Rotor Torque

At presstime, the Heliflite Training School was preparing to move into its own attractive hangar and office complex at Bankstown Airport. Until now it operated from office space that had been part of the RAAF’s previous accommodation unit on the airport.

Helicopter Moving Eased

The problem of moving helicopters on the ground can be eased with a new system recently put on the market by Sydney based Hawker Pacific.

Developed by Bracket Aircraft Systems in the USA, it consists of a tow bar and a set of handling wheels with an overlocking system which fit on the helicopter’s skids. Both are tailored to suit the individual helicopter type.

Hawker Pacific has already imported one which is designed for the Bell Jetranger although the equipment is available for helicopters ranging in size from the Robinson R22 to the Bell 412. The equipment will alleviate some of the maintenance staff’s traumas when moving expensive equipment around increasingly crowded hangars and tarmacs.

Nsca Contracts to Lloyds

Lloyd Helicopters of Adelaide has taken over several of the ill-fated National Safety Council of Australia’s contracts in various parts of Australia together with six of the large Bell helicopters once operated by the controversial even-in-death operation.

The RAAF’s Search and Rescue contract is operated by the busy company with a Bell 412 in the Northern Territory and two Bell 212s at RAAF Williamtown. Another pseudo military operation is mounted on Bougainville Island in Papua New Guinea where a Bell 212 is on charter to the Papuan New Guinea Defence Forces to assist in military operations against the rebels protesting at Bougainville Copper’s mining work on the tropical island. Lloyds originally used a Sikorsky S-76 on the contract.

At Wollongong the company is operating a Bell 412 on work controversially sponsored by the NSW Health Department replacing the NSCA at Albion Park Airfield south of the city.

Lloyds also has a Bell 412 operating in the Latrobe Valley for the Morwell Air Ambulance. It was this work which gave originally birth to the NSCA’s aviation operations in the early 1980s when it purchased Hughes 500s from their then Australian distributor Rex Aviation to assist in the quick aerial evacuation of workers injured in the heavy industries of the area.

In a separate operation, a consortium is funding the maintenance of the rescue work previously carried out by the NSCA from Townsville. Known as the North Queensland Emergency Rescue Group, it operates a Beech King Air 200 and a large Bell from Townsville Airport.

Paris Helicopter News

It is not often a display of aerobatics brings sophisticated viewers at the Paris Air Show to their feet but it happened this year when the loops and rolls were performed by a helicopter.

The aerobatics were a feature of the Aerospatiale Helicopters’ display slot and were carried out by a SA365M Panther, the much developed military version of the Dauphine.

Although previous helicopter displays at Paris have come near to carrying out aerobatics, this year was the first time the air show display committee had given approval for an almost unrestricted display. It followed Aerospatiale modifying the helicopter to be able to carry out extended negative G manoeuvres. Aerospatiale test pilot Etienne Herrenschmidt carried out a course of aerobatics in a French Air Force CAP-10 before his Paris display rehearsals. The striking display consisted of a loop, followed by a second loop, a wing over, a second loop and then a barrel roll. This was followed by a wingover. The display pulled a maximum of 2g when the roll was initiated to 0. 5g during the inverted flight.

The aerobatic displays were not just a trick to attract attention during the long daily Le Bourget ‘Presentations en vol’ but part of the development undertaken by the company in designing future military helicopters which will be involved in high agility air-to-air combat situations.

Aerospatiale recently sold 36 Panthers to the Brazilian military and is keeping an eye on the Australian Army’s long running and ever changing Kiowa replacement study.

New Bell Twin Development

Bell Helicopters is to offer its 222 model powered with Allison 250-C30G2 powerplants. The Allisons will replace the helicopter’s original Lycoming LTS 101s in the new variant which will be redesignated the model 230.

The variant is already available as a retrofit in the USA with a STC owned by Heli-Aire in Louisiana. It is understood some

New Robinson Comes Closer

Robinson Helicopters, which handed over its 1000th R22 to its United Kingdom distributor earlier this year, expects its four place R44 to be test flown in the northern autumn.

