Rotor

Bell is one of five company teams building prototypes for the Army, which wants to replace the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter it retired in 2014. It was developed from the civilian Bell 206. and 2,200 OH-58D helicopters were built. The Army is calling its next generation helicopter the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft, or FARA.

Understandably, Army officials want a faster aircraft that can carry more weapons than the Kiowa. It must be able to fight terrorist threats and fill “gaps in Army aviation attack and reconnaissance”, it said in April 2019 when it awarded the five teams contracts to build prototypes.

The helicopter is being built for combat in high-risk environments, such as cities and terrorist hideouts in rugged mountains. Although the Kiowa and the Bell 360 have a crew of two, the Invictus will eventually be capable of unmanned flight during very high-risk operations, thus avoiding US casualties.

The single engine Bell 360 Invictus is capable of cruising at 185kts. Radius of action is 135nm (250km). This includes 90 minutes loitering on station prior to returning to base. The main armament is a 20 mm cannon, a lethal weapon against light armoured vehicles and infantry caught out in the open.

Bell officials expect the new helicopter will fly late in 2022. The company chose a standard helicopter design over a tiltrotor; such as Bell’s several hundred V-22 Osprey or the V-280 Valor now under development.

As a cost-saving measure, technologies from the civilian Bell 525 Relentless are being used. The Bell 525 is a 9,200 kg medium-lift helicopter being developed for commercial customers. The rotors on the Bell 360 Invictus are a version of those used on the Bell 525.

In addition to Bell, the Army has contracted Boeing, Lockheed Martin (Sikorsky), Karem Aircraft and a team of L3Harris Technologies and AVX Aircraft to build prototypes.

Understandably, Army officials want a faster aircraft that can carry more weapons than the Kiowa

Australia assisting with development in Papua New Guinea
In literal terms, Australia’s nearest neighbour is just six kilometres away to the north (the distance between Boigu Island in the Torres Strait and PNG). The population of PNG is 9 million, and regional developments are hampered by jungle-covered mountains, an equatorial climate with heavy flooding rain and an extremely poor ground transportation system. Australia provides around A$600 (US400) million aid each year, a significant portion of which is allocated to the aviation industry providing limited but essential services to isolated communities.

On Jan 21 2019, there were 252 aircraft on the CASA PNG register. Helicopters numbered 116 or 46 per cent. There are no piston-engined helicopters. Multi-engined helicopters make up 50 per cent of the helicopter fleet and are used to carry external loads to remote areas. The most popular type is the single engine Bell 407 with 27 registrations followed by BK 117 series 22 and the AS350 with 16.

Commercial helicopter companies total 16. Hevilift leads with 33 helicopters, closely followed by Pacific Helicopters, 30 and Heli Niugini, 28.

Australia values its longstanding ties with Papua New Guinea. However, despite a huge resource potential and proximity to Asian markets, PNG faces economic challenges and fiscal pressures, such as the rapidly growing population and poor links with the central government in Port Moresby. PNG also remains vulnerable to natural disasters, including earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis. Investors should note, despite developmental challenges, that PNG is seeking to achieve upper middle-income country status by 2050 – no doubt a great opportunity for drone medical services due to the existing tropical diseases and problems with delivering urgent medications to isolated hospitals.

China expected to produce 70 per cent of aerial vehicle batteries by 2021
Airbus has established a new battery lab at its Airbus China Innovation Centre in Shenzhen, China. Opened in August 2019, the lab will test batteries for electric propulsion systems. A core focus will be developing high-performance and safe batteries for a new generation of electric and hybrid-electric air taxis. “Better batteries will help to enable tomorrow’s aerial vehicles,” stated ACIC project manager Mustang Guo. “New urban air vehicles, will require batteries that are not only extremely light and powerful, but also reliable and cost-efficient.”

The new lab will also study long-standing battery challenges including thermal runaway, and look at how to safely replace nickel cadmium with superior lithium-ion batteries to power aircraft systems without the need for restrictive heavy casing due to the fire hazard.

ACIC is Airbus’s second innovation centre after A3 by Airbus in California’s Silicon Valley.

Uber names Melbourne as first non-US city for flying taxi programme
Uber has selected Melbourne, Australia, as the first non-US city for its aerial ridesharing service. Melbourne was named the third official pilot city for Uber Air, joining Dallas and Los Angeles. Melbourne test flights are to start in 2020 with commercial operations planned for 2023. According to Uber, “Australian governments have adopted a forward-looking approach to ridesharing and future transport technology.”

TripAdvisor travel website bans
Sea World ticket sales
A possible setback for Sea World Aviation’s helicopter tourism business has come with a decision by global review site TripAdvisor to ban online sales to the theme park. Sea World Aviation operates two AS350 B2s at the Gold Coast, Queensland site. The State’s Tourism Minister Kate Jones has urged TripAdvisor to “show some common sense” and lift its ban on selling tickets to Sea World over animal cruelty concerns. “No one does more for the protection of marine animals on the Gold Coast than Sea World,” she said. “This decision to cut ticket sales could damage conservation efforts and will affect a business employing more than 1,000 locals.” TripAdvisor has hinted at exceptions for some marine parks, but Sea World does not meet the criteria to be eligible for an exemption. The travel company is still fine-tuning the policy effective at end of the year. The ban was possibly proposed by one of the many international protest groups using the power of social media to apply pressure upon large corporations who do not meet with protesters’ objectives.

NZ attracts more cruise ships – good news for helicopter tourist operators
The weakening of the Australian and New Zealand dollars has resulted in a booming cruise ship industry as residents of both countries take to cruise ships sailing from Australia to the South Pacific Islands via New Zealand. The currency problem has also attracted an enormous number of Europeans and North Americans whose stronger currency makes travelling and shopping in Oceania value for money. At peak times, about a dozen cruise ships are visiting New Zealand ports, either doing the “around New Zealand cruise” or stopping for a night or two and then heading out to the South Pacific Island nations. Each year cruise ships get larger and passenger numbers have increased to between 2,000 and 3,500 per ship. This has been a bonus for the aviation tourist industry, especially for the helicopter operators who do their best to provide scenic flights for passengers going ashore for the day.

Aircraft ownership in New Zealand reflects changes caused by the tourist industry. The NZ register has 4,300 aircraft of which 900 are helicopters. The number of single-engine helicopters suitable for tourist work dominates the fleet. Lead type appears to be the AS350 series with 200 registered, followed by the R44 Robinson with 160 and Bell 206 in third place with 100. Overall this group represents 50 per cent of the Register.