AgustaWestland A109S Grand

The order book for this uprated 109variant currently stands at almost 60.AgustaWestland received EASA approvalfor the type in June (as its first customer, aBriton, took delivery) and FAA certificationis expected by next month. The companyplanned to have delivered five airframes bypress time and 10 more later this year.

The Grand draws upon the high-altitude

performance record of the out-of-produc-tion A109 K2 and is aimed at the search-and-rescue (SAR) market. Sliding doors onboth sides of the cabin offer improvedaccess and, as such, should attract public-service operators as well.

The FADEC-equipped Pratt & WhitneyCanada PW207C turboshaft engines, pro-viding a combined 815 shp, and an up-rated transmission give the Grand goodperformance in terms of hovering-out-of-ground-effect and speed in forward flight.

According to the company, the7,000-pound-mtow helicopter hasa 12,000-foot ceiling on a singleengine and, with both power-plants running, offers a rate-of-climb of 1,900 fpm. Agusta-Westland also claims that operat-ing costs are up to 36 percentlower than its competitors.

US-101

The U.S. military selected avariant of AgustaWestland’s EH-101 as the new Presidential heli-copter last year. Development of the helicopter–christened theVH-71A Kestrel–is now underway. A first airframe, which willserve as a testbed until threeactual test vehicles arrive in thespring next year, landed at a U.S.Navy test facility in November,

and the air and ground crews immediatelybegan familiarization training.

Technically, the test helicopter is a leasedItalian Navy EH-101. Because of the pro-gram’s tight schedule (first deliveries areslated for 2009), program managers decidedto lease an airframe to get a head start onflight and maintenance training. Testing ona real helicopter will also help the programteam figure out where to place antennasand other airframe-mounted devices.

Engine integration testing of the VH-71A began on a contractor vehicle duringthe summer, at Lockheed Martin’s Owego,N.Y. facility.

Bell HelicopterBell 210

The Bell 210 achieved FAA certifica-tion in July, 18 months after launch andseven months after first flight. The Hueylookalike features dynamic componentsfrom the Bell 212 (main rotor hub andblades, tail rotor, main and tail-rotor sup-port structure, transmission, rotating con-trols and tailboom), and a HoneywellT-53-517BCV engine. The result, accord-ing to Bell, is a zero-time, FAA-certified,single-engine medium utility helicopterfor about $3 million, compared with $5million for a similarly sized off-the-shelfcommercial product.

Bell said the 210 has direct operatingcosts of less than $650 per hour–offeringwhat the OEM terms a “significant reduc-tion in operating costs”–and comes withan “excellent” commercial products war-ranty. An airframe will be on display atHeli-Expo later this month in Dallas. Firstdeliveries are scheduled for May.

Bell 429

Program development of this IFR twinis proceeding on schedule with TransportCanada and FAA certification expectedduring the third quarter of next year. Bellsaid it has taken nearly 140 orders for thenew helicopter, which will enter a marketsector crowded with established types.

Modified Bell 427 prototypes are already

flying with Model 429 components, andfirst flight of the complete airframe isscheduled for the third quarter. At presstime, Bell had successfully completed con-cept demonstration tests, wind-tunnel testsand inlet and exhaust testing. Detailed de-sign is nearing completion, and the com-pany is building parts and tooling toconstruct the first prototype.

The Bell 429 will be the first to featurenew MAPL components, including a 70percent larger cabin (compared with theearlier Bell 427i) and a new compositehorizontal stabilizer that was test-flown last May. Work continues on anti-torque

devices, including a rotorless assembly knownas PATS (propulsive anti-torque system).

Bell plans this year to run an engineer-ing ground-test rig using a full-size gas tur-bine engine, inlet fan, bifurcated ductingand a series of test thrusters. PATS providesanti-torque directional control and propul-sive thrust without a conventional tail rotor.Combined with reductions in main rotorspeed, it could enable helicopters to cruisecomfortably at 160 to 170 knots.

