Rotor Torque

Launched at Heli-expo 2008, Eurocopter Signed 111 Intentions to Purchase the Helicopter During the Three Days of the Show.

At China’s Zhuhai Airshow in November Haig Signed Letters of Intent for Five Z15s.

Eurocopter and Haig Hope to Sell 800 of the Helicopters During the Next 20 Years.

The First Fuselage Section Will Be Shipped to Eurocopter in Marignane, France, for Completion With Its First Flight Scheduled Before the End of 2009.

Easa Type Certification for the Ec 175 is Expected During 2011 With Civil Aviation Administration of China Certification for the Z15 Expected in 2012, With Deliveries Soon After.

Becker Wins Saudi Training Contract

Sunshine Coast Airport Based Becker Helicopter Services Has Been Awarded a Contract to Provide Military Helicopter Pilot Training for the Saudi Arabian National Guard.

The Five Year $100 Million Contract, Brokered by Specialist Training Australia With the Saudi Arabian Government, Will Offer 14 Month Courses Where the Trainees, Who Have Completed Basic Military Training and Are Officers in the Saudi Arabian National Guard, Will Receive Basic Through to Advanced Flying Training Including Using Nvgs.

Becker Helicopters is Investing $7 Million on New Buildings, Helicopters and Staff to Cater for the Contract.

The First Course Commenced in Early November.

Aust Helicopters Wins Vic Ems Contract

Brisbane Headquartered Australian Helicopters Was Awarded a $20 Million Ambulance Victoria Contract in Late October.

Australian Helicopters Will Provide Two Brand New Ems Configured Bell 412eps, Pilots and Engineers to Service a Dedicated Adult, Neonatal and Paediatric Retrieval Helicopter, Based at Melbourne’s Essendon Airport, and Establish a New Rescue Helicopter Base at Warrnambool Airport, in the State’s Southwest, From March and July 2009 Respectively.

Medical Treatment on Both Helicopters Will Be Provided by Ambulance Victoria Intensive Care Paramedics.

“i Am Very Pleased to Be Able to Say We Have Reached Anagreement With Australian Helicopters for the Purchase of a Brand New Helicopter for the Service,” Said Victoria’s Metropolitan Ambulance Services’s General Manager of Operations, Keith Young.

“the Helicopter Will Be Coming Direct From the Production Line and Will Be Fit-out Exactly the Same as the Ambulance Helicopters Used in Bendigo and the Latrobe Valley. ” Australian Helicopters Currently Operates a Fleet of 19 Twin and Single Engine Helicopters From Eight Bases Around Australia Performing Crash Response and Training Support for Army, Border Surveillance for Coastwatch and Police and Sar Operations for the South Australian and Queensland Governments.

Name a Crane

Move Over Elvis! Flynn, Clancy and Bluey Might Soon Be Taking the Limelight as the Public’s Favourite Erickson Air-cranes.

The Names of Three S-64 Air- Cranes, Which Arrived by Ship in Sydney on December 9 Along With Elvis (N179ac), Were Chosen by a Naming Competition Run in Conjunction With Channel 7’s Sunrise Breakfast Show.

Air-cranes Elsie (N218ac), Isabelle (N178ac) and Christine (N173ac) Were Renamed Bluey Clancy and Flynn Respectively by Winners From New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, Where They Will Be Based While in Australia.

The Winning Names Were Painted on the Noses of the Helicopters, Which Will Revert Back to Their Original Names Before Leaving Australia.

Five Air-cranes Will Be Regulars in Australian Skies During Bushfire Seasons for the Next Five Years.

This Season Malcolm (Pictured Above) and Clancy/isabelle Will Be Based at Bankstown Airport, Elvis and Bluey/elise Will Be Based at Essendon Airport and Flynn/christine Will Be Based in Adelaide.

In Fact a Sixth Air-crane, N194ac Delilah, Has Landed on Our Shores. Delilah Was Bound for a Logging Contract in Malaysia Which Fell Through and Was Instead Shipped to Australia to Act as a Spare Machine.

Tls Engine Contract Signed for Arh Tigers

the Army Has Signed a Through Life Support (Tls) Engine Contract for Its Fleet of 22 Tiger Arhs on November 20.

