Rotor Torque

Team on Utility Helicopter Russian Helicopters and Agustawestland Have an-nounced Plans to Jointly Develop a New 2. 5 Tonne Class Single-engine Helicopter.

The Companies Said the New Aircraft Would Be Marketed Worldwide for a Broad Range of Applications. Development of the Program Will Be Split Evenly Between the Two, They Said.

Agustawestland and Russian Helicopters Formed a Joint Venture Called Helivert in 2010 to Build Agusta’s Aw139 Heli-copters for the Russian Market.

The Plan to Develop the New Helicopter Was Announced on July 10 at the Farnborough Airshow.

Fumes Force Army to Ground Tigers Again

the Army’s Fleet of 22 Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Heli-copters Have Again Been Sus-pended From Flying as a Safety Precaution Following Another Cabin Fume Incident.

According to the Depart-ment of Defence, a Two-man Crew Operating a Tiger in the Shoalwater Bay Training Area on June 25 Landed the Aircraft After Detecting Fumes in the Cockpit. The Helicopter Landed Safely Without Any Injuries to the Crew and No Further Dam-age to the Aircraft.

Defence Says That It is in-vestigating the Incident, Which Comes Just Over a Month After It Suspended All Tiger Flights After a Previous Cabin Fume Incident. Following a Technical Assess-ment, the Tigers Were Cleared to Resume Flying on May 30.

The Army’s Tigers Are Ex-pected to Reach Full Operational Capability Later This Year.

Helitech Awarded Adf Black Hawk/seahawk Maintenance

Minister for Defence Stephen Smith and Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare Have an-nounced the Signing of a $124. 8 Million Contract for Mainte-nance and Engineering Support for the Adf’s Black Hawk and Seahawk Fleet of Helicopters.

The Four-year Contract With Sikorsky Helitech Covers the Provision of Maintenance and Engineering Services in Sup-port of the Black Hawk and Seahawk Fleets, With Options to Extend for a Further Six Years.

“the New Sikorsky Helitech Contract Took Effect From 10 July 2012,” a Defence Spokes-person Told Aa, and “…is a New Contract Supporting Both Seahawk and Black Hawk That Has Replaced a Standing Offer Arrangement With Sikorsky Helitech That Previously Sup-ported Both Seahawk and Black Hawk. ” Sikorsky Helitech Undertakes the Work at Its Brisbane Facilities.

The Contract is Separate to the Ongoing Support Contracts for Both Types With Bae Systems.

Army Receives Two Ch-47ds

Two Ex-us Army Ch-47d Chinook Helicopters Were Handed Over to the Adf in Townsville in Early July.

The Two Helicopters Were Approved for Purchase Last Year Following the Loss of an Army Chinook in Afghanistan in May Last Year, and Will Help the Army to Manage Its Train-ing and Operational Support Programs and Continue Its Operations in Afghanistan.

The Delivery of the Two Chinooks Appears to Be Seren-dipitous for the Army, Which in Late June Took One of Its Aircraft Out of Service After It Suffered a Hard Landing While on Operations in Kandahar Province (See Later Item).

The Army’s Fleet of D-model Chinooks Will Be Replaced From 2016 With Seven Newer F-model Chinooks.

New Zealand, Kaman Talk on Ex Ran Seasprites

Kaman is Negotiating With New Zealand on the Possible Sale of the 11 Sh-2g(a) Super Seasprite Helicopters Originally Built for Australia.

Kaman Says the Potential Sale Would Include the 11 Renamed Sh-2g(I) Super Seasprite Helicopters Plus a Full Motion Flight Simulator, Training Aids, Spares Inventory, Publications and the Introduc-tion Into Service and Through-life Support of the Aircraft.

“negotiations Regarding a Potential Program Between the New Zealand Government and Kaman Are in Process and Are Confidential,” the Company Said.

“no Investment Decisions Have Been Made by New Zea-land at This Time and Kaman Continues to Work With Other Potential Customers on the Sale of the Aircraft. ” the Royal New Zealand Navy Currently Operates a Fleet of Five Sh-2g Seasprites Which Entered Service in 2001. Last Year the Ministry of Defence Revealed That the Fleet Was Fall-ing Well Short of Its Flight Hour Targets Due to Maintenance Issues, Including Corrosion and Vibration Issues.

Egypt and Poland Also Oper-ate Super Seasprites.

Chc Focuses on Efficiencies and Consolidation

Chc Helicopter Says It is Fo-cusing on Improving Its Operat-ing Efficiency and Consolidating Its Various Operating Arms as It Reported an Ebitda (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Deprecia-tion, and Amortisation) Profit for the 2013 Fiscal Year Ending April 30 of C$244 Million (Up 43 Per Cent).

