Helicopters – Page 233
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Turkish clearance
US manufacturers have been cleared to bid to provide Turkey with more than 100 advanced attack helicopters. The US Government says that it is in the US national security interest to provide assistance to Turkey. In 1996, political controversy over US concerns that they would be used against Kurdish civilians ...
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Helijet cross-border
Vancouver-based Helijet Airways has launched North America's first scheduled international helicopter service, with three daily flights between Victoria, British Columbia, and Seattle, Washington, using 12-seat Sikorsky S-76s. East Asia Airlines, meanwhile, plans to take delivery of three improved S-76C+ helicopters later this year, also in 12-passenger configuration, for use on ...
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Kawasaki offers improved BK117
Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) has begun marketing avionics and structural enhancements for its locally built version of the Eurocopter BK117, in an effort to boost sales. In May, the Japan civil-aviation bureau completed type certification of KHI's new active vibration-reduction (AVR) system for the 3.5t-class helicopter. The system ...
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Helikopter Service links with Rotex on long-line projects
Norway's Helikopter Service is in the final stages of setting up a joint venture with newly formed central European helicopter operator Rotex to cover long-line work in the oil and construction industries worldwide. David Price, Helikopter Service project manager, says that the Bergen-based company intends to use the ...
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Broken link grounds Explorers
McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems (MDHS) Explorer helicopters have been grounded "until further notice" following the discovery of a broken adjustable collective drive-link. Subsequent tests have revealed the need for a redesign of the assembly. The company notified operators of the grounding order on the evening of 28 May, ...
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Grizzly delivery
Kaman has delivered a K-MAX external-lift helicopter to Grizzly Mountain Aviation, of Prineville, Oregon. The company has now sold 13 of the intermeshing-rotor helicopters, and two are on lease to operators. Grizzly Mountain will use the single-seat, single-engined aircraft for logging operations. An aircraft was also recently handed over to ...
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MDHS promises first MD 600N delivery
McDONNELL Douglas Helicopter Systems (MDHS) will deliver its first MD 600N in early June, to Grand Canyon tour operator AirStar Helicopters, following delayed US certification. The company has seven aircraft ready for hand over, and hopes to deliver up to 30 of the tailrotor-less MD 600Ns this year. ...
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Chirac's Chinese visit reaps a harvest of civil orders
China Aviation Supplies (CASC) has placed a $1.5 billion order for a second batch of 30 Airbus Industrie A320/A321s, further strengthening the European consortium's growing presence in that country. It is the biggest of three deals announced during the visit of French president Jacques Chirac to Beijing in ...
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Canpolar seeks help for ice-test system
Canpolar East, a Canadian machine-vision company based in St Johns, New- foundland, is looking for partners to develop a laser-based system able to measure ice accumulation on aerofoils. The technology, developed by Canada's National Research Centre (NRC), could form the basis of a hand-held sensor for use in wing de-icing, ...
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Ayres wants more turboprop power for Loadmaster
AYRES WANTS more powerful engines for the LM200 Loadmaster freighter and it is talking to LHTEC and Pratt & Whitney Canada about how they can satisfy the new requirement. The agricultural-aircraft maker, based in Albany, Georgia, launched the Loadmaster cargo aircraft in November 1996 with an order for ...
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MD 600N ticket close
The delayed US certification of the McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems (MDHS) MD600N is expected early in May. MDHS has raised the rotor minimum speed and moved the tail-thruster exit to on top of the tailboom to eliminate blade strikes on the boom caused by rotor droop during control reversals at ...
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A return to business
With confidence in the UK economy on the rise, it seems fitting that the 1997 European Business Air Show (EBAS) should be hosted at London's Stansted Airport for the first time. The sixth annual EBAS will run from the 13-15 May, and will feature all aspects of business aviation. "EBAS ...
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Wankel examines multi-fuel engine
German engine manufacturer Wankel Rotary is studying the development of a multi-fuel rotary engine for aircraft and helicopter applications. Wankel says that the variable installation position (VIP) engine will be able to run on avgas, kerosene, diesel, natural gas, methanol or hydrogen, and will offer substantial weight savings ...
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Crash grounds BK117S
The US Federal Aviation Administration has grounded Eurocopter BK117s until the tailbooms can be inspected for fatigue cracks. The move follows the crash of Colgate-Palmolive's corporate aircraft on take-off in New York on 15 April, killing one passenger. Since then cracks have been found in three more helicopters. ...
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Clinton stymied by vested interests
Sir - Why cancel the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F22, McDonnell Douglas F18E/F, or even the Joint Strike Fighter, purely to accelerate delivery of the Bell-Boeing V-22 tiltrotor? (Flight International, 23-29 April, P18). I had wondered why certain US politicians had been trying to make out that the F18E/F "-didn't ...
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Sextant courts China with AVIC proposal
France's biggest avionics manufacturer, Sextant Avionique, has made an unprecedented offer for an "across-the-board" alliance with Aviation Industries of China (AVIC) for local development and manufacture of avionics for civil aircraft and helicopters. The offer, which comes a month before French president Jacques Chirac visits China, parallels overtures ...
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Tiger Stinger tests
The Eurocopter Tiger anti- tank helicopter has undergone a successful series of five live test firings of the Stinger air-to-air missile. The launches were made from the fifth prototype Tiger in various flight conditions, including hover, descent at 500ft/min (2.5m/s) and 50kt (90km/h) forward speed. Source: ...
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Training rigs
Most offshore oil and gas installations around the world are supported by helicopter operations, and yet the work, particularly the landing on rigs, continues to be dangerous, often combining a cramped industrial environment with bad weather conditions. Helideck crews on rigs, therefore, need to be prepared for the worst - ...
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Dasa improves but continues with loss
Daimler-Benz Aerospace (Dasa) stayed in the red during 1996, ending the year with an operating loss of DM196 million ($114 million) after a poor performance from the military-aircraft and missiles businesses. The result continues the improvement made after 1995, when charges from the withdrawal from the Fokker regional ...
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Virgin Executive Aviation takes off
The Virgin Group has joined forces with the McCarthy leisure-investment group to form Virgin Executive Aviation, a corporate-jet and helicopter charter company aimed at exploiting European business and leisure-travel markets. The new company also plans to offer feeder services into London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports for Virgin Atlantic's ...