The helicopter, to be powered by a 260hp Lycoming, will have a gross weight of 2,350Ib and will be fitted with a two blade rotor. Robinson staff at Paris, who officiated at the handover of the 1001st R22, said that few of the components on the R22 would be suitable for the new R44.

Helicopter Charters at Le Bourget Air Show

Of interest to the local helicopter charter operators at Paris were the charter rates for flights between the city’s heliport and the display helipad at Le Bourget.

Flights were offered by Helifrance, a charter operator based at Issy les Molineaux which used single and twin engined Aerospatiale Squirrels for the flights. The Twin Squirrel rates were, for up to five passengers, French Francs 9,500. The single was available at French Francs 6,650 for the round trip, Charter rates per hour, with a three hour minimum, were FF 7,985 for the twin and FF 5,220 for the single.

The flight from the Paris heliport, based about eight miles south of the city to Le Bourget, about nine miles to the north, were planned to take about 15 minutes from terminal to terminal with many diversions around the numerous French restricted areas. Of course, you should remember there are approximately just a little over five French francs to the Australian dollar.

Helifrance has eight Squirrels in its fleet together with Alouettes, Robinson R22s and the old faithful Bell 47s.

New Schweizer Moves On

Schweizer exhibited a full-scale mock-up of its turbine powered 330 helicopter in the garden of its chalet at the Paris Air Show.

Powered by an Allison 250-C2-W of 420shp the prototype of the Hughes 300 replacement has now flown more than 200 hours of test flights at the Schweizer factory in the north east of the USA. Deliveries of the helicopter are expected to commence next June with a three place military trainer being offered in addition to a four place civilian model.

The company is also negotiating with a company in Jordan for licence production of the new helicopter to take place there.

New Puma Ordered

Aerospatiale has put a new model of its AS332 Super Puma into production. The new Mark II is powered by the same model Turbomeca Makila 1 A 1 turboshaft as the earlier Super Puma but is cleared with an ihcrea. sed transmission rating. It is also fitted with improved rotors and a redesigned tail rotor. Spheriflex type hubs have been fitted and it has an all glass EFIS equipped cockpit.

Bristow Helicopters had a formal signing for 20 of the Mark lls at a ceremony at the Paris Air Show. Price was not revealed but is understood to be similar to the Mark I.

New S-76 Variant

Sikorsky gave details at Paris of its latest version of the successful S-76 twin engined helicopter. Designated the S-76C, it will be fitted with the Turbomeca Arriel 1S1 which will give an increased load at sea level and ISA + 15°C of 200kg over the S-76A and a five knot extra cruise in hot and high conditions.

The S-76C will retain the increased structural gross weight capability and uprated drive train of the S-76B model. Initial FAA certification at 11,400Ibs maximum gross weight will provide a useful load 660lbs greater than the S-76A. Range will be similar to the A model. The first two S-76Cs are planned for delivery in mid 1991.

New Anti Tank Chopper in 1997

Aerospatiale and MBB are expected to get a development contract for the PAH-2/HAC anti tank helicopter by the end of the year.

Under the terms of the contract Aerospatiale will be responsible for the design and manufacture of the tail rotor, centre fuselage section, transmission, fuel and electrical systems, aerodynamics, maintainability and weight.

MBB will be looking after the main rotor, front and rear fuselage, hydraulics and flight controls. The prototype, powered by two MTR 390 engines, developed by Rolls Royce and Turbomeca will fly in 1991. Production deliveries will commence in 1997. •MBB will assemble the prototype and carry out the majority of flight development work.

Towards a Longer Life – Some Tlc for Your Lycoming

Many of us are fortunate enough to enjoy our chosen occupation, flying rotary wing aircraft, in a beautiful country of extremes. We see places and sights that most people never experience in a lifetime.

