Eurocopter has until now kept details of its new light helicopter, the EC130, under wraps. Flight International had an exclusive sneak preview
Julian Moxon/MARIGNANE
In launching, flight testing and achieving French, European and US certification of its new 7/8-seat EC130 light single helicopter in complete secrecy, Eurocopter has scored a notable coup.
While the EC130 strongly resembles the AS350B3 Ecureuil from which it is derived, its Fenestron tail rotor system and larger cabin would attract the attention of anyone with a reasonable knowledge of helicopters. Yet it has been flying around Marignane as part of a 200h test and certification programme - and nobody noticed.
Eurocopter says the Fenestron and other design advances incorporated from its range enable the EC130 to "meet the very latest noise regulations and allow this helicopter to operate in the most noise-sensitive areas". It adds that the EC130 "complements the Ecureuil in every way" and will satisfy the same market - albeit with a strong emphasis on emergency and military applications.
Eurocopter EC130 programme manager Xavier de la Servette says the main criteria for developing the helicopter was "to strike a compromise on noise and performance, and to meet today's customer requirements for high comfort and exceptional finish". This led to decisions to enlarge the cabin and cargo areas and to provide considerably more visibility.
Fenestron rotor
The EC130 draws on features taken from Eurocopter's most recent all-new products, the EC120 Colibri turbine single and EC135 light twin. Primarily, these centre on the introduction of a new symmetrical Fenestron rotor system similar to the asymmetric one developed for the EC135. Automatic rotor speed control has also been added to maintain the optimum RPM speed for the lowest noise commensurate with maintaining performance. This works with a dual-channel full authority digital engine control (FADEC) with a third (digital) backup channel. The dual hydraulics from the AS355N have also been incorporated, to eliminate concerns expressed by some pilots about the difficulty of landing the Ecureuil B3 after hydraulic failure. "Because of these technology improvements," says de la Servette, "pilot training for emergency procedures in the case of hydraulic and/or regulation failure is not necessary any more on the EC130."
The cabin is about 25cm (10in) wider than the Ecureuil's, and slightly flatter, while cargo space is around 10% greater. Doors and canopy are from the EC120, but the airframe, mechanical assemblies, main rotor, core engine (Turbomeca Arriel 2B1) and control systems are taken straight from the AS350B3, the hot- and high- version of the original Ecureuil. A new metal tail boom has been added to cope with the heavier Fenestron.
"We have re-used as much as possible of the original machine," says de la Servette, "but we wanted to incorporate as many features as possible from the EC120, our smallest light single."
Basic cabin ventilation is standard as part of a philosophy which de la Servette says "gives the customer a machine that can be flown away from the factory". The EC130 is sold equipped with full "almost night" visual flight rules (VFR) avionics in compliance with UK, French and US certification rules. "If we had tried to equip the standard aircraft with full night VFR avionics, the aircraft would have been too expensive," he adds. Full night capability for France and the UK requires fitment of an articulated landing light plus a standby gyro with independent battery. The US requirement is for a turn and bank indicator only.
Low noise
Testing to date has, says Eurocopter, demonstrated noise levels 7dB below ICAO's Chapter 8, Annex 16 limit of 86.8EPNdB and 8.5dB below its 84.3EPNdB overflight limit, making it "one of the quietest helicopters in the world", says de la Servette.
A 200h flight test programme began in June 1999 and led to Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) and French certification on 14 December, followed by US certification on 21 December. Two aircraft have been built to date: one for development, the other for fitting out and demonstrations. Altitude testing was carried out in Alberquerque, USA, last September.
De la Servette says the EC130 will find particular interest in markets where single-engined operations can be carried out with "extremely high confidence" because of the twin hydraulics, triple-redundant FADEC and well-proven powerplant and mechanical systems. "It gives new life to single-engined helicopters," he says. "We see the aircraft being useful for emergency medical operations as well as for normal passenger work. There are even some military applications out there."
Price is not being disclosed at present, but is understood to be "a little more than the Bell 407". This would place the EC130 at around $1.6 million. "The EC130 is another weapon in Eurocopter's strategy of targeting all market segments," says de la Servette.
Full scale production of up to 50 machines per year will begin at the end of 2001, although a small number of machines will be sold to launch customers to build up service experience, detect potential problems and analyse any fixes before general release.
Source: Flight International
