Rotor Torque

Thirty Year Old OH-6A Records Still Stand

More than three decades after they were set, over half the 23 world records claimed by a prototype Hughes OH-6A Cayuse in 1966 still stand. The 23 records were set between March 12 and April 7 1966 by a single Cayuse prototype. Most were established flying out of Edwards Air Force Base in California. Today 13 of these records remain unsurpassed, while two of the records are currently held by a development of the OH-6, the McDonnell Douglas MD 530F. The most famous of the OH-6’s records was the longest nonstop, non refuelled flight by a helicopter of any size. On this flight the OH-6A, piloted by Bob Ferry, left Hughes’ Culver City, California, facility, landing at Ormond, Florida 15hr 8min and 3561.6km later. Average speed was 128kt (236km/h). The OH-6 was fitted with a 681 litre (180 US gal) tank in the cargo compartment and a 95 litre (25 US gal) tank mounted on the left front seat. Other records were for distance, speed and time to climb.

Calls For Polair Replacements

The grounding of one of the NSW Police Air Arm’s three Bell JetRangers due to corrosion and some time expired components has prompted the Police Association to call for the helicopters’ urgent replacement and for the NSW State Government to honour its promise to replace the ageing helos. The three Polair JetRangers were delivered in 1979. Tenders closed in July last year for the supply of three new replacements, but an announcement on the helicopter fleet’s future has still not been made. In the meantime the NSW Police has also been investigating refurbishing or replacing the grounded JetRanger.

AEW Sea King Delayed

The announcement on the UK Royal Navy’s decision on the upgrade of its Airborne Early Warning Sea Kings has been delayed until the end of this year. The £100m ($A190m) plus program has attracted bids from GEC-Marconi Avionics (Blue Vixen development), Lockheed Martin (APG-63 derivative) and Racal-Thorn (Searchwater 2000). The AEW Sea King was originally developed as a stopgap system to provide airborne surveillance following the 1982 Falklands War. The upgrade program aims to improve the type’s radar performance, improve the information displays and add a JTIDS datalink. Meanwhile the UK DoD was due to announce the winning contractor for its helicopter training privatisation program in June. Three teams (Hunting Aviation and Bond Helicopters, FBS – FR Aviation, Bristow & Serco – and Shorts Bombardier) have been vying for the 10 year £400m ($A765m) contract to provide single and twin engined helicopters for the new Defence Helicopter Flying School, which will amalgamate RAF and British Army helicopter training operations.

Kaman In Hall Of Honour

Charles H Kaman, the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of the Kaman Corporation, was inducted into the National Museum of Naval Aviation’s Hall of Honour in Pensacola, Florida, recently. Charles Kaman founded Kaman in 1945 at the age of 26. Achievements include the sale of two K-225 helicopters to the USN for $US25,000 each in 1949 for the evaluation of the Kaman developed intermeshing rotor blade configuration with servo-flap control; the world’s first gas turbine helicopter in 1951, HH-43 Huskie series of utility helicopters (the HH-43 flew more rescue missions in Vietnam than all other aircraft combined), the SH-2 Seasprite ship based ASW helicopters for the USN (a modern upgrade of which is being offered to the RAN for its Anzac helo requirement) and the K-Max aerial crane, which has been undergoing USN Vertrep trials. The Hall of Honour recognises individuals for extraordinary achievements in naval aviation.

330TH Sea King For 330 SQN

Westland’s 330th Sea King has been delivered to 330 Squadron Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF). The Sea King Mk 43B was one of two Westland is building for the RNoAF, joining 10 already in service in Norway. The Norwegian Sea Kings are used for search and rescue and operate in arduous mountainous, arctic and maritime environments. The RNoAF also operates the first (and only) Sea King in the world to exceed 10,000 flight hours. Since its formation 330 Squadron has flown over 13,000 SAR and ambulance missions and has saved 2500 lives. Once the second Norwegian machine is complete, Westland will transfer Sea King production from Yeovil to Weston-super-Mare, and the Yeovil plant will gear up for WAH-64D Apache production.

Iroquois For Mexico

The US and Mexico have agreed on the transfer of surplus US UH-1 Iroquois to the Mexican Air Force for use in anti drug operations. First deliveries could be within the next few months, if congressional approval is given. The number of aircraft involved is unknown.