All these memories have been due to the trusty service of Lycoming piston engines fitted to helicopters-no engine failures being attributable to the engine. Lucky? No! – Good management and reliable engineers – Yes! The Australian climate of ambient temperature extremes with a dust and smoke filled atmosphere, can cause our poor engine to work ·in conditions it was never really designed for, reports Tony Carmody of City & Country Helicopters.

Most helicopter piston engines started life as·a low revving, under stressed, fixed wing installation; designed to run for long periods of time at a fixed RPM and power setting (MAP).

Fitted to helicopters, these engines then had to contend with:

• Little or no flywheel, requiring a high idle speed of 2,200rpm to run smoothly Pilot controlled operating speeds up to 3,200rpm.

• Continuous changes of power (MAP).

• Operations at low level in high ambient temperatures in dust and smoke.

• Pilot abuse – inadvertant over revs, over boost etc.

No wonder helicopter engines sometimes gained an ill-deserved reputation for sticking exhaust valves, worn piston rings and the occasional connecting rod or crankshaft failure.

Let’s look at a couple of points which should help an engine maintain its good looks (no broken crankshaft) and reliability (no sticky valves).

Engine Cold Start- Idle at lowest permissable RPM until cylinder head temperature rises through 50°C. This enables the valves and especially the piston rings to expand uniformly.

Engine Cold Start – Monitor oil pressure carefully. Read Flight Manual/Engine Operator’s Manual and know the oil viscosity required for your particular ambient temperature operating range. Consider carefully, use of the new Aero Shell or Mobil ‘multi viscosity’ oils. Their advantages of almost instant oil pressure for bearings, camshaft lobes and hydraulic valve lifters, definitely outweigh their extra cost per litre. An important secondary effect is the convenience of being able to operate your engine throughout Australia without switching to different grade oils.

Cold Engine Warm Up – After cylinder temperature passes through 50°C, idle at recommended idle speed for a minimum of five minutes. This enables even and proper engine expansion, especially to exhaust valve guides. Ensure the oil temperature reaches the correct value for the grade of oil in the engine and transmission gearbox.

Normal Operations – Try to operate above 2 of MAP where possible to enable piston rings to push against cylinder walls and thus avoid cylinder glazing. Do not exceed maximum approved MAP.

Do not over-rev the engine – see Lycoming Service Bulletin No. 369F. Excessive strain and wear will be placed on the valve transmission and connecting road assemblies even with a slight over rev. An unreported excessive engine over rev can lead to connecting rod/crankshaft complete failure approximately 2-400 hours after the event due to metal fatigue.

Power Reductions/Descents – Avoid sudden throttle closures and plan descents to keep MAP above 15″. This helps reduce ‘piston ring flutter’ and dirt in the engine breather being sucked into the engine crankcase, due to low pressure in the cylinders. Engine Stop- Idle at recommended RPM for a minimum of five minutes. This enables exhaust valves and guides to cool down to a temperature whereby the engine oil does riot tend to ‘carbonise’ in and around the guides. A short cool down is the primary cause of exhaust valve sticking/failure.

Other Tips – Ensure that AD Lycoming: LYC 70 exhaust valve guide is carried out every 300 hours. Check air filters regularly for condition. Ensure that dirt cannot get past the filters and th1Js into the cylinders, causing piston rings to wear prematurely. Coat the sealing edges of the filters with rubber grease to ensure a perfect seal.

Change engine oil at the manufacturer’s recommended interval (I suggest engine running time rather than maintenance release hours).

Fit a full flow paper oil filter modification to remove particles down to 1 0 micron size from the oil.

Fit an extra oil cooler, if required, to maintain the oil at an optimum temperature of 70°C. Lower oil temperatures decrease oil consumption and cool the engine internals.

Check the engine oil filter at the manufacturer’s recommended interval.

If engine oil pressure drops more than 10lbs per square inch per 1 o°C increase in oil temperature – suspect excessive engine bearing clearances.

Finally, use your common sense, be self disciplined, treat your machine with respect and you will enjoy flying the Aussie way- “No Worries Mate”!