Helicopters – Page 243
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Osprey progresses
Boeing Helicopters has delivered the first "production-representative" V-22 Osprey fuselage to partner Bell Helicopter Textron which is building the tilt-rotor aircraft's wing sections. The aircraft is scheduled to have its first flight in a year. Four V-22s are now in test flight and two ground-test articles were built ...
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Little room
Thailand has ordered three Eurocopter AS.332L2 Super Pumas for use by the country's royal family. The first two VIP-configured aircraft are scheduled for delivery in October 1996. The Super Puma was selected over the Sikorsky S-70 after it was determined that the US helicopter offered the King insufficient headroom in ...
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Board approves DASA cuts
Julian Moxon/PARIS GERMAN UNIONS have reacted angrily as Daimler-Benz Aerospace (DASA) received approval from its parent company to press ahead with plans to cut almost 9,000 jobs under the Dolores (dollar-low rescue) plan. DASA says that it remains "open to negotiations", but that the target of ...
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Olympic air system tested
Karen Walker/ATLANTA A REQUEST FOR proposals (RFP) has been issued to US helicopter operators interested in bidding for a contract to provide a premium short-haul transportation service in Atlanta, Georgia, during the 1996 Olympic Games. The RFP follows the successful initial trial of the planned ...
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Certification delay
Bell Helicopter Textron says that certification of the Model 430 intermediate twin-turbine helicopter has been pushed back by a month, to mid-January, to allow on-schedule certification of the light single-turbine Model 407 in mid-December. Both aircraft will have their public debuts at the Asian Aerospace show in Singapore on 6-11 ...
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Japanese hoist deal
Lucas Aerospace and Shinko Electric are to supply electrically powered hoists for Sikorsky UH-60A helicopters, licence-manufactured by Mitsubishi, to meet the Japan Ground Self-Defence Force UH-X requirement. Shinko will develop a power-drive system using Lucas technology. Source: Flight International
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Comanche tail rotor tested
THE ANTI-TORQUE TAIL-ROTOR system for the Boeing/Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche helicopter is being tested at Sikorsky's "whirl stand" in Stratford, Connecticut, USA. The planned test programme includes a 100h endurance run ahead of this month's first flight of the prototype Comanche. The eight-bladed "Fantail" is designed to provide increased protection from ...
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MD600N flight
McDonnell Douglas Helicopter System plans to fly the second MD600N single-turbine, no tail-rotor, helicopter in November. Certification and first deliveries are planned for the third quarter of 1996. The second aircraft will represent the final configuration, with six-bladed main rotor, digitally controlled Allison 250-C47 engine and larger fuel tank. ...
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Paris expansion
FlightSafety International (FSI), is building a third Bell 412/212 flight simulator, for installation at its Paris Le Bourget training centre. The Level D-standard helicopter simulator will be equipped with FSI's ChromaView visual system and MultiView panoramic display. Two 412/212 simulators at FSI's Bell training centre in Fort Worth, Texas, will ...
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Bell/Allison team tests helicopter safety devices
BELL HELICOPTER and Allison Engine have started flight-tests on an AlliedSignal device which reduces rotor droop in helicopters. Rotor droop is similar to power hesitation in a car, which can occur after the accelerator is quickly depressed. It occurs when the available torque of a helicopter's rotor blades ...
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Embraer signs S-92 gear deal
EMBRAER DIVISAO EQUIPAMENTOS (EDE) has signed a $110 million contract with Sikorsky to develop the landing gear for the S-92 19- to 22-passenger helicopter. Sikorsky plans to fly the first of five prototypes in 1998 and certificate the S-92 in 2000. The helicopter is being developed jointly by Sikorsky, EDE, ...
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Uprated S-76C+ on course for November approval
THE IMPROVED Sikorsky S-76C+ helicopter is on schedule for certification in November. A test-bed aircraft is being flown by Turbomeca with the up-rated, digitally controlled Arriel 2S1 engines planned for the C+ helicopter. It underwent a 150h endurance test in August. Certification flight-testing is to begin ...
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Explorer in Germany
McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems (MDHS) has sold its first MD Explorer in Germany, to IBCOL Group, its Munich-based distributor. The eight-place, twin-turbine helicopter will enter service with Bonn-based Air Lloyd early in 1996, for customer demonstrations and short-term charters. MDHS' African distributor, Comair, has delivered three MD 500Es to the ...
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ZFL reveals helicopter-transmission concept
Andrew Doyle/ AN INNOVATIVE power-transmission system for the next-generation of advanced helicopters has been unveiled by ZF Luftfahrttechnik (ZFL), which claims its design gives scope for significant weight savings and increased reliability. Friedrichshafen, Germany-based ZFL presented the idea to delegates attending the Aerospace Transmissions Technology ...
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FFV buys British
British Aerospace (Systems & Equipment) has won a contract from Sweden's FFV Aerotech to supply three SCR500 solid-state combined cockpit voice and flight-data recorders (CVR/DFDR) for installation on the Eurocopter Super Pumas of the Finnish Frontier Guard. Source: Flight International
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KLM Era helicopters expands
WITH OFFSHORE exploration in the Dutch Continental Shelf going into reverse, KLM Era helicopters is now planning to expand its UK operations. A large recruitment drive is being mounted on the expectation of winning additional contracts to service oil and gas fields offshore from East Anglia. Diversification into ...
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Letov co-operation extended
EUROCOPTER Deutschland and Letov signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on 14 September, extending their co-operation to include helicopter parts manufacture. Letov has been manufacturing components supplied by Eurocopter for the Airbus A321 airliner programme. The new agreement foresees Letov preparing airframe components "primarily" on the German-built ...
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Flying firefighters
The London fire service has been conducting an extensive trial in the use of helicopter air support. Brian Walters/LONDON EVERY WORKING DAY, about 2.5 million motor vehicles enter London, resulting in acute traffic jams at peak hours. In those conditions, it is hard for emergency services to ...
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Rotary ambitions
The European helicopter forum in St Petersburg highlighted the Mil and Kamov design bureaux. Alexander Velovich/MOSCOW HIGH-RANKING representatives of major helicopter manufacturers from Europe and the USA attended the European helicopter forum in St Petersburg, Russia, from 2 August-2 September intent on exploring market opportunities ...