Often it is unfair to blame only the pilot for colliding with objects near a helipad. Some sites are unnecessarily cluttered with objects waiting to be hit Helicopters cannot afford malfunctions, because when they happen loss of control is frequently the result David Learmount/london Fixed ...
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US Coast Guard starts replacement programme
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC The USCoast Guard has launched a programme to replace its fleets of aircraft and surface vessels. A request for proposals for the Integrated Deepwater System programme was released in March, and up to three teams will be awarded concept development contracts in July. The Coast ...
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Shell shocks British International Helicopters
British International Helicopters (BIH) faces an uncertain future after Shell UK Exploration and Production (Shell Expro) awarded a vital £175 million ($289 million) North Sea support contract to rival UK operator Bristow Helicopters. Aberdeen, Scotland-based BIH has held the Shell Expro contract for the past 30 years. It will ...
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Boeing gives 2000 bug guarantee
Ian Sheppard/LONDON Boeing will give written guarantees that its aircraft will behave normally through the transition to the year 2000, despite a decision by aviation insurers to exclude their own liability to the millennium software bug. James Wigfall, Boeing's manager for business relations and support systems, spoke about ...
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Second Sikorsky Skycrane is converted for use as firefighter
Erickson Air-Crane is remanufacturing a second Sikorsky S-64 and offering it to operators as a firefighting "Helitanker". Oregon-based Erickson bought the S-64 Skycrane type certificate from Sikorsky in 1992. The company developed more than 100 modifications for the helicopter before producing its first Air-Crane in July 1997. The zero-time ...
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Busy Socata is forced to delay Tangara
Julian Moxon/PARIS Production of the Socata Tangara light twin is to be delayed by up to a year, as the French manufacturer meets increased demand for subcontracting work and its TBM700 single. French certification of the Textron Lycoming 0-360-A1G6 powered Tangara was obtained in December 1997, with production start-up originally ...
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Hunting sale
Hunting has sold its engine repair business to Canada's CHC helicopter group. The £25 million ($41.6 million) deal comes as the latest in a string of disposals from the UK group, which is winding down its civil aviation division, and follows the recent sale of its aircraft interiors business. The ...
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Helicopter DGPS trial progresses
A team of Honeywell, Sikorsky and Universal Avionics has completed the first phase of test flights to develop precision approach procedures for helicopters using differential global positioning system (DGPS) guidance. "We're very encouraged," says Sikorsky engineering test and project pilot Dave Wright. "Now we have a very good handle ...
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Allison is on track for 'Super R' certification
Allison Engine hopes to certificate an ambitious upgrade for its Model 250-C20R Series II turboshaft engine in the third quarter of 1998, says the Rolls-Royce owned company. Allison says that the "Super R" project will provide up to a 20% increase in power and is aimed at improving performance for ...
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Boeing/DARPA agree canard rotor/wing trial
Boeing's Phantom Works and the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have signed a $24 million cost sharing contract for a proof of concept demonstration of the canard rotor/wing (CR/W). The three year programme is to include flight testing of a subscale unmanned vehicle to demonstrate vertical take-off and ...
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Bell sale
Air Methods has sold a Bell 407 aeromedical helicopter to Arizona's Flagstaff Medical Center, which it will continue to operate under a long-term contract, alongside a Bell 206L-3. The company is to transfer a EurocopterBK117 to its Mercy Air Services subsidiary on completion of a long running contract with Stanford ...