The Initial 11 Year Contract Requires Australian Aerospace, Mtr (a Joint Venture Company of Mtu Aero Engines, Turbomeca and Rolls-royce) and Turbomeca Australasia to Provide Technical, Logistics, Repair and Supply Support Services for the Tiger’s Mtr390-2c Turbine Engines.

The Engine Deal is One of Several Subcontracts Awarded by Australian Aerospace, the Prime Contractor for the Tiger Program, for the Overall Tiger Arh Tls Arrangement. Twelve Tigers Are Currently in Service With the Army, Including Three at 161 and 162 Reconnaissance Squadrons in Darwin and a Single Tiger Attached to the Aircraft Research and Development Unit at Raaf Edinburgh Near Adelaide.

The Last of the 22 Tigers, A38-022, is Nearing Completion at Australian Aerospace’s Facility in Brisbane and is Expected to Be Accepted Into Service in November 2010.

Nz & Germany Sign Helicopter Training Accord

the New Zealand and German Governments Have Signed an Agreement Which Will Pave the Way for Closer Cooperation Between the Two Countries in the Training of Rnzaf Pilots and Crews on the New Nh90 Helicopters.

The Agreement is Part of the Nz$771 Million Deal Signed in 2006 for Eight Nh90s Including Logistics, Support, Spares and Training.

“under the Agreement, Early Next Year (2009) a Rnzaf Pilot and Crew Member Will Train in Germany in Preparation for the Introduction Into Service of Our State-of-the-art Nh90 Helicopters,” Said Then Nz Defence Minister Phil Goff in Early November. “germany, as the First Country to Receive a Similar Nh90 Helicopter Variant to New Zealand’s and the First to Introduce It Into Service, Possesses the Necessary Expertise to Assist Our Air Force.

Assembly of the First of Eight Nh90s for New Zealand Has Been Completed at Eurocopter’s Marignane Facility Near Marseilles, and It Will Fly Early in the New Year.

New Us Army Arh Contract Interest

Helicopter Manufacturers Agustawestland, Boeing, Eads North America (American Eurocopter) and Sikorsky Have Expressed an Early Interest in the Failed Us Army Arh Contract After the Termination of Bell ’s Contract to Build Up to 512 Arh-70s.

The Us Army Released a Sources-sought Notice in November to Inform the Manufacturers of Its Requirements- Setting Process Ahead of a New Acquisition Strategy for an Arh Re-competition in January. The Notice Specified That a Helicopter Will Be Required to Perform a Hover Out of Ground Effect at 6000ft and at 35°c.

Sikorsky Has Confirmed It Will Be Offering Both Short and Long Term Solutions for the New Arh Competition but Did Not Identify Any Specific Types, but is Expected to Offer Its Schweizer 330 or X2. Boeing Already Announced in October It Will Offer Its Ah-6 Arh to the International Market and That Will Now Likely Be a Key Contender for the Us Army Arh Contract.

During the Original Arh Competition in 2004, Eurocopter Offered Its as 350/ec 365 and Agustawestland Its A109/ A129, but Both Were Eliminated as They Didn’t Meet Army’s Deployability Parameter Which Required Two Helicopters to Fit Into a C-130 Hercules and Be Ready to Fly Within 15 Minutes of Being Unloaded. The Arh Deployability Parameter May Be Altered in the Re-competition as the Army is Still to Decide if the New Arh Type Will Be a Single or Twin-engined.

Bell Declined Initially to Respond to the Notice in Favour of Evaluating Army’s Solicitation First Before Deciding to Respond.

Bell 429 Engines Attain Certification

Pratt & Whitney Canada Has Received Transport Canada Certification for Its Pw207d1 and Pw207d2 (Fitted With a Fuel Heater) Turboshaft Engines That Power Bell’s New 429 Globalranger. The New Members of the Pw200 Family Offer About Nine Per Cent More Power Than the Baseline Pw200 Engines.

Bell Expects to Achieve Transport Canada Type Certification for the 429 in Early 2009.

Eurocopter Trials French Ifr Hospital Network

Eurocopter Conducted a Series of Test Flights in Late November to Trial the Use of Helicopters Performing Inter-hospital Transfers (Iht) While Operating Under Ifr Conditions.

