Banner Year for New Helicopters Mum Range (Without Reserves) Is 750 Nm, While the Maximum Cruise Speed Is 275 by Thierry Dubois and Mark Huber Knots
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Bell 429 Eurocopter EC 175 The six- to nine-passenger BA609 is newROTORpowered by two P&WC PT6-67As. Maxi- CRAFT Banner year for new helicopters mum range (without reserves) is 750 nm, while the maximum cruise speed is 275 by Thierry Dubois and Mark Huber knots. Mtow is 16,800 pounds. To date during a total of approximately Several long-simmering improve handling qualities. configurations. The four-seat configuration 2,400 hours of flight testing (most for devel- The 429 is equipped with two Pratt & will feature 21.5-inch-wide seat cushions opment flight testing), the 609 has achieved new helicopter development Whitney Canada PW207D1 turboshafts in a facing “club” setting with center con- a maximum forward speed of 310 knots, (730 shp max), and it will be certified for soles between the seats. The five-seat 25,000 feet pressure altitude in airplane programs are likely to reach single-pilot IFR, have an mtow of 7,000 configuration features two 21.5-inch seats mode, and rearward and sideways flight to pounds and seat the pilot and seven passen- with center console opposite three facing 35 knots. The 609 has flown at mtow, at either first flights or certification gers. Cabin volume is 130 cu ft and 18.5-inch-wide seats; the six-seat layout extreme forward and aft cg, and at speeds this year and, despite an expected standard fuel capacity is 215 gallons. has all 18.5-inch-wide seats. Doors and up to and beyond the maximum operating Cockpit avionics include two Rogerson headliners will have leather insets that redline for various nacelle angles beyond contraction in the medevac and Kratos LCDs, dual Garmin GNS 430s, match the seats. Custom configurations are the gross weight and altitude envelope. three-axis autopilot and EGPWS. also available. Skepticism concerning the 609 program, offshore markets, orders and The first 14 production aircraft are Bell is gearing up its 429 pilot training including division of labor and equity already in sub-assembly build, 429 pro- program. Frasca will be providing a Level stakes between Bell and AgustaWestland, potential orders for these new gram manager Neil Marshall told AIN. 7 flight training device (FTD) for 429 appears to be exacerbated by the unwilling- “The line is moving.” Marshall said Bell training at Bell’s Customer Training Acad- ness or inability of either company to models are likely to be strong. plans to ramp up production of the 429 emy at Fort Worth’s Alliance Airport. The provide timely information about the proj- gradually over the next three to four years, initial transition course will consist of 32 ect. In late 2007 the joint venture officially Bell achieving full-rate production of 115 per classroom hours, 6.5 hours in the FTD and applied for an FAA type certificate, starting 429 year after 2011, and that plans are already 5.5 hours flying the 429. the clock on the certification deadline (three well along to manufacture duplicate pro- years for Part 23, five years for Part 25). Bell expects certification for its new duction tooling. “We need to satisfy this Bell/AgustaWestland The FAA released a draft certification basis $4.865 million (2007 $) light twin in the first demand sooner rather than later,” Marshall BA609 Tiltrotor for the BA609 last year and concurrent quarter, with customer deliveries to begin said. Production plans call for twenty 429s FAA and EASA certification is being pur- shortly thereafter. Bell claims a robust order to be delivered this year, 50 next year and Despite plans to add two more test air- sued. The most recent certification target is book for more than 350. Five aircraft are 80 in 2011. Many of the initial 429s will be craft to the fleet last year, only two 609s are 2011. The BA609 represents the first new currently in flight test, and most testing has delivered to medevac operators, a sector currently flying, one in Texas and one in category aircraft, called “powered lift,” to been completed. Final performance numbers estimated to account for 25 or 30 percent Italy, in “parallel” flight-test programs. apply for FAA certification since civil certi- are expected to exceed preliminary estimates of the 429 order book. A new helicopter However, the two aircraft are under con- fied helicopters were introduced in 1946. in terms of top speed (better than 142 knots ordered today would not be delivered until struction and will be flying next year. Last with skids) and service ceiling. 