New Rotorcraft 2011
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NEW ROTORCRAFT 2 011 by Thierry Dubois and Mark Huber The long-standing process by which military programs drive new civil helicopter technology may not be broken, but it is clearly fraying. both Bell and Hughes (now MD) used engines for outside air temperatures up on an EC155 testbed, demonstrating a Expected cuts at the Pentagon and early 1960 scout helicopters developed for to 51.7 degrees C (125 degrees F). noise reduction of three to four decibels. in European militaries, combined the military to launch their civil JetRanger Late last year, Bell announced an STC Eurocopter says it is ready to move Blue with the high-profile failures of and 369/500 series, respectively. for the 412EP that features a higher-out- Edge into “serial applications.” recent procurement programs, Sikorsky’s gamble might pay off better put engine, glass panel avionics akin to Separately, Blue Pulse is an active sys- than Northrop’s. Already key Pentagon those in the new 429 light twin, and a tem that the company says can cut noise are driving OEMs to take stronger leaders are decrying what they see as a new tail rotor. and vibration significantly. Blue Pulse roles in what traditionally has been “rotorcraft gap” over the next 15 years, in The STC project is expected to be uses a piezo active rotor control system a secondary position when it comes part due to the failure of several high-pro- approved this year and will be available designed to reduce noise levels gener- to developing new helicopters and file helicopter programs to reach fruition, for customers beginning next year. It will ated by BVI. The system also promises while the existing fleet suffers attrition be available on all new 412EPs and ret- to reduce vibration within the airframe, rotorcraft technologies. and continued war losses. This has two rofittable on existing helicopters. The increasing passenger comfort and extend- important implications for the civil mar- kit will include installation of the 2,143- ing the service life of sensitive compo- Paradigm Shift ket. First, it could increase the number of shp Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6T-9, to nents, such as avionics, but it will not Sikorsky president Jeff Pino conceded existing civil airframes, such as the EC145, replace the current 1,800-shp PT6T-3D. extend the life of the blades themselves. as much in October, when he unveiled the that are bought and militarized. Secondly, The engine change yields a 15-percent Blue Pulse uses three flap modules S-97 “Raider” prototype, an outgrowth it could make militaries reliant on the larg- increase in shp, improved OEI and high/ located at the trailing edge of each rotor of the current X2 compound helicopter est helicopter makers–AgustaWestland, hot performance, and electronic engine blade. The piezoelectric actuators move technology demonstrator. Citing the Pen- Boeing, Eurocopter and Sikorsky–for control. The upgrade will yield a 10- to the rotor flaps 15 to 40 times per sec- tagon’s recent cancellations of several high- new-technology airframes as these are 12-percent increase in Category A/ PC1 ond to completely neutralize the familiar profile helicopter programs, a few of which the only Western companies with deep & PC2 performance and a future path “slap” sound that is typically associated grew into notorious dysfunctional bud- enough pockets, thanks to their corpo- to increase range and payload. A mod- with helicopters during descent. Blue get-busters, including the Armed Recon- rate parents, to fund go-it-alone or major- ern glass cockpit with display units com- Pulse has been flying since 2005 and pro- naissance Helicopter, the VH-71 “Marine ity-share programs of any size and speed. mon to the 429 will be the centerpiece of duces a measured noise reduction of up One” presidential helicopter replacement Smaller helicopter companies could find the avionics upgrade, which will include to five decibels on an EC145. program, and the Air Force’s CSAR, Pino themselves minority participants in these three- and four-axis autopilot options. The company is also continuing devel- diplomatically posited the obvious. programs or out in the cold entirely. Other upgrades planned for the 412EP opment work on diesel power for light “At this point in the development cycle, platform include a tail-rotor upgrade that helicopters and a new generation of intel- it appears that our biggest customer is Improved Performance eliminates the need for pre-flight visual ligent avionics called Pilas (pilot assistance unwilling to invest major dollars in future As this picture clarifies in the coming inspection and a communication system system) that provides virtual synthetic technology. That is the real message that years, one thing is certain: both military upgrade that will be compatible with civil vision and intelligence by automatically is being