helicopters blog

Relentless what?

Sunday, February 19, 2012 - 17:48

Sorry to snipe at Bell twice in a row but I'd be interested to know how its marketing bods came up with the 'Relentless' name for its new B525 medium twin, launched in Dallas last week. There is a reference in the announcement that they have been 'relentlessly listening to their customers', but that's milksop.

The company hasn't bothered with names for its civil products since the B206 Jet Ranger was launched in the early sixties. So why now? Secondly, why such an aggressive, faux-military name and why -- for Heaven's sake -- an adjective in the first place? What, as a commercial helicopter, will it relentlessly do? Keep going? I would hope that was a given.

I also thought, to start with, that choosing an adjective as the name for a machine was a world first. Cobra, Apache, Dakota, Alouette, Apollo, Impala -- all good serious names and all nouns. Then I rememered what the Bell selection reminded me of. Second World War British Navy battleships, all guns and rivets. HM ships Indefatigable, Illustrious (OK, maybe not so old) and Valiant. Is that the image Bell wants to project?

I rather liked its project title, Magellan. World navigators, why not? A rich vein of potential there.

Still, it's a cool-looking piece of kit. Bell's largest civil helo to date and full of top-end kit, to compete with models from the AW139 to Sikorsky's S-92A. Would love to fly it, 2014 onwards. But I'll log it as a B525.

Approaching the Bell-end?

Tuesday, January 31, 2012 - 10:37

On the eve of the annual bun-fight that is Heli-Expo, I'm struck by the different messages emanating from Bell -- an OEM in the business since Day 1 -- and the Johnny-come-lately that is Eurocopter. As indicated by my last post, as it celebrates 20 years of operation, EC continues to invest and innovate. There's no lack of new products and plenty of evidence that it listens closely to what the customers need, and reacts accordingly.

Bell, on the other hand, appears to be living in the past. It has just announced the delivery of its 4,000th commercial helicopter -- a sixties-era Long Ranger. That's still an impressive statistic; they make great machines and their customer support operation continues to lead the world (no matter how hard it tries, EC still doesn't 'get' CS). But where's the innovation?

Bell's contribution to the combat-proven V-22 Osprey is now token at best. Given the helicopter's subsequent triumph in the marketplace, selling Bell's share in the AB139 to Agusta(Westland) was a major strategic blow. Although the jury is still out on tilt-rotor, who's to say the BA sorry AW609 -- on course for certification during 2012 -- isn't on course for success? Maybe not on the level of the 139 but it will be introduced to customers ahead of both the (Sikorsky) X2 and X3 and at least they'll be in with a shout during what surely must become the most exciting decade in the helicopter's evolution since the sixties.

So I'm looking forward to the EC and AW press events at Heli-Expo in Dallas. Sikorsky too; Jeff Pino will update on the X2 compound, now the S-97 Raider and another exciting prospect. I'll dutifully turn up for Bell and will listen glumly to its charisma-lite CEO Jim Garrison talk up its latest avionics tweak to the B429 or LongRanger delivery. I may even take notes. But I can't remember a word of what he said in 2011 and I suspect that, as I emerge blinking into the Texas sunlight, this one will go the same way.

Who will take bets on Bell surviving as a commercial helicopter manufacturer? Given the economic outlook, something will surely have to give.

Back on track

Friday, January 27, 2012 - 17:37

 Eurocopter’s CEO says that, if you know where to look, the world helicopter market is making a strong recovery.

 Certainly, considering the economic malaise besetting the USA and Europe, the Franco-German OEM is making impressive global strides. During 2011 the company delivered more than 500 helicopters, turning over €5.4 billion ($7.1 billion) – the first time turnover has cracked the €5 billion milestone – representing a twelve per cent growth. Orders also increased by over a hundred, to 450, with the most significant orders coming from the A-Star and EC130 family, of which some 240 were taken. Orders for the EC145 light-twin doubled and the first T2 variant, launched at Heli-Expo last year, was ordered by German HEMS specialist DRF Luftrettung.

 Key areas of interest remain Latin America and Asia and there is a near-desperate optimism that this New Year – the traditionally auspicious Year of the Dragon – will herald the dam-busting opening of low-altitude airspace in the People’s Republic of China. In answer to a question from a Brazilian journalist, Bertling also confirmed his intention that Eurocopter should become embedded as the nation’s de facto helicopter OEM.

 In the meantime, the company progresses development of the Dauphin replacement, the X4, while the X3 hybrid has recommenced flight trials. In previous rounds the airframer took the hybrid to 230kt, using only 70% of available power.

 Chief technology officer Jean-Michel Billig was coy about any speed goals expected from this third flight test campaign. “We will attempt to answer questions thrown up by analysis of data from the two previous ones. This will include the performance of the main rotor blades at high speed and how the FADEC system operates when moving between the two flight modes.” He also confirmed that development of the X4 ‘Game Changer’ was on-track, with first flight due in 2015.

 Finally, a retrofit system to maintain Nr for a few seconds following an engine failure (in the AS350B to start with) and in the final post-autorotation flare, has completed technical development and Billig is about to hand over the project to his sales engineering counterpart. Kits are expected to be available by the end of the year. US pilots are said to be especially keen to get hold of it.

