Rotor Torque

Two Usaf C-17s Delivered the Chinooks to Afghanistan on Their Second Deployment to the War Torn County as Part of Operation Slipper – Australia’s Rotational Commitment to Support the Government of Afghanistan and Nato’s International Security Assistance Force.

Raaf C-17s Were Unable to Transport the Chinooks as the Two Then on Strength Not Been Fitted With the Full Countermeasures Defensive Suite Required to Operate Into Afghanistan.

The Chinooks and Crew Will Be Involved With the Transport of Coalition Troops, Heavy-lift of Equipment and Supplies, and Medical Evacuations Operations. They Arrived at the Tail End of the Country’s Worst Winter in a Decade. Severe Cold and Heavy Snowfalls in the Afghan Mountains Has So Far Claimed the Lives of More Than 750 People This Season.

Army’s Last Afghanistan Chinook Deployment Returned to Australia in April 2007 After 13 Months Deployment to the Region (Refer ‘afghan Chinooks’ July ’07 Aa). The 10 Month Gap Allowed the Helicopters to Undergo a Major Servicing and Engine Upgrades, and Gave the Unit’s Personnel a Period of Rest and Recuperation.

Boeing Australia & Agustawestland Team Up for Hats

Boeing Australia and Agustawestland Signed an Mou at the Singapore Airshow to Jointly Propose the Aw109 Luh to the Adf for Its Air 9000 Phase 7 Helicopter Aircrew Training System (Hats).

The “high Performance Fully Equipped ‘shippable’ Aw109 Luh Covers a Large Number of Land Based as Well as Sea Based Operational Applications, So Favouring an Effective Operational Conversion Training for Aircrew Transitioning to Other Operational Helicopter Systems,” Said Agustawestland International Business Unit Senior Vice President Giacomo Saponaro During the February 21 Signing Ceremony.

“it’s About Changing the Shape of Rotary Wingtraining in Australia,” Boeing Australia President David Withers Told Aa at Singapore. “together With Agustawestland’s Rotorcraft Design and Manufacturing Expertise, and Boeing Australia’s Extensive Services Capabilities, We Offer a Highly Successful, Low Risk Solution for the Air 9000 Phase 7 Program. ” Another Likely Hats Contender is Eurocopter’s Ec 635 (a Militarised Ec 135), While Bell May Offer Its 429.

An Rft for Hats Will Be Issued Late This Year With a First Pass Approval on the Chosen Solution Expected During the Last Quarter of 2009.

Bell to Cut Jetranger From 2010

Bell Helicopters Will Cease Production of Its Iconic 206b3 Jetranger, as Well as of the 427 and 430 Light Twins and 210 (205/uh‑1h) Upgrade by 2010 in a Move It Says is Designed to Streamline Its Product Range and Better Meet Customer Demand.

“our Most Recent Analysis of the Marketplace Has Indicated an Increased Demand for Our 407 and 412 Commercial Helicopters, Along With Our Outstanding New 429 Model,” Said Bell Ceo Dick Millman. “we Are Fully Booked on These Models Until 2010. Consequently, We Are Both Significantly Increasing Our Overall Capacity – and Eliminating Production of Some Lower Volume Products. ” Bell Says the Cuts Will Help Enable It to Increase Production on Its 412, 407 and 429 Models, Although It Has Not Stated the Extent of the Ramp-up.

As Well as Streamlining Its Product Range Bell Plans to Cut Approximately 2200 Jobs, About Five Per Cent of Its Workforce, During This Year. Bell Says the Job Cuts Were Needed to Cut Costs and Better Align Its Organisational Structure With Its Future Growth Strategies.

“we Must Reduce Operating Costs to Assure That Our Products Will Be Competitive in the Marketplace,” Said Millman.

“we Will Do This by Increasing Our Efficiency While Reducing Redundancies and Flattening the Organisation. ” Doom and Gloom Aside Bell Recorded Another Double Digit Increase of Commercial Helicopter Deliveries in 2007.

A Total of 181 New Helicopters Was Delivered, a 14 Per Cent Increase Over 2006 and a 29 Per Cent Increase From 2005 Deliveries.

New Ec 175 to Challenge Aw139

Eurocopter and Harbin Aviation, Part of the China’s Avic Ii Group, Unveiled Their New Ec 175 at Heli-expo at Houston, Texas, on February 24.

The Seven Tonne 16-seat Ec 175 is Being Developed to Compete Directly Against Agustawestland’s Popular Aw139. It Will Be Powered by Two Fadec Equipped Pratt & Whitney Canada Pt6c-67e Turboshafts Turning a Five-bladed Spheriflex Main Rotor System Derived From the Ec 155 and 225, Which Enables Low Vibration Levels. The Ec 175 Closely Resembles the Aw139 Design, With the First Ec 175 Prototype Already in Production With Eurocopter and a First Flight Scheduled for 2009.

Following Its Unveiling Bristow Group and Vih Aviation Group Were Announced as Launch Customers.

Total Orders Stood at 98 Just One Week After Its Heli Expo Launch.

Sikorsky/schweizer Launch S-434

Sikorsky and Its Subsidiary Schweizer Launched the New S-434 at Heli-expo 2008 on February 24.

The Bladed S-434 is an Evolution of the Schweizer 333 and Incorporates Many of the Design and Performance Technologies Developed for the Mq-8b Fire Scout Vtuav.

The 434 Has Increased Power, a Larger Fuel Tank and Will Be Able to Fly Further and Faster With a Bigger Useful Load Compared to the 333.