Bell/Agusta AerospaceAB139

With the AB139 now certified andbeing delivered around the world, Bell/Agusta’s new challenge is to keep itsproduction rate in step with customerdemand. With more than 100 airframeson order and capacity still set at around50 per year, the company will have tojuggle numbers and customers for sometime to come. The recent announcementof an extension of the Philadelphia facil-ity to accommodate a second and domes-tic AB139 line has not come a momenttoo soon.

Last year was a good one forthe helicopter industry. Aerospace Indus-tries Association figures indicated thatthe export performance of U.S. civilhelicopter manufacturers is currently at“record levels.” Sales activity representedwhat the association called a “surge” inexport activity for the sector–up nearly60 percent over the previous year.

According to the report, overall civilhelicopter sales activity–domestic as wellas exports–grew to a record $750 mil-lion, the equivalent of 120 more aircraftthan manufacturers delivered in 2004.

More specifically, last year turnedout to be the year a lot of decisionswere made–for good or for ill. We knownow who will build the President’s nexthelicopter, that the BA609 can indeedfly like an airplane and that–althoughmany suspected it–something drasticneeded to be done at MDHI.

We know that the Bell 427i neededmore than just an autopilot and that theS-92, despite teething troubles and los-ing out on the U.S. Presidential con-tract, can walk the walk for offshoreoperators–over the freezing waters off

Newfoundland as well as the humidGulf of Texas. It also scored a last-minute coup to provide SAR facilities inthe UK. We heard, finally, that the V-22Osprey will be built in bulk for the U.S.Air Force and Marine Corps.

In addition, the U.S. embraced R&Dfor helicopters. Bell revealed more aboutits MAPL (modular affordable productline) project, which includes an innovativeanti-torque device, and Sikorsky intro-duced a new concept in rotorcraft designthat offers an aircraft with a potentialVNE of 250 knots. Actually it wasn’t newat all–the OEM’s advancing blade conceptdemonstrator flew back in the 1970s–but the technology required to make it apractical proposition is now in place(see AIN, July 2005, page 100).

But above all else, when it comes toa cataclysmic natural disaster–a tsunami,a hurricane, or an earthquake–the heli-copter is the one vehicle that can bringswift and effective relief to the point ofneed. The assets are available and theoperators are ready to respond: all ittakes is money, coordination and thepolitical will to make it happen.

62 Aviation International News • February 2006 • www.ainonline.com

by Andrew Healey

A109S Grand

Bell 210

US-101

Bell 429

AB139

With the roles of the AB139 becoming as diverse as those of the smaller A109–from flying limo to search-and-rescue–Bell/Agusta has stolen a march on the competi-tion. If it manages to keep all its customerson board, it can expect to continue doingwell, perhaps even until the Sino-EuropeanEC 175 (see below) enters the fray in 2011.

Bell is to sell its 25-percent interest inthe program to AgustaWestland (giving the company complete ownership) so thehelicopter will be renamed the A139. Inci-dentally, AgustaWestland has launched a military variant, christened the A149.

BA609

The tiltrotor can now hover like a heli-copter and fly forward like a turboprop.Bell/Agusta restarted the flying programlast summer, and the aircraft convertedfully to airplane mode in July and pro-gressed rapidly to expand the flight enve-lope–up to 255 kcas and 15,000 feet.Before grounding it again for “adjustments,”the crew also demonstrated 2g positive and0g negative in airplane mode.

A second prototype is preparing to jointhe flight program in northern Italy. Withlive data linkage between Italy and Texas,testing has become a continuous process.Every change made to aircraft one is re-peated, often in real-time, on the aircraft-two setup in Italy. Milan retains programlead with the introduction of a third aircraftnearing completion in Italy, and a fourth“green” example is currently in the BellXworX hangar at Fort Worth, Texas.

AgustaWestland has also taken anincreased 40-percent stake in the BA609program.

Eurocopter

In September, Eurocopter’s experimentalBK117 lifted off from its Donauwörth, Ger-many site for the first time with an electricalflap control system. Adaptive rotor systemspromise to reduce vibration as well as thenoise caused by rotor blade tip vortices.

