Rotor Torque

Australia’s Civil and Military Helicopter Industries Descended on the Gold Coast’s Royal Pines Resort Between May 26-27 for the Heli Pacific 2010 Conference and Expo.

Heli Pacific, the Fourth Helicopter Convention Hosted by the Uk’s Shepherd Group in Australia, Saw a Large Turnout of Civil and Military Helicopters During the Two Day Event. On Display From the Civil Manufacturers Were an Agustawestland Aw119ke Koala, A109s Grand and Aw139; a Bell 407, 214 and 230; Two Ec120s, Two Ec135s, Five As350s and a Bk117-850 D2; and Two Robinson R44s.

The Navy Brought a Sea King and Seahawk Which Were Displayed for Both Days of the Conference. The Army, Who Almost Did Not Attend Due to an Issue Regarding Insurance, Brought a Black Hawk, Tiger Arh and Bell Kiowa.

Notably Absent From the Adf’s Lineup Was an Example of an Mrh 90 as the Type Was Still Suspended From Flying Due to an Engine Failure in April (Refer P25 This Issue for Details).

Highlights From Heli Pacific’s Static Display and Conference Included: Brisbane Based Delta Helicopters Displayed Its Two-seat Diesel Powered Delta D2 Prototype, Which Was to Commence Initial Hover Testing in June.

Bankstown Airport’s Helitreck Brought Bk117-850 D2, Vh-fhf, the First of Type in the World to Be Fitted With Honeywell’s More Powerful New Lts101-850b-2 Engines.

Modified Under Airwork New Zealand’s Recently Attained Supplemental Type Certificate, the New Engines Provide Bk117 Operators With an Increase of 15 Per Cent in Takeoff Power and 18 Per Cent More Power for Hot and High Operations.

Helibiz and Australian Aerospace Showed Off a Factory New Ec120, Vh-mtd, Belonging to Sound Audio Engineering Institute (Sae) Owner Tom Misner.

Sae Will Use the Ec120 to Teach Students Skills and Techniques With Aerial Film and Photography.

During His Conference Address on May 27, the Head of Defence Materiel Organisation’s Helicopter Systems Division, Major General Tony Fraser, Announced That He is Stepping Down From the Position in Late June. Commodore Mark Campbell, Currently Director General Navy Aviation Systems Branch, Will Be Taking Over Fraser’s Role.

Local Eurocopter Subsidiary Australian Aerospace Announced the Western Australia Police Has Ordered a Eurocopter As365 N3 Dauphin Helicopter for Delivery in September 2011, to Join the Force’s Existing Bk117 and Fixed Wing Pilatus Pc-12s and Cessna 182.

No Dates Had Been Released at Press Time for Heli Pacific 2012.

Chc Appoints New Australian Boss

Chc Helicopter Appointed Rick Burt, Formerly Senior Vice President of Canada’s Cougar Helicopters, as Managing Director of Its Australianoperations Effective June 1 as It Seeks to Grow Its Local Business Units While Aligning Them More Closely With Chc’s Global Operations.

“we Are Delighted to Have Someone With Rick’s Scope and Experience Join Chc Helicopter,” Said Christine Baird, President of Chc Global Operations. “chc is Intent on Developing Its Australian Business and Rick Has the Right Leadership Skills and Vision to Accomplish That. ” Burt is Based in Perth Rather Than at Chc’s Traditional Headquarters in Adelaide in Order to Be Closer to the Company’s Oil and Gas Customers. He Has Replaced Longstanding Managing Director Chris Ridings.

Sikorsky X2 Achieves 181kt, Aims for 250kt by September

Sikorsky Has Completed the Third Phase of Flight Testing of Its X2 Counter-rotating Coaxial Rotor Pusher Demonstrator With a Flight on May 26 Reaching 181kt.

“the Demonstrator is Proving Out the Technologies Very Well, From the Active Vibration Control System to the Fly-bywire Controls,” Said Sikorsky Manager of Advanced Programs Jim Kagdis. “there Are No Show Stoppers Here So Far, and Now the Program Turns a Corner, as This Completes Phase Three of Four. We Are Flying Forward to the 250kt Cruise Speed. ” Recently the X2 Achieved 168kt Thanks Largely to Aerodynamic Improvements Around the Upper and Lower Rotor Hubs to Reduce Drag. For the Recent Flight the X2 Was Fitted With a Drag Reducing Fairing Between the Two Rotors.

