All Helicopters articles – Page 223
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Explorer costs
Boeing says that direct operating costs for new-production MD Explorer helicopters have been reduced to $394/h, from $430/h originally, through longer-life parts and a 22% cut in spares costs. Source: Flight International
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RAH-66 team prepares for 'snap turn' tests
The Consolidated Test Team working on the Boeing Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche attack helicopter has begun to expand the high-speed envelope and plans to make first tests of the aircraft's unique "snap-turn" capability shortly. After a slow start, caused by two major updates and down periods, the team has ...
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EC135 orders on the up
Eurocopter is to step up production of its EC135 light twin. The Franco-German helicopter manufacturer claims to be picking up orders for the eight-seat helicopter "at record speed", with 85 sales confirmed to date. To meet market demand, the production schedule of around 20-30 units for 1997 will be increased ...
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Sikorsky adds HUMS
Sikorsky has delivered the first health- and usage-monitoring system (HUMS) for the S-76C+ helicopter following certification by the Norwegian and UK authorities. The HUMS, manufactured by GEC-Marconi, was delivered to Norway's Norsk Helikopter, which operates an S-76C+ on offshore-oil services. GEC's HUMS, developed for the S-76A+ and S-76C, ...
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Bel 427 for Hainan
Samsung Aerospace has signed a letter of intent to sell three new Samsung-Bell 427 eight-seat helicopters to Hainan Airlines of China. It is also negotiating similar agreements with China Ocean and China Southern's Zhuhai Helicopters for another ten. Source: Flight International
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Russian Approval
Pratt & Whitney Canada has received Russian type certification for the PW206 turboshaft, which it hopes will boost sales in the region. The PW206 is assembled in Russia by the company's Russian-owned subsidiary, Pratt & Whitney Rus, and has been selected by Kazan and Kamov to power the respective Ansat ...
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Comanche out
The Boeing Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche helicopter has been pulled from the $3 billion competition to supply Turkey with more than 100 advanced attack helicopters. The company says that the Comanche is no longer a contender as it will not be in production in time to meet Turkey's procurement schedule. Boeing ...
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CIS business takes off
Although business aviation in Russia and the CIS has not received much attention over the six years since the break-up of the Soviet Union, it is becoming an increasingly important tool in the development of industry and services. There are now about six operators in the region with ...
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Bell plans to fly 427 for first time in December
Bell plans to fly its Model 427 light twin-turbine helicopter early in December. The first of two prototypes is in the final stages of assembly at Bell's Mirabel, Canada, commercial-helicopter plant. The company has orders for more than 65 aircraft, with US certification planned for December 1998 and ...
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Eurocopter order
Eurocopter has received an order for an AS350-B3 from Italian operator Elilombardia. The Turboméca Arriel 2B- powered aircraft is scheduled for delivery in the second half of 1998. Launch customer Osterman Helicopter of Sweden will take delivery of the first two AS350-B3s in December. Source: Flight ...
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Private pioneers
Tim Furniss/LONDON Sixteen organisations in Argentina, the UK and the USA are competing for a $10 million prize to be won by becoming the first to finance privately and build a spacecraft which can carry three people on a suborbital flight to an altitude of 100km. The prize ...
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Irish Police adds Ecureuil to fleet
The Irish Police air-support unit (ASU) has taken delivery of a Eurocopter AS355N Ecureuil 2. The aircraft will join the ASU's Pilatus Britten-Norman Defender 4000, which was delivered in August. Both aircraft are equipped with infra-red thermal imaging, recording cameras, searchlights and global- positioning navigation systems. Source: Flight ...
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Commitment to Bell Boeing 609 grows
Although the first flight of the Bell Boeing Model 609 is still two years away, interest in the civil tilt-rotor continues to grow. The joint venture by Bell Helicopter Textron and Boeing holds preliminary purchase agreements from 29 customers representing 41 aircraft, including Evergreen Helicopters, Massachusetts Life Insurance, ...
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Huzar claims denied
Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski says that a long-awaited decision on a missile to arm the PZL-Swidnik Huzar attack helicopter will only be taken after a new round of test launches has been carried out "on Polish soil, under Polish conditions". Kwasniewski has told reporters in Warsaw that fiÌnal choice of ...
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Operators restart Puma flying
David Learmount/London The high-speed gear-shaft has become an early focus of investigators' attention into the crash of a Helikopter Service Eurocopter AS332L1 Super Puma on 8 September, says the Norwegian civil-aviation authority. The CAA emphasises, however, that this is a starting point following recovery of most of the ...
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Explorer first flight
Boeing's first production MD 903 Explorer twin-turbine helicopter had its first flight on 5 September at the manufacturer's base at Mesa, Arizona. The eight-seat light helicopter aircraft is an upgraded version of the original MD Explorer, offering more powerful Pratt & Whitney 206E turboshafts, 8% more range, 4% more endurance, ...
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Allison-powered Ka-226 utility flies for first time
Kamov's Ka-226 utility helicopter made its first flight at Lyubertsy airfield near Moscow on 4 September. The helicopter is powered by two Allison-250-C20 turboshafts rated at 335kW (450hp) and is equipped with French and US avionics. By the end of this year, two more helicopters are planned to ...
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North Sea crash results in AS332L1 grounding
David Learmount/London North Sea oil-support companies have grounded voluntarily about 50 Eurocopter AS 332L1 Super Pumas following the crash off the Norwegian coast of a Helikopter Service helicopter on 8 September, when all 12 people on board were killed. The cause of the crash was unknown ...
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Two bell 407s for India
Bell Helicopter Textron has sold two Model 407s to Pawan Hans, India's state-owned helicopter company, bringing to three the total number of 407s sold in India to date. New Delhi-based Span Air took delivery of the Ìrst Allison 250-C47-powered aircraft in 1996. Source: Flight International
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Kamax delivery
Kaman Aerospace has delivered a K-MAX external lift helicopter to Bozeman, Montana-based Central Copters for use in logging operations in Montana and Idaho. The single-seat, single-turbine intermeshing-rotor helicopter can lift a maximum load of 2,700kg. Source: Flight International