When John Murphey stepped into the role of chairman and chief executive of Bell Helicopter last year, he knew the challenges were considerable. The V-22 Osprey was grounded, which in turn threatened to disrupt the BA609 civil tiltrotor launch programme. Murphey also needed to tackle developmental delays in the AH-1Z/UH-1Y upgrade. He talks to Paul Derby about how Bell is seeking to address these issues and build a secure future…
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Q: You've stated publicly the importance of the return to flight of the V-22. This is crucial in itself, but just how critical is the success of this programme to your other key tiltrotor concept, the BA609?
A: It was always the intention that the V-22 should be the lead aircraft into the marketplace. We didn't feel it was a prudent business decision to get ahead with the BA609. Any success for the V-22 is also good news for the BA609 and we were delighted with the resumption of the flight test programme.
In terms of the impact, we have close to 80 orders for the 609 and only a handful of cancellations – and by cancellations I mean people who elected to give up their $100,000 deposit on the aircraft.
We expect first flight of the 609 to take place by the end of this year.
Q: You spoke at the Heli-Expo convention in Orlando earlier this year of the need to find a replacement for the 206B JetRanger and mentioned the JRX concept. What can you tell us about this and other development work?
A: It wouldn't be appropriate for me to announce specific details but we are taking a nuts-and-bolts look right across our range of aircraft.
We intend to remain a strong player and that means giving the customer what they want. We've started a programme called ‘Voice of the Customer' to focus all our attention on what customers are telling us. They want reliability and responsiveness, lower direct operating costs and greater range.
Q: There has been speculation that you might establish a US assembly line for the AB139. Are there plans in place?
A: We're still looking at this idea. It is likely to happen because there is a business case for having a final assembly line.
The potential of the aircraft in markets such as special operations and emergency medical service (EMS) means the opportunity for the line to be busy does exist.
Q: The delays associated with the AH-1Z/UH-1Y modernisation programme are well documented. What lessons have you learned from these problems and what measures have you put in place to ensure a smoother progression from this point on?
A: I think both for ourselves and the military customer [the United States Marine Corps] we accept that this was a programme that started off knowingly underfunded. When that happens it is almost inevitable that people will need to look for ‘shortcuts' to reduce costs and to maintain the schedule. It leads to bad decision-making. It's something we need to avoid in the future.
From a Bell standpoint, we must ensure that we are clear where our priorities lie. Programmes are now being planned and scheduled right down to component level and we are seeking accountability and responsibility from the top to the bottom of the organisation.
Q: A US Department of Defense survey issued earlier this year concluded that there is a lack of strong competition between helicopter manufacturers and that the key to changing this was an injection of fresh funds in research and development programmes. Do you agree?
A: I do believe there is competition in the industry but the issue of R&D funding does need DoD attention. NASA has traditionally put in $20-$25 million for rotorcraft R&D, but this was zeroed out of this year's budget. The industry got together and campaigned vigorously for this to be reinstated. I see it as a joint responsibility for the manufacturers and the DoD.
Q: You've been chairman and chief executive for about nine months now. What has given you the most satisfaction?
A: The people we have give me the greatest satisfaction. I truly believe that when we have our eye on the ball there is no limit to what we can achieve. We've stabilised the H-1 programme, which has been on cost and schedule for the last five months and overall I'm pleased with the direction we are taking.
Source: Flight Daily News