sent to us,” Pino said, adding that and civil customers are looking for heli- standard headsets, eliminating the need calculating and displaying routes that Sikorsky would continue to participate in copters with more speed, range and for military-style, low-impedance micro- avoid obstacles, terrain, weather and existing government/industry coalitions payload capabilities, both on existing phones and earpieces. other aircraft. The company thinks Pilas that are exploring new technology, but and future airframes. The OEMs are Bell is also working with Rolls-Royce is ideally suited for the helicopter EMS that the company wanted to move faster addressing this in a variety of ways, on a possible program to retrofit the new and law enforcement markets. The sys- on the S-97. Sikorsky will largely self-fund most dramatically with Sikorsky’s X2 RR500 to existing 206 helicopters. tem is dynamic and continually moni- construction of two of the aircraft, but it and Eurocopter’s X3 compound helicop- Beyond these STCs, Bell contin- tors the recommended route in flight for does plan to solicit the participation of ter technologies, but also with the intro- ues work on developing a new line of changes such as VFR traffic conflicts risk-sharing partners to contribute 20 to duction of better rotor blades, hubs, fins rotor blades and heads that are expected and can recalculate the route as required. 30 percent of the overall costs. Pino said and strakes as well as the ever-increas- to translate into modest forward speed Eurocopter first flew the system in 2008 the aircraft would fly within five years. ing use of composite components in the improvements, increased useful load, and on an EC145, and parts of the system Sikorsky’s bold move could signal a airframes to reduce weight. substantially better high/hot performance. could be certified within four years. significant shift in the way new helicopter Over the last year, Bell has been work- Eurocopter, too, is working on new technology is brought to market. Not ing on incremental performance improve- blade technology, mainly to address since Northrop self-funded the ill-fated ments via supplemental type certificates environmental concerns. This includes The Rotorcraft F-20 Tigershark jet fighter in the early for two popular models, the 407 single changing the shape of the blade using 1980s has an OEM taken on the devel- and the 412EP medium twin. technology called Blue Edge and integra- AgustaWestland AW169 opment of a new military aircraft with- Bell affiliate Aeronautical Accessories tion of “intelligent” piezoelectric actu- AgustaWestland announced its long- out specific Pentagon procurement. In received an STC for the 407 that increases ators into the trailing edge of the blade, awaited 9,000-pound medium twin last Northrop’s case, the $1.2 billion effort available useful load by 400 pounds or called Blue Pulse. summer, and will likely provide addi- proved unsuccessful and financially in-ground-effect hover by 3,000 feet. Blue Edge is a passive system that tional technical information on it at this disastrous for the company. The STC draws on excess power avail- features a redesigned main rotor blade year’s HAI Convention. The multi-role Along with other OEMs, Sikorsky has able from the 407’s Rolls-Royce 250- that uses a double-swept shape to reduce AW169 is aimed at the parapublic (law traditionally relied on technology from C47B to support revisions of the 407’s the noise generated by blade-vortex enforcement, EMS and SAR) and cor- military programs to birth civil aircraft. performance charts for in-ground-effect interactions (BVI), which occur when porate niche between the AW109 and Most recently, the airframer incorporated and out-of-ground-effect hover. Specif- blade-tip vortices interact with the rotor the AW139. Power will come from a pair key elements from the venerable Black ically, it uses available power for up to blades. A five-blade Blue Edge main of 1,000-shp Fadec Pratt & Whitney Hawk into the S-92A Helibus. Before that, 10 percent above minimum-specification rotor has logged more than 75 hours Canada PW210S turboshafts, the same 44aaAviation International News • February 2011 • www.ainonline.com AgustaWestland AW169 Bell/Agusta BA609 Civil Tiltrotor Spokesmen for both partner compa- nies remain relatively obtuse when ques- Eurocopter X3 tioned about the program’s current status. From Bell: “The Bell/Agusta Aero- The helicopter is designed to cruise at 220 Eurocopter EC175 space Company is committed to certifying knots (about 50 percent faster than today’s and delivering the world’s first commer- medium twins), a speed the company pre- cial tiltrotor. As we have done at different dicts should make time savings profitable. stages of the 609 program, we are evalu- F-ZXXX was built from a Dauphin ating the best way to ensure the success airframe, with two short wings and two DAVID McINTOSH DAVID of the BA609.