The FAA has approved Eurocopter’srequest to build 350 B2 and B3 AStars at its U.S. facility in Columbus, Miss.

EC 225

This new-generation Super Puma enteredservice last year with the government ofAlgeria (as a presidential transport) and on

North Sea duties with Bristow Helicopters.It was certified for unrestricted operationsin icing conditions in time for the north-ern winter and, by next year, a new FAAlevel-D simulator will be commissionedin Marseilles, France.

The EC 225 has a maximum weight ofnearly 23,000 pounds and can carry twopilots and 24 passengers or more than11,000 pounds of cargo. Its twin Tur-bomeca Makila 2A engines deliver a cruisespeed of 149 knots.

EC 175

Aviation Industries of China (AVIC II)and Eurocopter have agreed to jointlydevelop a new six-ton (13,230 pounds)helicopter–the EC 175–to fill the nichebetween the five-ton AS365 Dauphin andthe 10-ton Super Puma.

A five-year development phase is due to start soon. The new civil type is sched-uled to make its first flight in 2009, withEuropean and Chinese certification, andproduction, set for 2011.

Each company will invest $322 millionto develop the new helicopter. Productionwill be shared on a 50/50 basis and eachcountry will have its own assembly line.Sales forecasts suggest a potential world-wide market for some 800 helicopters overthe next 20 years.

Eurocopter president Fabrice Brégiersaid, “The program guarantees more than30 years of work and 2,000 high-tech jobsfor Eurocopter and its partners. Over 20years, the program will be worth close toE10 billion ($10.7 billion).”

The EC 175 will have a five-blade mainrotor and an energy-absorbing airframe. Itwill be certified for two-pilot IFR and single-pilot VFR operations and carry up to 16passengers. The helicopter will have a radiusof action of 200 nm at a speed of 151 knots.

FH1100 ManufacturingFH1100

The company has upgraded its FH1100with a new EFIS cockpit, replacement stain-less steel rotor blade and a KaFlex lubrica-tion-free driveshaft. President Georges VanNevel told AIN that the company will dis-play a latest-build model FH1100, basedon the original Fairchild Hiller that first

flew in 1963, at this month’s Heli-Expo. Owners of existing aircraft will be able

to install the improvements as a retrofit,although they will also have to install the latest Rolls-Royce 250-C20B engine,which currently powers only a handful ofthe 80-odd original FH1100s still flying.The rest use the obsolete-C18 unit.

The company claims that the FH1100has the lowest operating costs in its class.The FAA has yet to issue a productioncertificate for it, and Van Nevel could notpredict when one would be forthcoming.“However it is a two-year process and weare getting to that point now,” he told AIN.

Groen BrothersHeliplane

This new gyroplane is a revival ofBritain’s Fairey Rotodyne that flew in the late 1950s and achieved 166 knotsforward speed, a record at the time. The Heliplane project is being funded by DARPA (Defense Advanced ResearchProjects Agency) with a combat search-and-rescue role in mind. Potentiallyworth $40 million, the work could lead to flight testing of a technology demon-strator, based on Adam Aircraft’s A700very light jet, by mid-2008.

The objective for the demonstrator willbe a twofold improvement in forward-flightperformance over a conventional helicop-ter, including a 350-knot cruise speed and1,000 nm range with a 1,000-pound pay-load. The goal is a lift/drag ratio greaterthan 10, compared with five to six for aconventional helicopter and 15-plus for a fixed-wing aircraft.

Groen’s concept uses a reaction-driverotor, with tip jets powered by com-pressed gas from an engine mounted inthe belly of the aircraft. The rotor will bepowered for vertical takeoff and landing,but will autorotate during forward flight.To reduce drag, the rotor will be slowedand lift transferred to the wing, as for-ward speed increases. A pair of Williamsturbofans will power the Heliplane but

the company added that it has not yetevaluated turboprops.