Mini Update – Bell’s New 407

The HAI Heli-Expo in Dallas earlier this year showcased many of the latest helicopters from around the world, foremost of which was Bell’s newest single, the 407, reports Mark Fitzsimmons. Like most things in this life if it looks good, then it is bound to be good. This has been a truism in aviation for a long time and rings true for the 407. The 407 stems from the popular 206L-4 LongRanger 4, but utilises the same rotorhead system as the Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior armed scout helicopter flown by the US Army. Matched with the larger 815shp (605kW) Allison 250-C47 (derated to transmission limits of 410shp/305kW) the 407 basic weight has increased over the LongRanger by about 135kg. Maximum takeoff weight has been increased by 250kg to 2270kg, with an increased external load weight of 2500kg. All this results from the more engine power available and the four rotor blade system that also lets the aircraft cruise at up to 128kt (237km/h). Other specifications include fuel capacity of 477 litres with an auxiliary tank of 76 litres. Performance to higher temperatures and higher altitudes plus increased reliability and extended service life make this helicopter a very viable proposition, especially in today’s competitive marketplace. Not all the changes the engineers at Bell made are immediately discernible. Passenger comfort has been improved as the cabin size has been increased by 178mm compared to the LongRanger. The windows have been made bigger and have been bubbled to give more shoulder room. The standard cabin seating consists of five ergonomically designed fabric covered seats each with three point harnesses. As in the LongRanger, the passenger seats in the 407 are two aft and three forward facing. The Australian and Indian navies undertook some limited joint exercises recently while the RAN FFG HMAS Melbourne was enroute to the Gulf. Melbourne and the Indian offshore patrol ship INS Suvarna are pictured with Melbourne’s Seahawk and Suvarna’s Alouette. Suvarna’s Alouette lands on Melbourne’s aircraft deck. (Defence PR) The 407 accommodates tall people in comfort with maybe the exception of the middle seat at the back because of a main beam running through the middle of the cabin, the simple solution to this small problem is to seat the person who is vertically challenged in the middle! Moving into the cockpit, the 407 has a very user friendly instrument presentation which is clear and concise. The cyclic is situated just under the edge of the seat cushion and is easily traversed during entry into the cabin (remember the days of the 47). This is in part due to the shape being a semi circle. The feel of the cyclic falls immediately to hand allowing you to rest your right forearm on your right thigh which makes it very comfortable. Pedals have to be adjusted to suit individual needs, unfortunately we can’t have everything because the seat does not adjust. Warning lights on the panel sit exactly where they should be right at the top and right in full quick reaction view. What also intrigued me was the fact that Bell has installed a cyclic centring warner which alerts the pilot when on the ground if the cyclic is not directly centred. For pilot comfort the engines have full authority digital engine control system (Fadec) installed. The airframe has been strengthened around the tail section and the 407 sports a different tail rotor design. Bell engineers are also considering shrouded tail rotors for future models. One interesting fact is that the rotor head system is made from composites and the blades and hub have no life limits – a major consideration for operators in purchasing multiblade machines. In fact Bell has opted to use quite a lot of composite parts in the 407 such as the cowlings, doors, aft fuselage and sidewalls. This all goes together to present the helicopter with a very fine quality of finish consummate with using this material. From a pilots point of view I found the 407 most pleasing ergonomically. Bell’s design team have gone to a lot of trouble to present this helicopter with a very high standard of finish.

Romanian Squirrel Deal

Eurocopter and IAR of Romania have signed a cooperation accord which will see IAR assemble 80 Ecureuil (Squirrel) helicopters under licence. The cooperation accord covers both the single engine AS 350BA and twin engine AS 355Ns, which will be built for civil and government service use. An initial batch of 40 will be built from this year through to 2001, while the second batch of 40 aircraft will roll off the IAR production lines from 2001. IAR has built Eurocopter (previously Aerospatiale) helicopters – Pumas and Alouette IIIs – for the past 25 years. Last year IAR signed a licence production deal with Bell for AH-1 Cobras.

Briefs

Careflight may bid for South Australia’s emergency rescue helicopter contract when it comes up for renewal late this year. Two rescue helicopters are operated under the contract, which Lloyds has held since the early 1980s.

Three thousand dollars worth of radio gear was stolen from the Sydney based Westpac Lifesaver BK 117 in May while the helicopter was at Melrose Park, near Katoomba, picking up a premature baby.

The German Navy is believed to be close to placing an order for seven new Westland Sea Lynx. Following the new aircraft order, the German Navy will also upgrade 17 Lynx currently in service to a similar standard.

Thirty three cyclists pedalled for 1000km from the Gold Coast to Newcastle on the Angel 2 Coast Cycle, raising $30,000 for the Hunter Valley’s Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service’s Angel 2 helicopter.