Agustawestland A109S Grand US-101 Bell Helicopter Bell 210
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by Andrew Healey Last year was a good one for Newfoundland as well as the humid the helicopter industry. Aerospace Indus- Gulf of Texas. It also scored a last- tries Association figures indicated that minute coup to provide SAR facilities in US-101 the export performance of U.S. civil the UK. We heard, finally, that the V-22 helicopter manufacturers is currently at Osprey will be built in bulk for the U.S. and the air and ground crews immediately flying with Model 429 components, and “record levels.” Sales activity represented Air Force and Marine Corps. began familiarization training. first flight of the complete airframe is what the association called a “surge” in In addition, the U.S. embraced R&D Technically, the test helicopter is a leased scheduled for the third quarter. At press export activity for the sector–up nearly for helicopters. Bell revealed more about Italian Navy EH-101. Because of the pro- time, Bell had successfully completed con- 60 percent over the previous year. its MAPL (modular affordable product gram’s tight schedule (first deliveries are cept demonstration tests, wind-tunnel tests According to the report, overall civil line) project, which includes an innovative slated for 2009), program managers decided and inlet and exhaust testing. Detailed de- helicopter sales activity–domestic as well anti-torque device, and Sikorsky intro- to lease an airframe to get a head start on sign is nearing completion, and the com- as exports–grew to a record $750 mil- duced a new concept in rotorcraft design flight and maintenance training. Testing on pany is building parts and tooling to lion, the equivalent of 120 more aircraft that offers an aircraft with a potential a real helicopter will also help the program construct the first prototype. than manufacturers delivered in 2004. VNE of 250 knots. Actually it wasn’t new team figure out where to place antennas The Bell 429 will be the first to feature More specifically, last year turned at all–the OEM’s advancing blade concept and other airframe-mounted devices. new MAPL components, including a 70 out to be the year a lot of decisions demonstrator flew back in the 1970s– Engine integration testing of the VH- percent larger cabin (compared with the were made–for good or for ill. We know but the technology required to make it a 71A began on a contractor vehicle during earlier Bell 427i) and a new composite now who will build the President’s next practical proposition is now in place the summer, at Lockheed Martin’s Owego, horizontal stabilizer that was test-flown helicopter, that the BA609 can indeed (see AIN, July 2005, page 100). N.Y. facility. last May. Work continues on anti-torque fly like an airplane and that–although But above all else, when it comes to many suspected it–something drastic a cataclysmic natural disaster–a tsunami, Bell Helicopter needed to be done at MDHI. a hurricane, or an earthquake–the heli- Bell 210 We know that the Bell 427i needed copter is the one vehicle that can bring more than just an autopilot and that the swift and effective relief to the point of The Bell 210 achieved FAA certifica- S-92, despite teething troubles and los- need. The assets are available and the tion in July, 18 months after launch and ing out on the U.S. Presidential con- operators are ready to respond: all it seven months after first flight. The Huey tract, can walk the walk for offshore takes is money, coordination and the lookalike features dynamic components Bell 429 operators–over the freezing waters off political will to make it happen. from the Bell 212 (main rotor hub and blades, tail rotor, main and tail-rotor sup- devices, including a rotorless assembly known port structure, transmission, rotating con- as PATS (propulsive anti-torque system). AgustaWestland performance record of the out-of-produc- trols and tailboom), and a Honeywell Bell plans this year to run an engineer- A109S Grand tion A109 K2 and is aimed at the search- T-53-517BCV engine. The result, accord- ing ground-test rig using a full-size gas tur- and-rescue (SAR) market. Sliding doors on ing to Bell, is a zero-time, FAA-certified, bine engine, inlet fan, bifurcated ducting The order book for this uprated 109 both sides of the cabin offer improved single-engine medium utility helicopter and a series of test thrusters. PATS provides variant currently stands at almost 60. access and, as such, should attract public- for about $3 million, compared with $5 anti-torque directional control and propul- AgustaWestland received EASA approval service operators as well. million for a similarly sized off-the-shelf sive