 

 

Website goes live

Saturday, December 24, 2011 - 13:44

Have a look at this website, promoting a new helicopter event next September. I contributed all the content -- copy and images -- and think it looks great.

Compliments of the season, ladies and gents.

Pilot optional

Tuesday, December 20, 2011 - 17:41

Kaman's unmanned K-MAX loadlifter has successfully completed its maiden cargo flight in Afghanistan and is now fully operational. Two are in service and will soon be flying re-supply missions to forward operating bases, at night so as to minimise the risk from enemy small-arms fire.

K-MAX features a four-hook cargo carousel that allows it to deliver loads to multiple remote locations in one round-trip. It can lift and deliver 6,000lb of cargo at sea level, or 4,000lb at 15,000ft density altitude. During earlier Arizona trials it dropped from height and NLOS (non line-of-sight) ten GPS-guided JPADS (parachute-steered payloads), two of which were released remotely by the ground control station.

The 'optionally piloted' K-MAX system was developed, through a joint venture with Lockheed Martin, specifically to provide in-flight autonomy over long distances in remote environments. It has completed multiple guided air-drops from as high as 10,000ft.

Reinventing the wheel?

Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - 18:01

It turns out that the Quest is not such an innovation after all -- a mockup of the RUMAS A245 Guppy made its debut in Russia at MAKS 2009. Perhaps all that novel is that Mr Udovenko has managed to win some Arab backing.

Will there be a market for it? Most customers are (rightly) extremely reluctant to invest in unproven technology and Quest will have to make some sporty deals to get it off the ground, so to speak.

Quest for glory

Monday, November 14, 2011 - 10:59

One interesting announcement at the Dubai Air Show - the introduction of an 'all-new' civil helicopter with a remarkable tandem-rotor configuration and (this particularly cool) an eject-able crew and passenger capsule. The Quest AVQ has a Russian designer, Volodymyr Udovenko from Aerovortex, will be powered by Ukrainian FADEC engines (rated at 465shp) and built in the UAE.

With production scheduled to start in 2014, the first four-seat model, priced at US$2.95 million, is expected to have a range of 700km, max speed of 295kph and endurance of 3.6 hours.  MTOW will be 2,250 kg and empty weight 1,300kg. Pretty light for a twin. It will be aimed at the usual private/corporate, utility and public service sectors and promoted primarily to the Middle East, China, Africa and India.

On the face of it, this represents a radical a step in rotorcraft design. I hope that the transmission is more robust than it looks -- and why does the tail section have to be so chunky? -- and want to have a closer look. I hear Quest will be at The Helicopter Show at Silverstone next September.

Thin on the ground

Thursday, October 6, 2011 - 14:34

Many I talked at Helitech suggested that business was pretty slack. Certainly there were precious few announcements and the show daily news-sheets – beyond the pre-written Day One issue – were pathetically thin. That was clearly the consequence of a lack of boots on the ground as there is always news at an event like this; if it is thin on the ground, you just have to dig a little harder for it. The event “journal of record” deserves more than one writer with a pocket camera.

The static display contained little that was new – one S-76 at least must have been a veteran of the Redhill days – and, poignantly, the Lincs & Notts MD902 air ambulance wore a ‘for sale’ sign. Two French newcomers to the line, the neat Helineo and Cabri two-seaters, sparked the interest of many. Both built to EASA CS-27 safety standards, they both look the real deal; indeed, they make the Robinson appear distinctly old-school.

A conference made its debut. Originally showcased and beautifully chaired at Helitech in Portugal a year ago, this event covered topics including the growing offshore wind-farm support sector and safety management systems – and deserves to succeed as a format.

I was surprised to see Bristow presenting the operator angle, as opposed to Denmark’s Unifly who started the “winch-to-work” ball rolling or Bond Air, who holds a contract to provide these services off the east coast of England. I’m not aware of Bristow having done any operational flying and, certainly, the 15,000 w2w cycles so far performed were largely performed by Unifly. My last post tells the true story.

Winds of change

Sunday, September 18, 2011 - 16:19

Read my article in this week's Flight on the growth in offshore wind farms and the consequent need for helo support: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/09/17/361819/winds-of-change.html

AMbush

Friday, July 29, 2011 - 13:18

Had a great evening at Fairoaks with my old friends from Alan Mann Helicopters. Still much uncertainty about its future but, whatever happens, it will always be an important part of our lives. Al Davis said today, "it was good to see all of the old faces that made AMH such a happy place to work, Even though the pay was not particularly high, most of the people stayed for some years and felt an affection for the company and their workmates."

I only flew for them for three years and it all went pear-shaped in the end, but I had such fun. Mike Magill reminded me of lively discussions about Westerns during our lunchtime airfield perimeter strolls. Barry Hodgkinson recalled Linda and Sue Clode belting out, "the pilots on the bus go winge winge winge" during a coach transfer after one of my Noel Edmonds Helifests.

I may have overdone my efforts to make the event invite only. I selfishly wanted to see my pals and avoid a free-for-all but a few who would have been perfectly welcome felt they needed an invitation. So I'm sorry about that. I think there'll be a next time.