Rotor Torque

Bell 429 demonstrator aircraft N10984, which features a standard seven-seat configuration, visited southeast Queensland, Sydney (Bankstown), Canberra, Nowra, Adelaide and Melbourne, before returning to Bankstown for packing up to be freighted to Hong Kong.

As a contender for the ADF’s project Air 9000 Phase 7 Helicopter Aircrew Training System (HATS) contract, which is due for second pass approval between 2011 and 2013, the 429 was demonstrated to Army personnel at Oakey and to senior ADF personnel in Canberra on August 17, while on August 18 it visited Naval Air Station Nowra.

Raytheon and Bell recently announced their teaming to bid the 429 for Air 9000 Phase 7.

No 429s are currently on order for Australian customers, but the sales tour generated strong interest in the type, according to Peter Crook, rotary wing sales director for local Bell agent Hawker Pacific. The first customer 429 entered service in the US in late March.

Meanwhile, Bell has announced the certification of a precision Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) enabled glidepath capability on the 429.

The WAAS certifies the 429, currently the only helicopter available with the technology, for nine degree localiser precision with vertical guidance (LPV) approaches at a minimum velocity for instrument procedures (Vmini) of 45kt, allowing the aircraft to fly LPV procedures in steep approach conditions.

Bell says the solution will increase helicopter safety through obstacle avoidance, mission efficiency and environmental sensitivity, while reducing precision approach limitations and associated operational costs.

The 429 is airtested from p60 of this issue.

Frank Robinson retires

Robinson Helicopter Company founder Frank Robinson announced in early August that he has resigned as president and chairman of the light helicopter manufacturer.

The 80 year old Robinson had intended to retire in January this year, but stayed on to oversee the develop-ment of the turbine powered R66. With that aircraft now in production and certification imminent, Robinson has now officially retired.

Frank’s son Kurt Robinson, who has worked for the company since 1987, was appointed president and chairman on August 10.

Boeing to support Holsworthy KIOWAS

Boeing Defence Australia has signed a $13. 3 million change proposal with the Commonwealth to bring Kiowa helicopter maintenance at Holsworthy near Sydney into its Australian Army Aviation Training and Training Support (AATTS) contract.

The deal sees Boeing take on maintenance of the eight Bell Kiowas based at Holsworthy’s 173SQN until the end of 2012, an extension of a six month contract for four of the machines in place since February.

The AATTS also provides pilot, aircrew and maintenance training, as well as fleet maintenance and support services, for the Army’s Black Hawks and Kiowa helicopters at Oakey.

LockMart wins US unmanned cargo helicopter

Lockheed Martin has been selected as the winner of the US Army/Marine Corps Autonomous Technologies for Unmanned Air Systems (ATUAS) program for an unmanned cargo delivery helicopter with a version of Kaman’s K-Max helicopter.

The Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate (AATD) announced the selection on August 16, citing the K-Max’s 3000kg payload capability, the system’s maturity, and its ability to be optionally piloted. The requirement called for a machine able to deliver a 360kg payload over a 200km range to a point with a density altitude of 12,000ft, and will be fielded in Afghanistan in support of coalition operations there.

The K-Max had been pitched against Boeing’s A160T Hummingbird.

Separately, an A160T, dubbed YMQ-18A by the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM), has crashed while undergoing foliage penetrating radar tests in the Central American country of Belize.

The aircraft, owned by SOCOM but operated by Boeing contractors, reportedly lost tail rotor authority on approach to landing and crashed on the edge of a clearing. There was no fire and nobody was injured in the crash.

A statement from SOCOM said the trial would be ended, but that 90 to 95 per cent of the demonstration’s test objectives had already been met during 90 hours of flight time in 28 flights.

The Belize crash follows the loss of another A160T in California in July. AS350 B2 CAE 3000 simulator certified The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has qualified the first CAE 3000 simulator for the Eurocopter AS350 B2 for Level 7 flight training device credits.

The device is based in Phoenix, Arizona – CAE’s fifth civil helicopter training location worldwide.

CAE says its 3000 Series Level 7 simulator is designed to the emerging ICAO Type III standards, which could provide 100 per cent of training tasks for instrument rating, ATPL, type rating, recurrent licence and operator specific training, and up to 50 per cent of tasks for training to proficiency requirements.

Briefs

• Commander Peter Ashworth has won the Royal Aeronautical Society Canberra Branch’s Biennial Award for Excellence in Aviation for his work leading Project Air 9000, which is acquiring the Eurocopter MRH 90. CDR Ashworth is now the project manager for Air 9000 Phase 8, which aims to replace the RAN’s Seahawks and fill the capability gap arising from the cancellation of the Seasprite program.

• GKN Aerospace has announced the delivery of the first major structural assembly for the Sikorsky CH-53K heavy lift helicopter. The six metre long aft transition fuselage section features an advanced hybrid composite, aluminium and titanium structure covered with external composite skins.

• An Army S-70 Black Hawk helicopter operating in East Timor as part of the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) which experienced problems during a training exercise on August 12 successfully made a safe landing after the pilots made a Mayday call. According to the Department of Defence, the flightcrew made a Mayday call after experiencing an overspeed problem. This was subsequently downgraded to a ‘Pan’ call for landing at Comoro airport, where the helicopter was able to land safely and the Pan was cancelled.