Rotor Torque

The R66, powered by the Rolls-Royce RR300 turboshaft engine, is Robinson’s first foray into turbine powered machines, and received its certification less than four years after the company announced its plans to develop the new model. The RR300 is a development of the popular and proven RR250.

“Because we were not working to a hard deadline, we had the opportunity to refine and optimize the design,” Pete Riedl, Robinson’s Chief Engineer said in a statement. “The performance of the aircraft, so far, has met or exceeded all of our expectations.”

The first customer aircraft, S/N 0004, was delivered to long-time Californian Robinson dealer, Helistream, and examples will be available to Australian customers from the first quarter of 2011 through Australian distributor Helibiz.

Us Army Oh-58d To Be Upgraded

The US Army’s OH-58D Kiowa Warrior fleet will be substantially upgraded in the wake of two unsuccessful attempts to replace it, and will be redesignated as the OH-58F.

At least 158 OH-58Ds will go through the Cockpit and Sensor Upgrade Program (CASUP) which will see them fitted with a new nose mounted sensor, improved control hardware and software, three full colour multifunction displays, dual redundant digital engine controls, digital inter-cockpit communications, datalinks for real-time links to UAVs, Aircraft Survivability Equipment (ASE) upgrades, and a redesigned wiring harness. Other improvements will include a Common Missile Warning System (CMWS) and a 1760 digital databus interface.

The US Army has also awarded Bell a contract to upgrade up to 18 OH-58A Kiowas to the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior armed scout standard under a program dubbed ‘A2D’. The program will see the OH-58As replace combat losses suffered by the OH-58D in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“The OH-58D Kiowa Warrior is a significant work horse for our combat operations fleet,” said Col Robert Grigsby, the US Army’s Armed Scout Helicopter project manager. “This conversion will ensure the Kiowa Warrior continues to be a combat multiplier on the joint and combined battlefield across the full spectrum of military operations.”

The OH-58D fleet has seen a high tempo of operations in recent years, being one of the most requested close air support platforms in Iraq and Afghanistan, and with each aircraft operating about 90 hours per month on average.

Previous attempts to replace the OH-58D have been unsuccessful, with both the RAH-66 Comanche and ARH-70A Arapaho (also an advanced development of the Bell 206) being cancelled due to huge development cost and schedule overruns.

Apache Block Iii Production Approved

The US Army awarded Boeing a US$247m (A$251m) contract on October 22 to begin Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) of the AH-64D Apache Block III attack helicopter.

This initial contract covering eight aircraft, will see the new the AH-64D receive enhanced 1500kW T700-engines, composite main rotor blades, a new split-torque face gear transmission, the modernised target acquisition detection system/pilot night vision system (MTADS/PNVS), and enhanced networked datalinks and communications.

The US Army currently has a requirement for 690 Block III Apaches, and despite using new build fuselages when full rate production commences, the Block IIIs will be ‘remanufactured’ from current AH-64Ds.

Aussie Chinooks Home To Rest

The Army’s two CH-47D Chinooks of the Rotary Wing Group detachment based at Kandahar, Afghanistan, returned home on board two RAAF C-17 transports earlier this month.

Since deploying earlier this year, the two Chinooks flew 737 hours over 860 sorties, and carried 4700 troops and 691,000kg of supplies and equipment in support of the International Stabilisation Assistance Force (ISAF).

“On just about all the missions we flew this year supporting our coalition partners, our crews were fulfilling the role of air mission commander, taking the lead and providing direction to the other Coalition aircraft involved in the missions,” Task Group Commander LTCOL David Lynch said. “A key mission requirement for the Task Group was to ensure that the CH-47s were mission ready whenever they were required. This year, we did not fail on a single occasion to provide support when we were assigned to a mission.”

The aircraft will enter a period of maintenance, while a fresh contingent and two more Chinooks will prepare to redeploy early in the new year.

Sikorsky Announces S-97 Scout/attack Helo

Sikorsky has announced a scout and attack development of its X2 high speed compound helicopter, dubbed the S-97.