Hindustan AeronauticsDhruv

The HAL Dhruv is a multi-role heli-copter in the 12,120-pound weight classbuilt to meet FAR 29 and certified byIndia’s Director-General of Civil Aviation(DGCA). Currently powered by twoTurbomeca TM333-2B2 engines, it isclaimed to meet Category “A” takeoff andlanding performance requirements.

First civil deliveries of the Dhruv aresaid to be “imminent.” The first of two heli-copters for the regional government ofJharkhand is ready, with the second due forcompletion later this year. A reported orderfor 20 civil airframes, from Mumbai-basedoffshore operator Azal Aviation, never ad-vanced beyond memorandum of under-standing stage. However, AIN has learnedthat a recent change of management atAzal might present new opportunities.

Normal seating capacity is two crewand 12 passengers or 14 passengers in a high-density configuration.

Turbomeca’s upgrade of the TM333,known in Europe as the Ardiden and inIndia as Shakti, is designed to deliver anadditional 10 percent performance and iscurrently under dynamic test in southernFrance. HAL gets a 30-percent offset in theunit’s development package. A joint-venturecompany is currently being set up with IsraelAircraft Industries (IAI) to market the ad-vanced light helicopter, in return for HAL’sinstalling IAI avionics into the platform.

KamovKa-32

With certification or validation held insix countries outside Russia (Canada, SouthKorea, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland and Tai-wan), Kamov will seek approval for theexport variant of its specialist loadlifter fromthe European Aviation Safety Agency thisyear. Last year the OEM established a service

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Heliplane

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Eurocopter AS 350 B3

BA609

EC 225

EC 175

FH1100

Dhruv

center in the Republic of Korea and plansto open another in southern Spain by July.

Logging and firefighting are the Ka-32’smain roles. Spain’s government recentlyrecognized the type as a principal rotary-wing asset in responding to serious fires(defined as those covering more than 1,235acres). Neighbor Portugal, which alsodepends on helicopters to contain summerfires, is said to be a potential customer.

Similar contracts are being negotiatedfarther east, in Cyprus and Turkey. LeasedKa-32s are also in Greece, and some 40 arealready flying in South Korea on utility andcoast guard duties.

Ka-115

A full-scale mockup of this new utilitysingle was exhibited at an airshow inMoscow last summer. Funding is currentlybeing sought to encourage the OEM tostart building a working prototype.

Another co-axial rotor design, the Ka-115 has a single engine and shoulddeliver a 372- to 434-mile range. Despiteits basic configuration, it will include rotorblade de-icing and engine anti-icing asstandard. The company is currently target-ing the domestic market.

Ka-226

Kamov is seeking FAA certification forthis lightweight (7,480 pound) twin thisyear. The Ka-226 has a replaceable cabin“pod” enabling quick interior changes,such as from a six-place passenger interiorto EMS configuration in less than an hour.With the cabin detached, the helicopter cancarry 2,860 pounds underslung.

Production of the Ka-226 started in2004. Rolls-Royce is contracted to supply50 additional 250-C20R engines for theprogram this year. Turbomeca’s Arrius 2G2is also listed as an option.

KazanAktai

Still being prepared for flight tests, nowexpected “sometime in 2006,” the Aktai isdesigned for commercial VFR operations

carrying passengers or cargo, as well assearch-and-rescue operations.

It is equipped with a simplified mainrotor hub with elastomeric hinges andcomposite main and tail rotor blades. Thehelicopter is powered by a single VAZ-4265 piston engine.

The Aktai’s main design principle, saidKazan, is to provide simple and low-costoperations combined with decent flightperformance.

Ansat

Production of this light twin started in2004 and five airframes are now in servicewith South Korea’s forest service. Its soleRussian certification is aligned with FAR/JAR-29 standards.