“over the Years, Helicopter Operators Like Chc Grew Rapidly Through Acquisition, Establishing Big Geographic Footprints,” Said Chc Presi-dent and Chief Executive Officer William Amelio. “when You Do That, Driving Consistent Tools, Systems and Processes Sometimes Takes a Back Seat, Resulting in Inefficiency.

“what Our People Are Doing Now is Dramatically Chang-ing Chc – Finding the Best Practices and Transformative Technologies, Creating New Ones Where We Need to, and Apply-ing Them Around the World. We Believe That’s Starting to Set Us Apart From Competitors. ” the Company Recorded Rev-enues of C$1. 45bn for the Year, Up 17 Per Cent. Chc Says It Has 10 Aw139s, Four S-92s and More Than 20 Ec225s on Order.

Aussie Chinook in Hard Landing Incident

One Soldier Received Minor Injuries After an Australian Army Ch-47d Chinook Heli-copter Made a Hard Landing on June 22 While on Operations in Afghanistan.

According to the Depart-ment of Defence, the Chinook Was Involved in Combat Support Operations in Kandahar Prov-ince at the Time the Incident Took Place. An Aircrewman Was Injured and Treated on-site, but is Expected to Return to Duty Within Days.

Commander Joint Task Force 633 Major General Stuart Smith Said a Damage Assess-ment and Recovery Team Went to the Site of the Hard Landing.

“the Teams Have Secured the Chinook in Its Location and an Investigation Into the Hard Landing is Underway,” He Said, Adding That the Aircraft Would Be Moved to Kandahar Airfield Where It is Expected That an as-sessment of the Damage to the Aircraft Will Be Made.

Us Re-ups H-60 Contract With $8. 5bn Deal

Sikorsky Aircraft Has Won a Five-year, Us$8. 5 Billion Contract to Provide 653 H-60 Black Hawk and Seahawk Helicopters to the Us Army and Navy.

The Deal is the Eighth Multi-year Production Contract Signed for the Workhorse Helicopter Program Since 1982. Actual Production Quantities Will Be Set on a Year-to-year Basis Depend-ing on Funding Allocations.

The Contract Also Includes Options for Up to 263 Additional Aircraft. If Exercised, Those Op-tions Would Increase the Total Value of the Contract to $11. 7 Billion.

“by Buying a Five-year Quan-tity of Four Helicopter Models in a Single Joint-service Purchase, the Two Services Have Enabled Sikorsky and Our Suppliers to Aggressively Control Our Long-term Costs,” Said John Palumbo, Sikorsky’s Vice President for Black Hawk Production.

Australian Aerospace Supports Slsq

Australian Aerospace Has Made a $10,000 Donation to Surf Life Saving Queensland During a Visit to the Gold Coast.

“it Doesn’t Get Much More ‘aussie’ Than the Surf Life Saving Movement,” Said Austral-ian Aerospace Ceo Dr Jens Goennemann, “and While We Are Quintessentially an Aus-tralian Company, We Do Have a Special Affinity With the State of Queensland, Thanks to the More Than 700 Queenslanders Doing Such Important Work in Our Facilities in Brisbane and Its Surrounds. So We Are Proud to Continue to Support Such an Iconic Organisation as Surf Life Saving Queensland and Its Many Thousands of Volunteers Who Provide Such a Vital Service to the State. ” Australian Aerospace Has Been a Longtime Supporter of Slsq, Which Operates Three Helicopters to Assist With Sea Search and Rescue – One As350 Ba Squirrel, a Bo105s and a Eurocopter Ec135 P2.

Australian Aerospace is a Subsidiary of Eurocopter and is Based at Brisbane Airport.

Minister Pans Canadian Maritime Helicopter Program

Canadian Defence Minister Peter Mackay Has Described His Country’s Deal to Acquire 28 Sikorsky H-92 Cyclones to Replace Ageing Sea Kings as “the Worst Procurement in the History of Canada”.

The H-92 Acquisition is C$300 Million Over Budget and Four Years Late, and Comes on Top of the Earlier Cancelled Deal to Buy 50 Eh101s.

“this is an Example of How Procurement Can Go Badly Wrong. This is the Worst Procurement in the His-tory of Canada, Including the $500 Million Cancellation Costs That Are Attached to the Maritime Helicopter Program and Then the Costs of Further Maintenance to Fly 50-year-old [sea King] Helicopters,” Mr Mackay Told Journalists on July 10.

“they’re Going to Go Right Out of Aviation Service and Into the Museum in Ottawa. And That’s Not a Joke. ”

Thailand Orders Two Uh-60ms

the Royal Thai Army Will Acquire Two Uh-60m Black Hawk Helicopters Through the Us Foreign Military Sales Program, Making It the First South East Asian Country to Fly the Latest Version of the Workhorse Rotorcraft.

The Company Says More Than 3,000 Black Hawks Are Currently in Use With 30 Countries.