Eurocopter Teamed With Nogent-le-rotrou and Dreux Hospitals, the French Association of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services and the French Civil Aviation Authority (Dgac) to Complete Flights Between Hospitals Entirely Under Gps Navigation, From Takeoff to Final Approach, Using an Ec 145.

The Trial Hopes to Lead to the Establishment of a Networked Iht Service in All Weather Conditions to Link Patients With Specialist Medical Services.

Gps (Rnav) Approaches Are Already in Use at a Number of Hospitals Around Australia.

Ec Announces New Indo Subsidiary

Eurocopter Announced in Mid November That Pt Dirgantara Indonesia (Ptdi) Will Become Its Newest Subsidiary Under the Banner of Eurocopter Indonesia.

The Establishment of Eurocopter Indonesia Brings to 18 the Number of Subsidiaries the European Helicopter Manufacturer Has Globally and to Seven in the Asia Pacific Region.

Eurocopter Indonesia Will Be Responsible for All Civil Sales and Customer Support Activities in Indonesia, While in Cooperation With Ptdi Will Manage Governmental Operators. To Be Based in Jakarta, Eurocopter Indonesia Expects to Employ Up to 100 Staff by the End of 2009.

Eurocopter Currently Holds a 50 Per Cent Share in the Indonesian Civil and Military Markets With a Fleet Close to 150 Helicopters.

Pathfinder Gives New Sight to Us Army Black Hawks

Lockheed Martin, Teamed With Bae Systems, Elbit- Fort Worth and Thales, Has Completed the Flight Test of Its Pathfinder Head-up, Eyes-out, Helmet-mounted Display Sensor System on a Us Army Hh-60l Medevac Black Hawk.

The Pathfinder System Has Been Developed to Increase Situational Awareness and Reduce Workload for Pilots of Cargo and Utility Helicopters Flying at Low Level at Night or in Poor Visibility. Pathfinder Combines Lm’s Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight/pilot Night Vision Sensor (M-tads/pnvs) System, Known as Arrowhead, With Video From a Visible/near Infrared (V/nir) Camera.

The Imagery Feeds Are Blended Together and Projected Into the Pilot’s Helmet Mounted Sight, Giving the Ability to See Cultural and Military Lighting, to Avoid Obstacles, and Detect Laser Target Pointers Which Offer Improved Coordination With Army Ground Units.

The Pathfinder Turret Kit Consists of Three Line-replaceable Modules and Mounts on the Helicopter’s Chin.

After Developmental Testing is Completed, Us Army Aircrews Will Trial the System in an Operational Environment to Gauge Its Effectiveness in Battle.

Australia’s Dmo and Lm Are Reportedly Discussing the Possibility of Trialling a Pathfinder Unit on an Army Ch-47d in Late 2009.

Briefs

• Canada’s Asap Avionics Has Received a Faa Supplemental Type Certificate (Stc) for the Installation of Its Sagem Integrated Cockpit Display System in Robinson R44 Helicopters.

(See June ’08 Aa) • Bell Has Awarded Onboard Systems a Contract to Design and Develop a New 1360kg (3000lb) External Cargo Hook System for Its New Bell 429.

• the First Sikorsky Ch-148 Cyclone (Militarised S-92) for the Canadian Forces Made Its First Flight on November 15.

Canada Will Eventually Take Delivery of 28 Ch-148s to Replace Its Fleet of Ch-124 Sea Kings, With Service Entry Expected in 2010-2011.

• Gkn Aerospace Delivered the First Complete Future Lynx Airframe to Agustawestland on November 13.

• Boeing’s Ch-47f Chinook Has Been Fielded by a Third Us Army Unit – the 1st Cavalry Division.

• India’s Hindustan Aeronautics (Hal) Has Delayed the First Flight of Its Light Combat Helicopter Design Until March.

Hal Hopes to Secure Initial Operational Clearance for the Type by December 2010.

• Hong Kong’s Heli Express Relaunched Itself as Sky Shuttle on November 26. The Rebranding Coincides With the Entry Into Service of the First Two of Six New Aw139s Replacing Its S-76c+ Fleet.

• the Brazilian Government Has Confirmed It Signed a Contract With Russia’s Rosoboronexport Arms Agency for 12 Mil Mi‑35m Attack Helicopters in Late October. The Order is the Brazilian Air Force’s First Purchase of a Russian Aircraft.