All Helicopters articles – Page 236
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News
Eurocopter France rewarded for design
The French civil-aviation authority's Aeronautical Training and Technical Control department has awarded its design-approval certificate to Eurocopter France. The certificate is in recognition of the fact that the company's organisation and design standards meet the technical requirements of the European Joint Airworthiness Authorities (JAA) JAR 21 standard, and ...
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Comanche flies
The Boeing Helicopter/Sikorsky Aircraft RAH-66 Comanche next-generation attack helicopter was flown for the first time on 4 January, when it took off from Sikorsky's Development Flight Test Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. The first RAH-66 was rolled out in May 1995. A second prototype, fitted with a reconnaissance mission-equipment ...
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Bell helicopter
Webb Joiner has become chairman of Bell Helicopter Textron, of Fort Worth, Texas. Lloyd Shoppa succeeds Joiner as president. With Bell since 1960, Joiner is chairman of the American Helicopter Society. Shoppa, with Bell since 1964, was most recently senior executive vice-president. ...
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Belgian police pick Explorer
BELGIUM'S Gendarmerie has selected the McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems (MDHS) MD Explorer for its air component, which operates from Melsbroek air base, near Brussels. Two aircraft will be delivered in 1996, with a third on option for 1998 delivery. They will be used for police work throughout Belgium. ...
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Kaman prepares Japan's first K-MAX
KAMAN AEROSPACE plans to ship the first K-MAX external-lift helicopter for Japan by the end of this month. The aircraft has been sold by Japanese K-MAX distributor KBK to Japan Royal Helicopters and is expected to enter service on power-line projects following Japanese certification. Bloomfield, Connecticut-based Kaman, meanwhile, ...
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Production MD 600N lifts off
THE FIRST production model of the MD 600N helicopter had its maiden flight at the McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems (MDHS) Mesa plant in Arizona on 15 December. MDHS experimental test pilot Chan Morse flew the MD 600N for 30min, reaching a top speed of around 100kt (185km/h) in ...
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Light ambitions
POLAND'S WARSAW-BASED Aviation Institute has embarked on a three-year project with helicopter manufacturer WSK-PZL Swidnik, to develop a new light helicopter. The IS-2, shown in mock-up form, is a two-seat helicopter powered by a single Textron Lycoming piston engine. The project is being funded, by the Government Committee for Scientific ...
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Five operators compete for 1996 Atlanta Olympics service
Karen Walker/ATLANTA FIVE US HELICOPTER operators have submitted bids to provide a short-haul transport service in the Atlanta, Georgia, area when the city hosts the 1996 Olympic Games. Organisers are not revealing the names of bidders for the project, known as the Atlanta Short-Haul Transportation ...
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Osprey progresses
Boeing Helicopters has delivered the first "production-representative" V-22 Osprey fuselage to partner Bell Helicopter Textron which is building the tilt-rotor aircraft's wing sections. The aircraft is scheduled to have its first flight in a year. Four V-22s are now in test flight and two ground-test articles were built ...
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Little room
Thailand has ordered three Eurocopter AS.332L2 Super Pumas for use by the country's royal family. The first two VIP-configured aircraft are scheduled for delivery in October 1996. The Super Puma was selected over the Sikorsky S-70 after it was determined that the US helicopter offered the King insufficient headroom in ...
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Price freeze
Bell Helicopter Textron will not increase spare-part prices in 1996, but will hold them at 1994 levels for a second year, citing the cost of operating a helicopter as "the biggest single threat to our industry". Source: Flight International
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Textron revamps Bell/Cessna structure
TEXTRON HAS announced management changes at its Bell Helicopter and Cessna Aircraft units. David Assard has been promoted to the newly created post of president at Cessna, reporting to chairman and chief executive Russ Meyer. Other changes at Cessna include the promotion of executive vice-president Gary Hay to ...
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Board approves DASA cuts
Julian Moxon/PARIS GERMAN UNIONS have reacted angrily as Daimler-Benz Aerospace (DASA) received approval from its parent company to press ahead with plans to cut almost 9,000 jobs under the Dolores (dollar-low rescue) plan. DASA says that it remains "open to negotiations", but that the target of ...
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Olympic air system tested
Karen Walker/ATLANTA A REQUEST FOR proposals (RFP) has been issued to US helicopter operators interested in bidding for a contract to provide a premium short-haul transportation service in Atlanta, Georgia, during the 1996 Olympic Games. The RFP follows the successful initial trial of the planned ...
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Certification delay
Bell Helicopter Textron says that certification of the Model 430 intermediate twin-turbine helicopter has been pushed back by a month, to mid-January, to allow on-schedule certification of the light single-turbine Model 407 in mid-December. Both aircraft will have their public debuts at the Asian Aerospace show in Singapore on 6-11 ...
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Japanese hoist deal
Lucas Aerospace and Shinko Electric are to supply electrically powered hoists for Sikorsky UH-60A helicopters, licence-manufactured by Mitsubishi, to meet the Japan Ground Self-Defence Force UH-X requirement. Shinko will develop a power-drive system using Lucas technology. Source: Flight International
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Comanche tail rotor tested
THE ANTI-TORQUE TAIL-ROTOR system for the Boeing/Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche helicopter is being tested at Sikorsky's "whirl stand" in Stratford, Connecticut, USA. The planned test programme includes a 100h endurance run ahead of this month's first flight of the prototype Comanche. The eight-bladed "Fantail" is designed to provide increased protection from ...
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Paris expansion
FlightSafety International (FSI), is building a third Bell 412/212 flight simulator, for installation at its Paris Le Bourget training centre. The Level D-standard helicopter simulator will be equipped with FSI's ChromaView visual system and MultiView panoramic display. Two 412/212 simulators at FSI's Bell training centre in Fort Worth, Texas, will ...
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MD600N flight
McDonnell Douglas Helicopter System plans to fly the second MD600N single-turbine, no tail-rotor, helicopter in November. Certification and first deliveries are planned for the third quarter of 1996. The second aircraft will represent the final configuration, with six-bladed main rotor, digitally controlled Allison 250-C47 engine and larger fuel tank. ...