GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC
Russian helicopter manufacturer already has orders in place for the yet-to-be-certificated six/eight seater aircraft
Pratt & Whitney Canada is to produce an initial batch of 20 PW207K engines to power Kazan Helicopters' Ansat light turbine twin. The six/eight-seat Ansat is set for Russian certification in the second half of next year.
The engine manufacturer has also delivered modified PW127s to power a demonstrator for the Mi-38 large twin-turbine helicopter being developed by Euromil, a joint venture of Kazan, Mil Moscow Helicopter and Eurocopter. The demonstrator is due to fly later this year, says P&WC president and chief executive Gilles Quimet.
The 480kW (650shp) PW207K is a growth version of the 335kW PW206C which powers the two Ansat prototypes. The first helicopter to be completely designed and produced by Tartarstan-based Kazan, the Ansat is a 3.3t aircraft designed to meet USFAR 29 certification standards.
Kazan has its first orders for the helicopter, for which Quimet sees "massive" sales potential. "They are holding discussions with several large fleet customers," Quimet says. Potential missions include border and pipeline patrol and pilot training, for which only large helicopters like the Mi-8 are available. "These are not cost effective," Quimet says.
The 15t, 30-passenger Mi-38, meanwhile, is being developed to replace the ubiquitous Mi-8. The demonstrator will be powered by modified versions of the PW127 turboprop and, if the helicopter is formally launched, P&WC plans to develop a 2,500kW turboshaft variant, the PW127T/S, jointly with its Russian subsidiary P&W-Rus.
The Mi-38 is being designed to meet USFAR 29 and European JAR 29 certification standards, with deliveries to begin in 2005. Euromil plans to offer versions powered by the PW127T/S and the TV7-117VM turboshaft from Russia's Klimov.
"Klimov is not happy with the use of a Pratt & Whitney engine on the Mi-38," acknowledges Quimet, adding that the Russian manufacturer is making a "substantial effort to develop its own engine". Euromil is working in parallel with Klimov, but plans to offer the P&WC engine initially "because it is already developed".
In other helicopter engine developments, Quimet says P&WC plans to launch full development of the 710kW PW209 growth version of the PW207 in the fourth quarter. Certification will take 30 months, he says. The company's 1,250kW PT6C-67 turboshaft, meanwhile, has been selected to power China's Z-10 medium helicopter, set for certification in 2007.
Source: Flight International
