EUROCOPTER HAS displayed a BK117 helicopter fitted with a cruciform, rotor-mounted, mock-up HeliRadar at the show. The All-Weather Rescue Helicopter is the subject of a German research ministry-sponsored programme to develop a machine capable of operations at night and in bad weather. The HeliRadar technology should permit rescue missions in visibility down to 150m (45ft), in heavy rain up to 12mm/h, and in snowfall. The company has flight-tested a carrier structure for the transmitter-receiver electronics to measure the influence on helicopter performance, with promising results.
Source: Flight International