“about 50 Per Cent of the Drag on the Aircraft Comes From the Coaxial Dynamic System.

With Fairings, We Think We Can Cut That Drag in Half. ” the Fourth Phase of Testing Will See Sikorsky Expand the Use of the Pusher Propeller to Generate Thrust While Slowing Down the Main Rotors to Reduce Retreating Blade Stall.

Sikorsky Aims to Achieve 250kt as Early as September.

Southern Peninsular to Cease Helicopter Operations

Helicopter Rescue Operations Provided by the Southern Peninsula Rescue Squad (Sprs), Based at Sorrento, on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, Will Cease During Mid July Because of a Reduced Number of Call-outs, High Running Costs and the Retirement of Its Chief Pilot.

Sprs Management Decided to Cease Helicopter Operations and Sell Its Bell 206l Longranger, Vh-blv, During a Committee Meeting Held on May 4, Which Will Bring to an End Sprs’s 34 Years of Helicopter Rescue. Sprs Will Continue to Provide Marine Search and Rescue Services to the Community Using Its Rescue Boat Operation.

“our Helicopter Has Been More Than Just a Search and Rescue Helicopter,” Said Eileen Murray, Sprs President. “it Will Certainly Be a Sad Day When It Makes Its Last Flight From the Helipad. ”the Growing Number and the Availability of Sar Capable Helicopters in the Greater Melbourne Region, Including the Commencement of Beach and Coastal Patrols by Life Saving Victoria’s Westpac Life Saver Helicopter, Has Seen the Operational Requirement for the Sprs Helicopter Gradually Diminish. Since January the Helicopter Has Been Called Out on Sar Missions Only Twice and It Spent the Remainder of Its Flying Time on Training and Public Relations Exercises. In 2009, the Rescue Squad Flew a Total of Only 85 Hours.

With the Retirement of Chief Pilot John Sonneveld Later This Year Sprs Concluded That It Would Be Almost Impossible to Attract Suitably Qualified Pilots to Fill His Position With Such Low Flying Hours on Offer.

The Helipad and Fuel Supply at Sprs’s Sorrento Base Will Remain Available to Other Ems and Police Helicopters. “it’s the Committee’s Intention to at Least Initially Retain the Fuel Supply for Their Use. At the Present Time There is No Other Fuel Supply Available on the Southern End of the Peninsula. ”

Racq Careflight South West Goes Full Time

the Queensland Government Announced as Part of Its Budget on June 8 That It Will Provide an Additional $1. 64 Million Per Year to Assist Toowoomba Airport Based Racq Care- Flight South West Upgrade Its Part-time Operations to a Full Time Service.

Careflight Group Queensland Ceo, Ashley Van De Velde, Said the New Government Funding is a Major Win for the Corporate and Community Supporters Who Have Been the Driving Force Behind the Service.

“it’s Their Hard Earned Dollars That Has Enabled Racq Careflight South West to Deliver This Service Over the Past Three Years. Having an Aircraft Available in Toowoomba 24/7 Will Mean Quicker Response Times and Greater Efficiency in Reaching Patients in the Southwest.

This Enhanced Delivery of Service Will Complement the Services Provided by Thequeensland Ambulance Service and the Local Hospitals. ” Racq Careflight Rescue South West’s Flight Region Extends Up to 350km to the West of Toowoomba and Has Previously Operated on Weekends, School Holidays and Public Holidays Using a Bell 230. The Government Funding Will See the Service Become Full Time as Soon as Operationally Possible, Rather Than Just Operating on Weekends and Holiday Periods.

Medevac/csar Kits for Nh90

Eurocopter Revealed a Medical Evacuation (Medevac) Retrofit Kit for Its Nh90 Helicopter at the Ila Berlin Airshow in June.

The Medevac Kit Was Developed in Response to a German Ministry of Defence Requirement for 12 Nh90s to Be Used to Transport Wounded Personnel.

Existing German Nh90s Will Be Fitted With Anti-ballistic Protection and Have Two Intensive Care Bays Installed for Treating Patients and Seating for Medical Teams.

Eurocopter Consulted With the German Army’s Medical Service Over the Design and Layout of the Medical Fit and Says Final Development Work for the Medevac Kits Can Be Completed Within 20 Months.

Eurocopter is Also Offering the Medevac Kit as Part of a Csar (Combat Search and Rescue) Conversion Package for Nh90 Tths (the Model on Which Australia’s Mrh 90s Are Based). Options for the Csar Kit Will Include Up to Three Machine Guns (One on Each Side Door and One on the Tail Ramp), Anti-ballistic Protection, a Rappel System, a Double Rescue Hoist, an Emergency Flotation System, Sand Filters, an Obstacle Warning System and Ecm Selfprotection Suite.