thrust without a conventional tail rotor. for the type in June (as its first customer, a The FADEC-equipped Pratt & Whitney commercial product. Combined with reductions in main rotor Briton, took delivery) and FAA certification Canada PW207C turboshaft engines, pro- speed, it could enable helicopters to cruise is expected by next month. The company viding a combined 815 shp, and an up- comfortably at 160 to 170 knots. planned to have delivered five airframes by rated transmission give the Grand good press time and 10 more later this year. performance in terms of hovering-out-of- Bell/Agusta Aerospace The Grand draws upon the high-altitude ground-effect and speed in forward flight. AB139 According to the company, the 7,000-pound-mtow helicopter has With the AB139 now certified and a 12,000-foot ceiling on a single Bell 210 being delivered around the world, Bell/ engine and, with both power- Agusta’s new challenge is to keep its plants running, offers a rate- Bell said the 210 has direct operating production rate in step with customer of-climb of 1,900 fpm. Agusta- costs of less than $650 per hour–offering demand. With more than 100 airframes Westland also claims that operat- what the OEM terms a “significant reduc- on order and capacity still set at around ing costs are up to 36 percent tion in operating costs”–and comes with 50 per year, the company will have to lower than its competitors. an “excellent” commercial products war- juggle numbers and customers for some ranty. An airframe will be on display at time to come. The recent announcement US-101 Heli-Expo later this month in Dallas. First of an extension of the Philadelphia facil- deliveries are scheduled for May. ity to accommodate a second and domes- The U.S. military selected a tic AB139 line has not come a moment variant of AgustaWestland’s EH- Bell 429 too soon. 101 as the new Presidential heli- copter last year. Development Program development of this IFR twin of the helicopter–christened the is proceeding on schedule with Transport VH-71A Kestrel–is now under Canada and FAA certification expected way. A first airframe, which will during the third quarter of next year. Bell serve as a testbed until three said it has taken nearly 140 orders for the actual test vehicles arrive in the new helicopter, which will enter a market spring next year, landed at a U.S. sector crowded with established types. A109S Grand Navy test facility in November, Modified Bell 427 prototypes are already AB139 62 Aviation International News • February 2006 • www.ainonline.com With the roles of the AB139 becoming flew in 1963, at this month’s Heli-Expo. the company added that it has not yet as diverse as those of the smaller A109– Owners of existing aircraft will be able evaluated turboprops. from flying limo to search-and-rescue–Bell/ to install the improvements as a retrofit, Agusta has stolen a march on the competi- although they will also have to install Hindustan Aeronautics tion. If it manages to keep all its customers the latest Rolls-Royce 250-C20B engine, Dhruv on board, it can expect to continue doing which currently powers only a handful of well, perhaps even until the Sino-European the 80-odd original FH1100s still flying. The HAL Dhruv is a multi-role heli- EC 175 (see below) enters the fray in 2011. The rest use the obsolete-C18 unit. copter in the 12,120-pound weight class Bell is to sell its 25-percent interest in built to meet FAR 29 and certified by the program to AgustaWestland (giving EC 225 India’s Director-General of Civil Aviation the company complete ownership) so the (DGCA). Currently powered by two helicopter will be renamed the A139. Inci- North Sea duties with Bristow Helicopters. Turbomeca TM333-2B2 engines, it is dentally, AgustaWestland has launched It was certified for unrestricted operations claimed to meet Category “A” takeoff and a military variant, christened the A149. in icing conditions in time for the north- landing performance requirements. ern winter and, by next year, a new FAA First civil deliveries of the Dhruv are BA609 level-D simulator will be commissioned said to be “imminent.” The first of two heli- in Marseilles, France. FH1100 copters for the regional government of The tiltrotor can now hover like a heli- The EC 225 has a maximum weight of Jharkhand is ready, with the second due for copter and fly forward like a turboprop. nearly 23,000 pounds and can carry two The company claims that the FH1100 completion later this year. A reported order Bell/Agusta restarted the flying program pilots and 24 passengers or more than has the lowest operating costs in its class. for 20 civil airframes, from Mumbai-based last summer, and the aircraft converted 11,000 pounds of cargo.