Helicopters – Page 230
-
News
Private pioneers
Tim Furniss/LONDON Sixteen organisations in Argentina, the UK and the USA are competing for a $10 million prize to be won by becoming the first to finance privately and build a spacecraft which can carry three people on a suborbital flight to an altitude of 100km. The prize ...
-
News
Irish Police adds Ecureuil to fleet
The Irish Police air-support unit (ASU) has taken delivery of a Eurocopter AS355N Ecureuil 2. The aircraft will join the ASU's Pilatus Britten-Norman Defender 4000, which was delivered in August. Both aircraft are equipped with infra-red thermal imaging, recording cameras, searchlights and global- positioning navigation systems. Source: Flight ...
-
News
Commitment to Bell Boeing 609 grows
Although the first flight of the Bell Boeing Model 609 is still two years away, interest in the civil tilt-rotor continues to grow. The joint venture by Bell Helicopter Textron and Boeing holds preliminary purchase agreements from 29 customers representing 41 aircraft, including Evergreen Helicopters, Massachusetts Life Insurance, ...
-
News
Huzar claims denied
Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski says that a long-awaited decision on a missile to arm the PZL-Swidnik Huzar attack helicopter will only be taken after a new round of test launches has been carried out "on Polish soil, under Polish conditions". Kwasniewski has told reporters in Warsaw that fiÌnal choice of ...
-
News
Operators restart Puma flying
David Learmount/London The high-speed gear-shaft has become an early focus of investigators' attention into the crash of a Helikopter Service Eurocopter AS332L1 Super Puma on 8 September, says the Norwegian civil-aviation authority. The CAA emphasises, however, that this is a starting point following recovery of most of the ...
-
News
North Sea crash results in AS332L1 grounding
David Learmount/London North Sea oil-support companies have grounded voluntarily about 50 Eurocopter AS 332L1 Super Pumas following the crash off the Norwegian coast of a Helikopter Service helicopter on 8 September, when all 12 people on board were killed. The cause of the crash was unknown ...
-
News
Explorer first flight
Boeing's first production MD 903 Explorer twin-turbine helicopter had its first flight on 5 September at the manufacturer's base at Mesa, Arizona. The eight-seat light helicopter aircraft is an upgraded version of the original MD Explorer, offering more powerful Pratt & Whitney 206E turboshafts, 8% more range, 4% more endurance, ...
-
News
Allison-powered Ka-226 utility flies for first time
Kamov's Ka-226 utility helicopter made its first flight at Lyubertsy airfield near Moscow on 4 September. The helicopter is powered by two Allison-250-C20 turboshafts rated at 335kW (450hp) and is equipped with French and US avionics. By the end of this year, two more helicopters are planned to ...
-
News
Two bell 407s for India
Bell Helicopter Textron has sold two Model 407s to Pawan Hans, India's state-owned helicopter company, bringing to three the total number of 407s sold in India to date. New Delhi-based Span Air took delivery of the Ìrst Allison 250-C47-powered aircraft in 1996. Source: Flight International
-
News
Kamax delivery
Kaman Aerospace has delivered a K-MAX external lift helicopter to Bozeman, Montana-based Central Copters for use in logging operations in Montana and Idaho. The single-seat, single-turbine intermeshing-rotor helicopter can lift a maximum load of 2,700kg. Source: Flight International
-
News
Engine certificated
Pratt & Whitney Canada has received type certiÌcation from Transport Canada for its PT6B-37 turboshaft, which will power the Agusta A119 helicopter. Source: Flight International
-
News
P&WC Rus aims for subcontractor network in Russia
Pratt & Whitney Canada's new Russian subsidiary, formed after the break-up of the engine joint venture with Klimov, is planning to establish a network of subcontractors to make parts within Russia. Klimov's resistance to such outsourcing was a key reason behind the break-up of the original venture. P&WC ...
-
News
Master of the Loads
Graham Warwick/Washington DC Kathmandu is a long way from Albany, Georgia, but the power of the Internet has brought Ayres' Loadmaster to the attention of an operator in the Nepal capital, and others in places as far afield as Papua New Guinea and South Africa. Enquiries ...
-
News
Eurocopter leads rush into Russian helicopter market
Andrzej Jeziorski/MOSCOW Eurocopter has signed a further contract with the Russian emergencies ministry EMERCOM for one twin-turboshaft BK117, while USrival Bell is examining possible co-operative agreements to break into the Russian market. The Franco-German company already has a toe-hold in Russia with EMERCOM's current fleet of ...
-
News
Robst controls
Penny & Giles has developed a rotary variable-differential transformer for the automatic roller-decoupler device of the McDonnell Douglas AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, which, on damage to the primary flight controls, informs the flight-management system when control has passed to the back-up system. Production of the units will begin in November. ...
-
News
HAI
The Helicopter Association International (HAI), of Alexandria, Virginia, has made additions and promotions to its staff. Patricia Willibey is the new executive assistant to the president. Stephanie Minor becomes executive assistant to HAI's executive vice-president. Kimberly Newell has been promoted to sales manager. The association's new exhibits manager is Deborah ...
-
News
UK research team floats new helicopter ditching system
A British research project which is investigating improvements to emergency flotation devices has recommended further development of two devices which it believes could prevent helicopters which have ditched in heavy seas from inverting. BMT Fluid Mechanics, with help from GKN Westland Helicopters, has been undertaking the study for ...
-
News
Outrider UAV resumes flight test
ALLIANT TECHSYSTEMS has resumed flight testing of the Outrider tactical unmanned air vehicle (UAV) after a two-week hiatus while improvements were incorporated on the prototypes. It completed the seventh Outrider test flight on 9 August - the third successive flight longer than 20min. During the evaluation at the ...
-
News
K-MAX TBO extension
Kaman Aerospace hopes to increase time between overhauls (TBOs) on the transmission and rotors of the K-MAX external-lift helicopter, following intensive analytical overhauls. Present 1,800h TBOs are planned to be increased to 2,500h by the end of the year. Source: Flight International
-
News
Sikorsky plays S-92 card in Canadian competition
SIkorsky is offering the S-92 as an option in its bid to supply Canada with 15 search-and-rescue (SAR) helicopters. Sikorsky's main bid is based on a version of the UH-60 Black Hawk called the Maplehawk, but it has also offered to lease the helicopters to Canada until the S-92 is ...