Eurocopter’s Record Sales in ’07

Eurocopter Has Again Retained the Title as the World’s Leading Manufacture of Civil and Military Helicopters by Booking a Record 802 New Helicopters Ordered Totalling X6. 6bn (a$10. 6bn) in 2007.

The Company’s Order Backlog to the End of December Also Stood at a Record High, Exceeding X13bn (a$20. 7bn).

Of Eurocopter’s 2007 Sales Military Helicopters Account for 56 Per Cent of the Total Orders, Civil of Helicopters 44 Per Cent.

Eurocopter’s Most Popular Product From Its Catalogue Was by Far the as 350/355 Squirrel/fennec/ec 130 Family With 325 Units Sold During the Year. Following This Was the Ec 135 (134 Units), Nh90 Family (95 Units), Bk 117/ec 145 Family (88 Units), Ec 120 Colibri (73 Units), Dauphin/ Panther/ec 155 Family (47 Units), Super Puma/cougar Ec 225/ec 725 Family (22 Units) and Tiger (18 Units).

Eurocopter Celebrated the Year With the Delivery of 488 New Helicopters, Taking Revenue to Over X4bn (a$6. 4bn).

“one Year Ago I Had Just Taken Up My Position of Ceo and Believed 2006 Was a Historical Year in Terms of Order Bookings,” Ceo Dr Lutz Bertling Said. “well I Underestimated What We Were Able to Achieve in 2007.

Bookings Were Up by Nearly 200 Helicopters While Our Deliveries Increased by More Than 100 Units in Comparison to 2006, So Ramping Up Production Was the Order of the Day and Will Remain So for Some Time to Come”.

Strong Sales Are Also Expected in 2008, Driven in Part by Continual Growth in the Oil and Gas Exploration Industry.

“as Natural Resources Become Scarce and Prices Go Up, More Exploration and Extraction is Done in More Remote Areas as Well as Offshore, Thus Increasing the Need for New Helicopters,” Said Bertling.

Robinson Breaks Its Own Record

Robinson Helicopters Says It Delivered a Record Number of New R44 and R22 Helicopters in 2007, Surpassing Its Previous Record Year of 2005.

The California Based Company Says It Delivered 823 New Helicopters in 2007, 17 More Than the Previous Record of 806 It Set in 2005.

Robinson Also Broke the Production Record for a Single Helicopter Model by Producing 664 R44s, Beating the 563 R44s It Built in 2005.

On Top of This a Further 159 Two-seat R22s Completed Its 2007 Production Total.

Meanwhile, Deliveries of Robinson Helicopter’s First Turbine-powered Helicopter, the Five-seat R66, is Expected to Begin Around 2010.

Chopper Rescue Doco for Emq

Emergency Management Queensland’s Rescuehelicopter Service Starred in a Four-part Observational Documentary Series Airing in February/march on Abc1 Tv.

Titled Chopper Rescue the Half Hour Episodes Followed the Work of the Helicopter Rescue Crews From Emq’s Townsville and Cairn’s Bases Over a 10 Week Period.

Chopper Rescue’s Production Company, Big Island Pictures, Says It is Hopeful of Another Series of Episodes to Be Screened on Abc1.

Also During February Emq Played a Major Role During the Floods in Queensland’s Mid to Far North. Emq Helicopter Crews Provided Extensive Reconnaissance, Re-supply and Rescue Services Particularly Chopper Rescue – Emq’s Aw139 on the Ground at Emerald, Queensland, While Assisting With Flood Relief Efforts in February. Refer Text for Details. (Emq) in the Charleville, Beaudesert and Emerald Areas During the Flood Crisis.

India Seeks Bidders for 312 Helicopters

India’s is Seeking Bids From Kamov, Bell, Augustawestland, Hindustan Aeronautics and Eurocopter for the Urgent Supply of Supply 312 Light Observation and Reconnaissance Helicopters for Its Army and Air Force Following the December Scrapping a of Us$600m (a$647m) Deal for 197 Helicopters From Eurocopter.

Eurocopter Has Denied Any Wrongdoing After India Terminated the Deal Claiming Deviations From the Contract.

India Had Selected Eurocopter’s as 550c3 Fennec Over Bell’s Arh-70a After an Intensive Testing Period.

The Cancellation Was a Major Setback for India’s Plans to Acquire Modern Helicopters for Its Highaltitude Missions in the Disputed Himalayan Region of Kashmir.

In January the Indian Air Force Added Its Requirement of 115 Helicopters to the Previous 197 Units, Pushing the Value of the New Deal to Almost Us$1bn (a$1. 1bn).

The New Helicopter Type Will Replace India’s Fleet of Cheetah (Sa 315 Lama) and Chetak (Alouette Iii) Helicopters.

A Tender Will Be Issued in Coming Months After Responses From the Five Companies Have Been Received.

Briefs

• Helicopter Pioneer Frank Piasecki Died on February 11 in Philadelphia. Piasecki Designed the Tandem Rotor System Which is Used in Thech-47 Chinook and Ch-46 Sea Knight Helicopters.

• Robinson Helicopter Founder, Frank Robinson, Revealed at Heli-expo 2008 That He Has Concerns of Factory Fitting Glass Cockpits in the New R66 Because of Pilot Distractions.

• Boeing Was Awarded a Us$280 Million (a$297 Million) Contract in Late February to Provide 11 Additional New Build Ch-47f Chinooks for the Us Army, Increasing the Number of New Chinooks on Contract to 59. Deliveries of the Additional Ch-47fs Will Begin in 2011.

• Rolls-royce Has Opened the Small Engine Assembly Line (Seal) at Its Indianapolis, Indiana, Facilities to Assemble and Test the Model 250 and Rr300 Turboshaft Engines.