Tag: rotocraft

Upgraded Bell CH-146C Mk II Griffon Performs First Flight for RCAF

Vertical Magazine reports that the first Royal Canadian Air Force Bell CH-146 Griffon to have completed the CH-146C Mk II upgrade “has performed its maiden flight, the manufacturer has announced. The modification to the RCAF’s CH-146 Griffons — a variant of the Bell 412EP — is being completed under the Griffon Limited Life Extension (GLLE) project, which is designed to extend the fleet’s service life to at least 2031.”
Full Story (Vertical Magazine)

Norway Considers Grounding Sikorsky Helicopters After Fatal Crash

Reuters reports, “Norway on Thursday halted all helicopter traffic to its offshore oil and gas fields after a deadly crash, and said it was considering grounding Sikorsky’s S-92A aircraft model while investigating the accident.” During a search and rescue mission Wednesday, one occupant was killed and five others were injured when a “helicopter plunged into the ocean off western Norway … police and oil company officials said.”
Full Story (Reuters)

Airbus Helicopters Opens 3D Printing Center

Aviation International News reports that Airbus Helicopters “has opened a new 3D printing center at its Donauwörth, Germany site, expanding in-house capacity for this technology.” The airframer now “operates three machines for components made of titanium, four for plastic, and one for aluminum.” Airbus is “using the process for serial production parts as well as for components for prototype aircraft such as the CityAirbus NextGen eVTOL and the high-speed Racer experimental compound helicopter.” Airbus Helicopters Managing Director for Germany Stefan Thomé said, “Among other advantages, 3D printing can reduce the weight of aircraft components, which leads to less fuel consumption. Such potential can bring financial benefits and contribute to reducing CO2 emissions during operations.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)

Airbus H160 Helicopter Close to FAA Certification

Aviation International News reports that the Airbus H160 helicopter got closer to FAA certification this month with the Federal Aviation Administration’s issuance of a notice of proposed rulemaking for special condition approval “of the helicopter’s main gearbox redundant lubrication system, designed to enable the helicopter to operate for more than 30 minutes after the primary system has failed.” Airbus first applied “for FAA certification approval for the H160 in 2014 and applied for an extension in 2016.” The helicopter “received EASA certification on July 1, 2020; however, various novel design features outside the existing parameters of FAR Part 29 regulation have sowed the FAA approval process, which Airbus executives had hoped would be received as early as 2021.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)

NASA, DARPA, Sikorsky Design Air Taxi Software

ExecutiveGov reports that NASA is working with DARPA and Sikorsky “to develop and test autonomous software designed for future self-flying air taxis.” NASA said the research is “led by NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility program, which aims to take transportation to new heights by innovating passenger and freight flights in dense traffic environments and other scenarios.” AAM’s mission is “to ensure a safe, accessible, automated, yet affordable air transport in hard-to-reach urban and rural areas.” The three organizations “are currently designing software using scripted flight paths as well as customized test tablets and ground control room simulations to understand the technology’s behavior and response to air-to-air encounters.” The software will eventually “be installed and tested on Sikorsky’s modified S-76B helicopter, labeled the Autonomy Research Aircraft, and its Optionally Piloted Vehicle Black Hawk helicopter.”
Full Story (ExecutiveGov)

Bell Promoting Range of Helicopters at Dubai Air Show

FlightGlobal reports, “Bell is promoting a range of helicopters at this year’s Dubai Air Show, including the Bell 429 configured for parapublic missions and the Bell 505, which has proven popular as a trainer. Two Bell helicopters are in the static display at the show: a Bell 429 operated by the Abu Dhabi Police and a Bell 407M used by an undisclosed military customer.” The Bell 429 “features an electro-optical/infrared sensor with an operator’s station. It also has a winch, spotlight, and a beam across the top of the cabin that allows special forces to conduct fast-roping descents.” According to FlightGlobal, the “two helicopters are part of a broader Textron Aviation presence at this year’s show, which also includes fixed-wing aircraft.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal)

Airbus Helicopters Aims to Test Three New Technology Demonstrators by Year’s End

FlightGlobal reports, “Airbus Helicopters is gearing up for a busy second half of 2023 as it pushes ahead with an ambitious programme that by year-end will see it flight testing a trio of technology demonstrators. To date, those technology demonstrators comprise the H130-based FlightLab and clean-sheet DisruptiveLab – both single-engined conventional rotorcraft – but they should be joined in the autumn by the Racer high-speed helicopter.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal)

Bell Developing Militarized Versions of its Civil Helicopter Line

Vertical Magazine (CAN) reports that Bell is “developing militarized versions of its civil helicopter line to bring a low-cost defensive rotary-wing capability to market, with the main target being countries that may have previously flown Russian-built airframes. … Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in the implementation of crippling economic sanctions on the former, and these are having a knock-on impact on any country attempting to operate a Russian helicopter.” According to the article, “Bell’s solution is to offer civil aircraft outfitted with military equipment, and the first type available is the Bell 407.” The militarized helicopter is “equipped with a weapon mounting system – installed along the rear cabin and protruding from the cabin doors – with four mounting stations. A multi-sensor imaging system is mounted under the aircraft’s nose.” Michael Deslatte, VP and program director of H-1/Special Mission Aircraft at Bell, said that the company is “focused on providing a level of capability that was ‘a little more approachable,’ with the aircraft sold either through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program or as a direct commercial sale, depending on the country and licensing required.”
Full Story (Vertical Magazine)

China’s GDAT Buying 50 Airbus H160 Helicopters

Aviation International News reported that during French President Macron’s state visit to China, Chinese helicopter lessor and operator GDAT announced a contract to purchase 50 H160 intermediate-twin helicopters from Airbus Helicopters. The deal, worth more than $700 million, is the largest single order to date for the H160 on the civil and parapublic market. The two companies also signed a strategic cooperation agreement on support and services capabilities.
Full Story (Aviation International News)

NASA Conducting Research Flights with Sikorsky Autonomy Research Aircraft

Aviation Today reports that NASA pilots and researchers “began conducting research flights with the Sikorsky Autonomy Research Aircraft, or SARA, in March. The system uses Sikorsky’s MATRIX Technology that is designed to enable operators to autonomously fly any aircraft, or to fly an aircraft as an optionally piloted vehicle.” The pilots and researchers “performing these flight tests are part of NASA’s Integration of Automated Systems (IAS) effort within the Advanced Air Mobility National Campaign program.” NASA’s team has partnered with Sikorsky and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to start a “new series of flight test campaigns in the past couple of weeks to continue exploring autonomous technologies.” The “new test flights involve determining how well the SARA platform can interpret a flight path’s four-dimensional trajectories into primitive commands and then follow those commands.”
Full Story (Aviation Today)

US Air Force Takes Delivery of First MH-139A Test Helicopter

Aviation International News reported that Leonardo and The Boeing Company “have delivered the first of four MH-139A Grey Wolf test helicopters to the U.S. Air Force as the service looks to replace its aging fleet of UH-1N Hueys.” The MH-139A Grey Wolf’s primary mission “will be to protect intercontinental ballistic missile bases and transport U.S. government officials and security forces.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)
 
 
 

 

 Video

First MH-139A Grey Wolf Flight, 25 August 2022.
(NC Military; YouTube)