Like the X2 demonstrator which recently exceeded 250kt in level flight, the S-97 will feature a coaxial main rotor and a rear-mounted pusher propeller, and will carry troops and air-to-surface weapons. The company says it will self-fund two full scale demonstrators which are due to fly before the end of 2014 that will be capable of flying faster than 200kt in cruise and 220kt in a dash, and Sikorsky hopes to market the aircraft to the US Army as an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior light armed reconnaissance helicopter replacement.

“Having proved the X2 Technology design to ourselves, we have full confidence we can now mature the technology for the US Army’s light armed reconnaissance helicopter size,” said Sikorsky president Jeffrey Pino. “Self funding the design of a brand new light tactical helicopter – the Sikorsky S-97 – and manufacturing two prototypes we have designated as the Raider X2 helicopter, will help military aviation evaluate the viability of a fast and manoeuvrable next generation rotorcraft for a variety of combat missions.”

The company unveiled a full-scale mockup of the S-97 at an event on October 20. The S-97 will weigh in at 4965kg and will be able to carry six fully equipped troops and hover at altitude. Sikorsky is also expected to pitch the aircraft at the special operations community, and cites the S-97′s comparatively quiet operations compared to conventional helicopters fitted with tail rotors.

Eurocopter – No New Squirrel For Now

Eurocopter CEO Dr Lutz Bertling has said the company has no short term plans to replace or significantly upgrade its Squirrel range of helicopters.

Speaking to Australian media at the company’s headquarters in Marignane near Marseille, Dr Bertling said the Squirrel, which was launched in the early 1980s, was still selling extremely well, and that customers had only requested enhancements as part of an ongoing product improvement process.

Dr Bertling also said the company would retain the slow selling EC120, as that model was profitable despite the low sales numbers, and that the market still wanted an entry level turbine helicopter.

Enhanced Tiger Lighting To Be Completed Soon

Eurocopter says delays in integrating new formation lighting on the Army’s fleet of ARH Tiger helicopters have been caused by the ADF wanting a type of lighting not specified in the original contract and not used by any other Tiger operator, but that the issue should be resolved by early 2011.

Following on from reports in Australian media earlier this month which quoted defence sources as saying the Tiger was not suitable for deployment to Afghanistan because it could not fly at night, Eurocopter’s head of government programs, Dominique Maudet, said the type of external lighting specified on the ARH machines at contract signature was the same as that used on French machines in Afghanistan, but that the Army has since upgraded its specification to include green ‘slime light’ strips for use in formation work at night with night vision goggles.

Maudet added that there appeared to be “very high sensitivity about this issue” within the ADF which has led “to very specific demands compared to the French,” perhaps in reference to the crash of two Black Hawks and the loss of 18 soldiers in a night time mid air accident near Townsville in 1996.

Sikorsky Promises Smoother Helicopter Flights

Sikorsky has completed rig testing of a hub mounted vibration suppression system (HMVS) for helicopters which it says could deliver a ‘jet-smooth’ ride for helicopters.

The HMVS has been developed by Sikorsky and Lord Corporation in association with the US Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate and works by controlling vibrations at the rotor hub and blades. Through phasing of the two rotors, the magnitude and orientation of the centrifugal forces from the rotors can be made to cancel lateral hub vibration.

“Vibration, even at the low levels Sikorsky has been able to achieve, takes a toll on crew and passengers as well as the aircraft,” said Mark Miller, Sikorsky’s vice president, research & engineering. “With the HMVS breakthrough technology, occupants will experience less fatigue and enhanced safety. In addition, operating costs will decrease because equipment will last longer in a virtually zero-vibration environment.”

Sikorsky is planning to conduct a flight test of the HMVS system on a company helicopter during the next 12 months. The company is also planning to integrate it into its lineup of helicopters once development is complete.

Briefs

* Aeronautical Accessories has announced that it has gained FAA approval for its Bell 429 accessory package. The accessory package includes a crew floor protector kit, passenger floor protector assembly, automatic door openers and a fuel filler area protection kit. All elements are also available separately.

* The AH-64D Apache’s Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor (M-TADS/PNVS) is to receive an upgrade after Lockheed Martin was awarded a US$65m (A$66m) four year contract to address “obsolescence issues and reliability and capability gaps.”

* The Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture has ordered seven Eurocopter AS350 B3 Squirrels for crop spraying missions. Deliveries will commence in early 2011, and Iraqi crews are trained at Eurocopter’s training facility in South Africa.