Unither Bioelectronique (UB) is claiming several aviation firsts following the first flight of a piloted hydrogen fuel cell-powered helicopter.
Taking place at Bromont airport in Quebec, Canada on 27 March, the maiden sortie of the modified Robinson Helicopter R44 (C-FXUB) lasted 3min and 16s.
UB replaced the R44’s piston engine with a hydrogen fuel cell powertrain and Magnix electric motor, a configuration that also includes a small battery pack to manage transient power demands.
During the flight, around 90% of the energy required was provided by the two fuel cell stacks.
UB says the sortie “represents a critical step toward developing conforming designs and certification protocols for hydrogen-powered aircraft.”
In addition, it claims several aviation firsts, including the world’s first flight demonstration of a piloted hydrogen-powered helicopter; Canada’s first piloted hydrogen-powered flight; and a successful validation of the fuel cell technology for the vertical-lift application.
UB has developed the hydrogen-powered R44 through a joint effort with Robinson called Project Proticity that was announced last August.
This aims to accelerate the development of zero-emission helicopters based on Robinson’s R44 and R66 models.
“Our first test flight successfully demonstrated the hover and manoeuvre capabilities of our innovative hydrogen powertrain,” says Mikael Cardinal, vice-president, program management & business development, organ delivery systems at UB.
“Our next phase of development will focus on integrating a liquid hydrogen storage system which we believe is an essential technology for enabling our extended-range missions to deliver manufactured organ alternatives to patients in need.”
“The importance of this milestone in aviation history cannot be overstated,” adds David Smith, chief executive of Robinson Helicopter.
“Project Proticity has taken an incredible first step forward in the path to long-range, zero-emission vertical flight.”
