Paul Derby
Delays in securing UK Ministry of Defence funding for an advanced compound helicopter are threatening to wipe out the technological îhead-start' achieved by GKN Westland and Agusta, with their joint research programme facing an uncertain future.
That was the warning on the eve of Farnborough 2000 as the, soon to be merged, companies grapple with just how to pay for technology which will be the platform for the next generation of helicopter.
Westland is still talking to the MoD about reinstating funding, which was removed as a result of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), but has so far been unsuccessful. The company has already ploughed substantial cash into the study, which was launched in conjunction with the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA).Industry sources say that US-based companies are now investing in similar technology. That would potentially give the US the same market-leading position it established with the Bell Boeing V-22 military tiltrotor and the civilian BA609 - a programme which Agusta is now a partner on.
Programme
Westland plans to launch a three-year flight demonstration programme using a modified Lynx helicopter. The testbed would be fitted with stub wings beneath the main rotor gearbox to provide compound lift. The helicopter would also be re-engined with Rolls-Royce Turbomeca RTM322 turboshafts. Top speed would be more than 200kt (370km/h), which is 60kt faster than the current Gem-powered Lynx."We've taken the development as far as we can," says a Westland spokesman. "We've been through wind tunnel testing and proved the concept of the technology, in fact everything short of building a machine. We need the funding to take the next step."
The Lynx demonstrator is seen as a base to prove the technology for the much larger EH Industries EH101, which would then likely be a direct competitor with the V-22. Westland says the compound helicopter would be available at two thirds of the cost.
Source: Flight Daily News
