Rotor Torque

“That makes a total of 41 [personnel] at company expense in Townsville, and that enables Defence to focus on maintaining the aircraft but also preparing for combat operations … and all the training activities that go with that, and [with] industry being able to provide a baseline level of availability of the aircraft.” The Army and Navy have taken delivery of 45 of the 47 MRH 90 helicopters on order to replace the Army’s S-70A Black Hawks and the Navy’s now-retired Sea Kings.

The first MRH 90s entered service in 2007 but the helicopter has struggled with technical immaturity and poor availability rates, with the program placed on Defence’s ‘projects of concern’ list in 2011 and then subject to a critical Australian National Audit Office report released in 2014.

With technical issues largely resolved Airbus Group Australia Pacific expects to hand over the final two MRH 90s in the August timeframe.

The MRH 90’s performance, Fraser said, is “exceptional”. Instead, “The challenge for us is making sure that the cabin and utility equipment met the expectations of the troops, and we are a long way advanced in doing that.”

Fraser is an experienced Army helicopter pilot who retired from the service in 2011 as a Major General when he was Head Helicopter Systems Division within the then Defence Materiel Organisation.

“The primary challenge for MRH … is around the maintenance workload of a relatively new aircraft. So what we’ve done is to mitigate that maintenance workload by placing those personnel in [Townsville],” Fraser continued.

“They cover everything from fleet planning, management, spares … and to providing some technical support in the unit”.

Fraser said Airbus expects to reduce the number of maintenance personnel at Townsville in time, “as we reduce the maintenance burden on the aircraft and on the unit.”

He expects some form of ongoing industry support to MRH 90 operations at Townsville, “but at the moment it is a commitment for two years and whilst we review the status for those.”

FAA certifies Bell 505 Jet Ranger X

Bell Helicopter announced on June 8 its 505 Jet Ranger X has been certified by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

FAA certification comes six months after the five-seat light single helicopter obtained Transport Canada certification in December 2016, at which point the manufacturer indicated that US certification was imminent.

However, Bell said there was no particular hold-up and that each agency has slightly different requirements during the certification process.

Bell said it continues to work with other international certification authorities, with approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) expected shortly.

Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority announced on March 1 it had issued Bell with Australian type certification for the 505.

Australia’s first two 505 Jet Ranger Xs – for Queensland-based Nautilus Aviation – are nearing completion with factory delivery expected to occur in late July, as Bell continues to convert over 400 letters of intent for the new helicopter into firm orders.

Tiger reaches 2,000 flight hours Milestone

An Australian Army Tiger ARH Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter has become the first Tiger in the global fleet to reach 2,000 flying hours.

Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Dave Lynch, commanding officer of the School of Army Aviation, Tiger A38-001 reached the milestone on a flight from the Army Aviation Centre Oakey to Gallipoli Barracks, Enoggera on May 11.

The first of two Tiger helicopters delivered to Army in December 2004, A38-001 is the only one in the Australian fleet that is fitted with flight-test instrumentation that enables data collection for aircraft and fleet management under Australian conditions, and for weapons performance and flight envelopes.

As such A38-001 has taken part in a number of firsts including 70mm rocket firings on the Cazaux test range, France in 2004, Hellfire missile firings on the Woomera test range in 2005, Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) laser-guided rocket firings on the Woomera range in 2016, and the first of class flight trials on the amphibious assault ship HMAS Canberra earlier this year.

The last of 22 Tigers was delivered in 2011.

“The Tiger aircraft is a potent weapon system that we have worked hard to mature to a point where it delivers the required effects on time and on target,” said LTCOL Lynch.

“The aircraft itself has best-inclass agility and manoeuvrability, which enhances our ability to employ the precise weapon effects to fight and win in either the land or amphibious environment. This agility also makes it an absolute dream to fly, as it has crisp control response and truly carefree handling characteristics, enabling greater focus on the mission.”

An extensive profile of Army’s Tiger ARH featured in our January/ February 2017 issue.

Final AW609 accident report Released

Italy’s National Agency for Flight Safety (ANSV) has released its final report into the October 30 2015 fatal crash of Leonardo Helicopters’ AW609 prototype, identifying that severe latero-directional oscillations An MRH 90 and Tiger ARH perform at the Avalon Airshow earlier this year. paul sadler during a high-speed dive caused the tiltrotor prototype N609AG to break up in-flight.

The 55-page report said the tiltrotor’s excessive yaw angle forced its proprotors to strike the leading edge of the wings multiple times, damaging the hydraulic and fuel lines and causing the aircraft to “become irredeemably uncontrollable”.

The ANSV reported that two other factors, the AW609’s flight control system (FCS) control laws and the project’s flight simulator, also contributed to the accident.

During the accident flight, the first to be conducted with a new streamlined fuselage in the tail and reduced tail fin surface, the pilots commenced a dive with a left 180 degree turn, targeting 293kt for the manoeuvre.

The report says the oscillation started on the roll axis about four seconds into the manoeuvre following the exit from the turn. A yaw oscillation was added to the initial slight roll oscillation shortly afterwards.