Eurocopter Says the Medevac Equipped Nh90s Will Be Able to Carry Out Missionsover Any Terrain, Day or Night, Under All Weather and Visual Flight Conditions.

Boeing Buys Aw101 for Vxx Presidential Helicopter Bid

Boeing Has Reached Agreement With Agustawestland to Licence Build the Aw101 in the Us as Its Bid for the Vxx Us Presidential Helicopter Replacement Program.

Boeing Says, Unlike the Previous Arrangement Between Lockheed Martin and Agustawestland Which Resulted in the Us101, It is Not Partnering With Anyone, Rather It Has Secured the Data and Production Rights to What It is Now Calling the ‘boeing 101’ Helicopter.

The Us101 Was Selected Ahead of Sikorsky’s H-92 Based Offering in the Previous Vxx Contest, Only to Suffer From Severe Cost Blowouts and Capability Creep Which Saw the Project Cancelled.

Eads Unveils Dieselelectric Helicopter Concept

Eads Unveiled a Model of a Hybrid Helicopter Concept at the Ila Berlin Airshow on June 8 Which It Says Could Cut Emissions and Fuel Consumption in Half While Improving Safety Margins.

One of Several Projects That Form Part of Eads Innovation Works’s ‘eco2avia’ Program, the Helicopter Concept Would Use Four Diesel-electric Motor Generator Units, Two High Performance Batteries and a Power Electronics Unit. ‘opposed Piston Opposed Cylinder’ (Opoc) Diesel Engines Would Generate Electrical Power for the Main and Tail Rotors, With Their Power Output Shafts Coupled to Generators Delivering Electrical Current to a Power Electronics Unit. This in Turn Would Manage the Distribution of Electricity to the Electric Motors Which Would Drive the Main and Tail Rotors, to and From the Batteries, and to Other Systems on the Helicopter.

The Architecture of the Hybrid Propulsion System Would Allow the Main Rotor and Its Electrical Drive to Be Tilted Forward During Cruise Flight, Enabling the Helicopter’s Fuselage to Remain at Its Optimum Alignment With the Airstream, Minimising Aerodynamic Drag and Reducing Power Demands and Fuel Consumption.

The Tail Rotor Would Have No Mechanical Linkage to the Main Rotor and Its Power Source Could Be Reduced or Turned Off at Higher Speeds as Stability, Control and the Balancing of Rotor Torque Are Provided by the Aerodynamic Properties of the Helicopter’s Tail Fin and Rudder.

Several Combustion Engine Options Would Be Able to Be Integrated Into the Patented Hybrid Helicopter Concept Which Eads Hopes Will Make Helicopters More Environmentally Friendly.

“the Eads Innovation Works ‘eco2avia’ Research Platform Will Open Up New Possibilities for Cleaner, Safer and More Quiet Helicopter and Aviation Operations,” Said Dr Jean Botti, Eads’s Chief Technical Officer.

“takeoffs and Landings Will Be Possible on Electrical Power Alone, Resulting in Lower Noise Levels and Improved Flight Safety. ” Eads Says the Next Step Would Be to Build a Flying Prototype.

Briefs

• the First of 27 Nh90 Nfhs Was Delivered to the French Navy on May 5 During a Ceremony at Eurocopter’s Marignane Plant. It Was the First Delivery of an Nh90 Helicopter to France, Which Also Has 34 Nh90 Tth Troop Transports on Order. Between Them the Dutch, French, Italian, Norwegian and Belgian Navies Have Ordered 111 Nh90 Nfhs, With the First of Type for the Royal Netherlands Navy Handed Over on April 20.

• the Army’s Last of 22 Tiger Arhs, A38-022, is on Schedule for Delivery in March 2011.

• the First S-70i Black Hawk to Be Built at Sikorsky’s Pzl Mielec, Poland, Facility Has Begun Flight Testing at Sikorsky’s Development Flight Center in Florida. The S-70i is an International Variant of the Black Hawk and is the First Black Hawk Helicopter Assembled in Europe.

• This is My Last Rotor Torque Column as I Am Leaving Australian Aviation to Pursue a Career With Airservices Australia. Rest Assured Rotor Torque Will Continue to Bring You the Latest Local and International Industry News.

Cheers!