2014, although Bell is looking at ways to year Bell said that developmental flight Eurocopter Flight testing in late 2007 validated the increase production rate short of licensing. testing had reached “the halfway point” and EC 175 429’s service ceiling of 20,000 feet, and Details are emerging about standard that preparations are being made for certifi- Bell announced that the helicopter’s design options and equipment for corporate-con- cation tests. Two years ago, AgustaWestland The EC 175 medium twin, jointly was “frozen” at the end of October 2007. figured 429s, and Bell plans to have a 429 CEO Giuseppe Orsi said publicly that he developed by Eurocopter and Chinese However, those tests will result in small in corporate livery on display at this month’s does not expect a critical mass of demand company Harbin Aviation Industry changes to the production aircraft, includ- HAI convention in Anaheim, Calif. These for the 609 until at least 2025, some 29 (HAIG), is slated to make its maiden flight ing a more sculpted vertical fin to increase aircraft will feature enhanced noise damp- years after the first customer ordered the during the fourth quarter of this year. On anti-torque authority. Bell has also added a ening insulation, upgraded carpets and a aircraft. Bell currently reports orders for 77 November 15 in Harbin, China, HAIG strake to the left side of the tailboom to choice of four-, five- or six-seat passenger copies of the 609. delivered the first airframe to the European 50aaAviation International News • February 2009 • www.ainonline.com Bell/AgustaWestland BA609 Tiltrotor PZL-Swidnik SW-4 H S O T N I c M D I V A D HAL Dhruv manufacturer. Final assembly of the proto- Hindustan Aeronautics. A tentative sched- type will take place at Eurocopter’s ule referred to “early 2009” for this H R CRAFT S O headquarters in Marignane, France. milestone. According to a spokesman, T N I c EASA certification is pegged for 2011, “government-to-government cooperation M D I V with certification from Chinese authority formalization” is a prerequisite. The vali- A CAAC to follow the next year. Deliveries dation should then “move fast.” D will begin the same year. Shakti engine trials are continuing, and the R66, although it is expected to be Development of the main gearbox is HAL hoped to start high-altitude/cold- around $1 million, and is not taking orders. well under way. Ground tests started in weather trials last month. These engines “[Company founder] Frank [Robinson] Marignane, France, in late 2007. The shape will be installed on production helicopters stressed that we are not under the gun to get of the gear’s teeth has been reworked to beginning this year or next. Replacing the the ship out,” said vice president Kurt reduce cabin noise. The main gearbox will Turbomeca TM333, the Turbomeca-HAL Robinson. “We want to make sure we get it link the two 2,000-shp Pratt & Whitney Ardiden 1H (Shakti, under its local desig- right. Demand and interest is high and the Canada PT6-67E turboshafts to the five- nation) is intended to enhance the last thing we want to do is disappoint.” blade Spheriflex main rotor. helicopter’s reliability and performance Robinson said the R66 will be offered Harbin Aircraft is in charge of the air- under “hot and high” conditions. with the same avionics packages and frame, main rotor, tail transmission, flight HAL claims the Dhruv is “at least 10 to options currently available on its R44 pis- controls and fuel system. Eurocopter is 15 percent” less expensive than its com- ton helicopters and that there were no plans responsible for the main gearbox, tail petitors in the 12,000-pound-mtow class. to offer integrated “glass panel” avionics. rotor, avionics, hydraulics and electric sys- Although the company is promoting the The company expects to start flight test- NEW ROTORCRAFT tem. Integration and flight testing also fall Dhruv for air ambulance, parapublic, exec- ing with a certified Rolls-Royce RR300 CERTIFICATION TIMELINE under Eurocopter’s purview. Two produc- utive and passenger transport missions, turboshaft early this year. The R66 has a tion lines will be set up, one in Marignane most of the sales have come from the mili- luggage compartment large enough for 2009 and one in Harbin. tary. Deliveries began in 2002 in India. golf clubs and shares many of the design The EC 175 (or Z15, under its Chinese The Dhruv has been designed for high- and control features of Robinson’s piston- Bell 429 designation) is understood to be designed altitude operations in India’s mountains. powered four-seat R44, including a T-bar Dhruv, EASA certification for two-pilot IFR and single-pilot VFR For example, it can land as high as 20,000 cyclic, two-blade main rotor and open Robinson R66 operations when carrying up to 16 passen- feet. For an offshore mission, with 10 pas- cabin configuration. The new helicopter gers. AIN understands the cruise speed sengers and a crew of two, HAL says the has a somewhat longer and wider fuselage, 2010 will be in the 140- to 150-knot bracket.