Rotor Torque

The envisaged financial investment by ATA would be in the order of $A250/300m over a ten year period while sources suggest that most of this could be generated viably from the private sector finance market.

ATA certainly requires a strong programme to follow on from the slowing down of the RAAF F-18 Hornet programme around 1989/90. At present they really have nothing with which to cover this period except a commitment of some relatively small offset work. This is certainly not enough to maintain the present level of activity and ATA is thus well aware that it must soon make a firm decision on a follow on programme if it is to economically survive the next decade. Considering the formidable composite facility presently in service at ATA, certainly one of the best in the world, it is inevitable that they become established in a programme, such as a helo, that entails a fair degree of composite technology involvement.

From its point of view, Aerospatiale is seeking a joint partner to offset the high development cost of going it alone in developing a successor to the very successful Squirrel. Technology though will be used to lessen the cost of ownership rather than simply being seen as a means by which extra performance is gained. Involvement with Aerospatiale might also open up additional subcontracting avenues on Aerospatiale’s present range of helicopters as that manufacturer looks towards moving some of its Westland-based subcontracting work away from the UK company because of its growing affiliation with rival Sikorsky.

At press time it was expected that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was due to be signed before mid year, a move that hopefully would then lead to full contract status being confirmed before year end.

Sikorsky Arriel Retrofit

French certification of the Arriel engine retrofit for the Sikorsky S-76A is expected to be completed by the end of April 1987 with the first customer aircraft due for delivery in September. The S-76A has been fitted with two Arriel 15 engines of 700shp each and has logged approximately 140 hours to date. The subject helicopter was provided by Heli Union and will be returned to them on completion of certification. Sikorsky expected US supplemental type Certification in August with Sikorsky fitting Arriel engines to a S-76A which will be used as a customer demonstrator as well as for FAA certification. Sikorsky may incorporate the Arriel into the production line which is currently static but will not do so until the 15 aircraft currently online are sold.

More Power for Agusta 109A

With the world light twin market virtually static, manufacturers will have to incorporate product improvements into current models to maintain a place in the market. The right timing is of course critical and Agusta hope they have achieved this with the installation of the Allison 250-C20R engine in their 109A. The engine will be down-rated to 450shp which will make the aircraft suitable for a wider field of operators in particular ‘hot and high’ operators.

Civil Tilt-Rotor Designs Tipped for a Wide Range of Applications

Variants of the Bell/Boeing Vertol V-22 Osprey tilt rotor optimised for the civilian role are tipped to have a wide ranging effect on the future of regional airline type operations towards the end of the next decade according to a study by Boeing.

As major airport congestion becomes worse and the sheer volume of airline traffic increases, alternatives will have to be found where major city pairs are separated by one or two hundred hundred miles in distance. Europe abounds with such city pairs as does sections of North America. London to Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris. Frankfurt to Zurich, Berlin, London, Paris and a dozen other capitals in addition to Boston/New York/Washington, presently the world’s busiest airway and notorious for its long traffic-induced delays both in the holding pattern and at the terminal gate.

The Boeing study envisages commuter variants of the Osprey design (though designed from the outset for civilian applications) carrying between 36 and 44 passengers at cruise speeds in the 300kt range. Maximum range with full passenger load would be in the region of 700nm so a number of short hauls could be accommodated without refuelling, thereby saving on turnaround time and additionally ensuring a viable payload uplift on the shorter sectors.

Ideally, Boeing see the tilt rotor being faster than the jet on any congested city pair of not more than around 300nm. Furthermore, this figure is greatly increased if the tilt rotor operates not from the helipad of a major airport but rather from specially designed city based helipads. The study for instance estimates that travelling time could be halved on the busy New York/Boston shuttle if a tilt rotor operated from the Hudson River direct to the Boston CBD. A similar situation would exist in almost every other city pair.

Locally, such applications would be ideally found on the Sydney/Newcastle and Sydney/Canberra route. At certain times of the day it is not uncommon to spend almost as much time on the short Canberra/Sydney sector circling the dreaded Bindook beacon as it is in actual en-route flight! A tilt rotor, flight planned for a city area heliport and flying a special low level approach clear of RPT traffic would obviate much of this time and fuel consuming delays that are now an ops normal situation on most peak hour RPT flights between congested city pairs.

Hai Convention

The annual convention of the Helicopter Association International was held in Dallas, Texas on 26th, 27th and 28th of February and the show overall reflected the depressed state of the industry with new sales and attendance down. The second-hand market however is still very healthy with overhaul facilities and suppliers of parts for refurbishing having a very successful convention.

C30 Powered a Star for Australia

Jayrow Helicopters have bought the Aerospatiale AS350D originally converted from the original Lycoming LTS-101 to an Allison C30-M by Soloy and the aircraft will shortly be undergoing Australian certification. Jayrow expect significantly lower operating costs from the aircraft compared to their current Arriel powe- red AS350B and with the Arriel still proving to be difficult and expensive to maintain other operators can be expected to follow Jayrow’s lead.

Sar Pack for Bell 214st

Bell Helicopter, Sperry and Heli-Dyne are combining to design and certify a search and rescue package for the 214ST. It will include a four axis digital auto pilot, electronic flight instrument system, rescue hoist and Doppler system. The package will be in kit form but no date has been given for availability.

First Flight for X-Wing

Although the Sikorsky X-wing demonstrator is expected to fly in April, the initial flights will be to gather baseline data and the aircraft will not have the X-shaped rotor/wing combination fitted. If testing is successful and funding available, Sikorsky hope to have a demonstrator ready by 1990 and enter production in the year 2000.

Nsca Buys Into Bristow

The National Safety Council through its commercial subsidiary Safe Air Pty Ltd is reported to have purchased the Mayne Nicholas interest in Mayne Bristow Helicopters for an undisclosed sum. The report has caused a great deal of controversy in the industry and a number of operators are believed to have written to the Minister objecting to the deal.

On the other side of the continent, the NSCA has won a two year trial contract to supply RAAF Williamtown’s SAR requirement. In place since early March has been a Bell 212 equipped with the night auto hover system. Ironically, the NSCA crew were called out for their first live emergency on March 16 when a RAAF Mirage pilot ejected off the coast. The NSCA feel confident they can deliver a higher standard of offshore rescue at a lower cost than could the RAAF.

Rotortech 87

Planning for Rotortech 87 is well under way with 30% of exhibit space already let and McDonnell Douglas and Aerospatiale coming in as major sponsors. The convention will run for three days in October this year and following on from lessons learnt from Rotortech 86, a higher standard of technical papers is proposed. The third day will be open to the public with the theme of the show being “The Helicopter and the Community” and a number of councils and environmentalists are being invited to a lunchtime seminar in an attempt to dispel some of the myths surrounding helicopter operations in suburban areas.