Helicopters – Page 226
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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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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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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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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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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 ...
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Rogerson displays ambitions
Rogerson Kratos is to supply cockpit flat panel displays for an upgraded version of the Bell 412 twin turbine medium helicopter. The company will provide an electronic flight instrument system (EFIS) and integrated instrument display system (IIDS). Flight testing is due to begin by the end of the year. ...
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Q and A with Sikorsky's Gene Buckley
As president and chief executive officer of Sikorsky Gene Buckley, left, is one of the most influential men in the aerospace industry today. He talked to Paul Derby about his attitude to the fierce competition which exists in the helicopter market, his views on the future of the RAH-66 Comanche ...
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Textron confirms buying of Boeing helicopter business
Bell Helicopter Textron confirmed at the show yesterday that it is to buy a "substantial portion" of Boeing's commercial helicopter business. The deal, agreed by the two companies in the USA on Wednesday, will see Bell acquire the MD-500 and MD-600 series of turbine singles, but excludes the MD-900 ...
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Battle
Reacting to the news, European competitors say the consolidation underlines existing battle lines. "We are used to fighting our corner in this market," says Eurocopter's Marc Jouan. "We have great confidence in our products and we see nothing to change that view." Sikorsky president Gene Buckley has already taken ...
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Partners forecast strong demand for EC120B Colibri
Geoff Thomas Now celebrating its first century of sales, the Eurocopter EC120B Colibri helicopter is making its formal debut at the show. The single-engine EC120B is a new generation 1.5-tonne aircraft with 4/5 seats and it was designed from the outset with performance, safety, comfort and affordability in mind. Partners ...
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Parker move
Parker move Parker Aerospace has announced at the show the opening of a regional office in the south of France. The Toulouse business centre will provide local support for French customers including Dassault, Snecma, Airbus Industrie and Eurocopter. Parker Aerospace designs and manufactures hydraulic, fuel and pneumatic ...
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Civil tilt rotor order book is given boost from Japan
With speculation mounting that Bell Helicopter Textron is about to announce its purchase of Boeing's commercial helicopter business, Bell Boeing received a shot in the arm yesterday with the confirmation of three more 609 civil tilt rotor sales. Bell says Japan-based Mitsui Bussan Aerospace has signed a preliminary purchase agreement ...
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Bell selects Sextant
Bell has selected Sextant Avionique's AFDS95-1 automatic flight control system for the instrument flight rules version of its Model 427 light twin-turbine helicopter. Certification flight testing will be conducted by Premier Aviation under contract to Bell. The AFDS95-1 is certificated on the Agusta A109K2, with approval on the PZLSwidnik Sokol ...
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White paper aims for US airspace reform
US industry is pushing for development of a vertical flight infrastructure that will permit simultaneous non-interfering operations by fixed and rotary wing aircraft. A white paper drafted jointly by the American Helicopter Society (AHS) and the Helicopter Association International (HAI) was discussed at the HAI show in mid-February and will ...
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Bell confirms interest in Boeing
Bell HELICOPTER Textron is in "exclusive negotiations" to buy Boeing's commercial helicopter business, Bell president Terry Stinson has confirmed. Agreement has not yet been reached, but "Bell's position on the balance of Boeing's product line will be announced within the next two weeks", he revealed on 15 February at the ...
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Agusta expects approval in July for Koala single
Italian manufacturer Agusta expects to gain certification of its new A119 Koala single engined helicopter by the end of July, with first delivery due in September to an unnamed civilian customer. The A119 is Agusta's first turbine single in this popular sector of the market. "Everyone who needs space, but ...
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US team develops DGPS approaches
Flight testing is under way at Honeywell in Phoenix, Arizona, to develop precision approach procedures for helicopters, using differential global positioning system (DGPS) guidance. Honeywell has teamed with Sikorsky and Universal Avionics to help the US Federal Aviation Administration develop terminal procedures (TERPS), providing helicopter operators with greater flexibility ...
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Eurocopter aims to break into US market with new EC155
Eurocopter has launched its EC155 in the US market, eight months after the twin engined medium helicopter was unveiled in Europe. The aircraft, which will be marketed by American Eurocopter (AEC), is a modified and stretched variant of the AS365 Dauphin medium twin, boasting a 40% increase in cabin size. ...
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Mexican team buys S-76C+ for tourists' aeromedical programme
Sikorsky has sold four S-76C+ helicopters to Air Ambulance America for a Mexican aeromedical project. The aircraft will be delivered late this year for use in the Government funded You Are Safe in Mexico Association (YASMA) programme to promote tourism by providing emergency medical service coverage. Austin, Texas-based Air ...
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Demand for piston helicopters powers up
Three leading US piston helicopter makers, Enstrom, Robinson and Schweizer, report mixed sales fortunes in 1997. Torrence, California-based Robinson Helicopters continues to lead the sector with an increase in sales from 162 helicopters in 1996 to 244 helicopters in 1997, including 100 overhauled and remanufactured models. Of this total, 132 ...