Mi-38

In partnership with the Mil designbureau and Eurocopter, Kazan continuesto develop the latest Mi-38 (based on theubiquitous Mi-17 transport), with plansto begin flight testing next year. Threevariants–VIP, passenger transport andmedevac–will be offered. The plan is tomeet FAR/JAR 29 requirements and besuitable for single-pilot IFR operations intemperatures ranging from -60 degrees Cto 50 degrees C.

According to Kazan, the helicopter’sperformance and fuel consumption willoffer “significant advantages” over othertypes in its class. Its PW-127T/S engines,rated at 2,500 shp, were developed by a Pratt & Whitney Canada/Klimov jointventure and enable the helicopter to carry up to 13,200 pounds internally or 17,600pounds externally.

The helicopter has an EFIS cockpit andthe airframe features composite blades

with increased service life, “anti-vibrationcrew seats” and a large cargo compart-ment. Triple-redundant electric and hy-draulic systems are also included.

PZL SwidnikSW-4

Celebrating 50 years of helicoptermanufacturing this year, the Polish manu-facturer is close to UK CAA certificationof its SW-4 light single, after whichEASA approval will be sought. The com-pany has signed a deal to purchase 10 Rolls-Royce 250-C20R light turbineengines for the program.

Company spokesman Jan Mazur saysPZL has also signed a memorandum ofunderstanding with Rolls-Royce, to pursuethe idea of using the 650-shp 250-C30 topower a SW-4 growth variant. “Upgradingthe engine would be a relatively easy pro-cedure,” he said, “due to the R-R unit’ssmall size and high parts commonalitywith the current unit.” The SW-4 is claimedto deliver ranges approaching 500 miles.

Poland’s army has ordered 30 airframesfor use as trainers, and a further 40 salesmay go to the country’s navy and airforce. The first civil variant was deliveredin December for use on gas pipelinepatrols in eastern Russia. “If it proves itsworth,” said Mazur, “a substantial follow-on order may follow.”

SikorskyS-76D

Launched at last year’s Heli-Expo inAnaheim, Calif., the S-76D variant willfeature composite rotor blades, a quiet tailrotor, a rotorcraft icing protection system(RIPS, which was recently certified on theS-92), a Thales cockpit with an integratedavionics system and P&WC PW210 engines.

An announcement about the blade sup-plier and wind-tunnel tests was expectedat press time, and a full-scale mock-up,

complete with the Thales cockpit, will beon display at Heli-Expo this month. Thefirst S-76D is planned for delivery by the end of 2008.

X2

Sikorsky’s new light helicopter, basedon two contra-rotating rotors and a rearpropulsion fan, promises a maximumspeed approaching 250 knots. A two-seatdemonstrator, to be built at Sikorsky sub-sidiary Schweizer at Elmira, N.Y., is sched-uled to fly before year-end. The helicopter’sfly-by-wire package has already taken tothe air aboard a Schweizer 333 testbed.

Sikorsky CEO Steve Finger said the X2will “maintain or improve” all the verticalflight capabilities of rotorcraft while stilldelivering the speed increase. “Aircraftsuch as the V-22 tiltrotor and the vertical-landing Joint Strike Fighter are compro-mises–they deliver the speed but at theexpense of hover performance. We believethere is a market for a true helicopter thatoffers this significant speed increase, notonly for the military but in civil applica-tions such as offshore support.”

Finger added, “A true helicopter thatgoes fast has the widest market potential;everything else is just niche.”

The X2 bears a striking resemblance to Sikorsky’s advancing blade conceptdemonstrator that reached similar speedsin the 1970s. That aircraft suffered partic-ularly from vibration and inherent drag,drawbacks that Finger said the companyhas since overcome. “It’s a matter of tech-nologies developed over the past 30 yearscoming together.”

The X2 fly-by-wire (FBW) system madeits first flight at Elmira, N.Y., in Novem-ber. The FBW testbed was said to perform“flawlessly” during the 30-minute flight,while demonstrating the basic capabilitiesof the Hamilton Sundstrand/Honeywellfly-by-wire package. n

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Ka-32

Ka-226

Mi-38

Aktai

SW-4

Ansat

S-76D

X2