As the crew felt the oscillations increase in magnitude, about 23 seconds into the manoeuvre, the flying pilot tried to counter them with standard control inputs for the conditions. However, these standard inputs served to increase both the roll and yaw oscillations.

Excessive flapping of the proprotors, primarily due to the sideslip angle reached by the AW609, caused, initially, the righthand proprotor to come into contact with the leading edge of the right wing which led to the destructive inflight break-up of the aircraft. To test the data obtained during the accident, the ANSV visited AgustaWestland in Philadelphia to use the AW609’s flight simulator, but it was not possible to reproduce the conditions that occurred during the accident.

“As evidenced by the tests carried out by the ANSV, the simulator demonstrated not being able to faithfully reproduce the dynamics that occurred during test flight T664 reasonably due to the non-representativeness of the aerodynamic set, for the unique and extreme conditions encountered, obtainable in the wind tunnel for the new updated configuration including the tapered rear fuselage and the modified tail fin,” said the ANSV.

“Therefore, the [simulator] was not really able to properly carry out the role of test bench for the control laws and risk reduction.”

In its safety recommendations, the ANSV said the AW609’s FCS control laws should be reviewed in the management of the extreme flight conditions in which the aircraft could possibly fly and address the effectiveness of the flight controls inputs to avoid the possibility of unexpected and uncommanded coupling effects.

Additionally, the Agency called for the mandatory fitment of flight data recorders in experimental aircraft.

The AW609 has since resumed flight testing and Leonardo is now aiming to obtain FAA certification in 2018 ahead of first customer deliveries in early 2019.

Defence issues RFI for a maritime UAV for OPVs

Defence’s Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG) has issued a request for information (RFI) for a Maritime Tactical Unmanned Air System (MTUAS) to be operated from the Navy’s forthcoming Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs).

Published on May 26, the RFI notice states that the SEA 129 Phase 5 Stage 1 project will introduce into service an MTUAS which will provide the OPVs with an embedded, off-board intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platform.

Potential contenders for the requirement likely include the Saab Skeldar, Schiebel Camcopter S-100 and Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout.

An industry briefing was held on June 8 ahead of the RFI closing on July 21.

A second stage of SEA 129 Phase 5 separately is expected to acquire a MTUAS to operate off the Navy’s new Air Warfare Destroyers and forthcoming Future Frigates. Twelve Offshore Patrol Vessels are due to be built in Australia for the RAN under the SEA 1180 program, with Damen Shipyards Group, Fassmer Group and Lürssen Shipyards shortlisted for the program last year.

E for export – indigenous Chinese attack helicopter makes first flight

China’s homegrown Z-19E armed helicopter developed specifically for export made its first flight in the northeastern city of Harbin, Heilongjiang province on May 18, marking the country’s entry into the global attack helicopter market. Designed to meet international military trade requirements, the twin-engine Z-19E, developed by the state-owned AVIC Harbin Aircraft Industry Group (HAIG), is a development of the Harbin Z-9, a licensed-built version of Airbus Helicopters’ AS365N Dauphin, which uses the Z-9’s rear fuselage, rotor head and tail boom mated with a modified tandem-seat cockpit.

Dubbed the ‘Black Whirlwind’, the modernised Z-19E is based on the earlier design of the Z-19 reconnaissance attack helicopter, which first flew in 2011. The E model has a maximum takeoff weight of 4,250kg and can carry unguided rockets, gun pods, and up to eight missiles on two pylons under each of its stub wings.

“The Z-19E and Z-9 are similar in many respects,” said AVIC HAIG’s deputy chief designer Li Shengwei. “In terms of manoeuvrability and functions, the Z-19E meets international standards and its operating interface is in English. It is able to be deployed for battlefield support and a variety of other missions in a complicated battlefield environment during both day and night.”

AVIC HAIG says it will pitch the Z-19E to countries which require a light attack helicopter solution with medium-level of attack power, adding the helicopter has strong market potential as some of its components are compatible with other countries’ military systems thanks to its AS365N heritage.

Briefs

»» HNZ Group has been awarded a five-year plus two, two-year optional renewal contracts to provide offshore search and rescue and medical evacuation services for the INPEX-led Ichthys LNG Project and the Shell’s Prelude FLNG Project. HNZ will provide a leased Sikorsky S-92A based at Broome Airport for SAR and medical evacuation services to support both offshore facilities.

»» Airbus Helicopters delivered its 700th H130 light single-engine helicopter to a private operator in mid-May. The H130 fleet has accumulated more than 1.8 million flight hours with 340 operators worldwide. »» The first flight of a new build K-Max from Kaman Aerosystems’ newly reopened commercial production line took place on May 12 at the company’s Bloomfield, Connecticut facility. The first two production K-Maxs will be delivered to Lectern Aviation of China for firefighting operations.

»» June 8 marked the 10th anniversary since the grounding of cargo ship the Pasha Bulker at Nobbys Beach, Newcastle. In cyclonic winds and torrential rain, the then Hunter Region Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter performed 22 winch rescues using both Bell 412EP and BK117B2 to safely return the ship’s Filipino and Korean crew to shore.

Additional reporting this issue by Gerard Frawley