Helicopters – Page 241
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News
Largest order yet for Explorers
THREE JAPANESE companies have between them ordered 17 McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems (MDHS) Explorer helicopters. Aero Asahi, one of the country's largest helicopter operating companies, is to purchase 15 of the machines. The Aero Asahi order is the largest to date for the recently certificated NOTAR (no-tail-rotor)-equipped helicopter. The operator ...
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Tridair aims for Gemini in-flight engine-start certification
TRIDAIR HELICOPTERS, the California-based developer of the modified twin-engined Bell 206L-1/3/4 (known as the Gemini ST), plans to certificate it for in-flight starting of the second engine in 1996. The modification will allow pilots to take off using one of the helicopter's two engines and then start up ...
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AlliedSignal plans to pick up Lycoming LT101 effort
Guy Norris/LAS VEGAS ALLIEDSIGNAL PLANS to certificate a new LT101 turboshaft power-turbine rotor-retention design this year, as part of an aggressive upgrade plan aimed at continuing the reliability-improvement strategy begun by Textron Lycoming before its take-over. The redesign tackles a long-standing problem of shifting blades in ...
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Heads up on S-76
AlliedSignal is to install Flight Visions' FV-2000 head-up display on its Sikorsky S-76, scheduled for certification in the second quarter of this year. The installation will be performed by Keystone Helicopter. Source: Flight International
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Bell launches Model 407
BELL HELICOPTER Textron has launched its Model 407, with orders for more than 40 of the new light-turbine helicopters. As expected, the single-turbine 407 and twin-turbine 407T are based on the current Model 206, with the four-blade-rotor dynamic system from the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior. Launch customer is Niagara Helicopters. ...
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US schools drop R22s...
TWO MAJOR US flight schools have decided to replace their Robinson R22s with Schweizer's new Model 300CB training helicopter, citing as a factor safety concerns with the R22. Schweizer launched the 300CB at Heli-Expo with orders for 23 aircraft, including ten for Concord, California-based Helicopter Adventures. Oakland, California-based ...
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FAA plans to publish standards for helicopter GPS approach
THE US FEDERAL Aviation Administration has completed a four-site test programme to develop standards for helicopter non-precision-approaches, using global positioning (GPS). A GPS-based approach was demonstrated at Heli-Expo using a Eurocopter BK.117 equipped with an AlliedSignal Bendix/King KLN-90B GPS and Arnav Systems datalink. Steve Hickok, helicopter ...
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Upgraded A.109 may be on the way
AGUSTA HAS declined to comment on reports that it is developing an upgraded A.109 turbine twin which will be available with three engine options. Industry sources suggest that the Italian company has tested an improved Allison-powered variant and is about to begin flight tests of a Pratt & Whitney Canada ...
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Arizona's Airstar confirms order for first MD 630Ns
AIRSTAR HELICOPTER, a Grand Canyon, Arizona-based tour operator, will be the launch customer for the newly unveiled MD 630N if McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems (MDHS) decides to go ahead (Flight International, 1-7 February). AirStar has placed a $20,000 deposit on each of the first two MD 630Ns, a ...
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Hiller acquires Soloy STC
HILLER AIRCRAFT has acquired the supplemental type certificate (STC) from Soloy to retrofit turbine engines into the Hiller UH-12E and Bell 47. The STC will be a "perfect complement" to Hiller's planned re-introduction of the UH-12E, says Jeffrey Hiller, leader of the investment consortium which bought back the ...
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...as Robinson turns on FAA and NTSB
FRANK ROBINSON, owner and founder of Robinson Helicopter, says that inadequate training is the cause of the recent spate of rotor-strike accidents affecting the company's R22 and R44 helicopters. "It's not a helicopter problem, it's a training problem," he says. The US Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation ...
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AlliedSignal works on new versions of LT101 turboshaft
ALLIEDSIGNAL ENGINES is working on growth plans for the LT101 turboshaft as a possible future engine option for the Bell 430, the US Coast Guard (USCG) HH-60 Dolphin and a heavier BK117 under study at Eurocopter. The two-stage growth option would increase engine rating over the LTS101 750B1 ...
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Helidyne fits Bell 230 for news
HELIDYNE SYSTEMS HAS EQUIPPED a Bell 230 to allow it to be operated as an electronic news-gathering helicopter, with video-production capabilities, for the Korean Broadcasting System. The helicopter, with a crew of six, can carry two independent microwave receive-transmit systems with deployable skid antennae for simultaneous aerial broadcast and ground-relay ...
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Liquid crystal contract
Litton will supply EASI liquid-crystal engine instruments to Bell for the new Model 407 light-turbine helicopter, providing a tenfold increase in reliability over conventional engine instruments. Source: Flight International
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Norsk ousts Helikopter in North Sea
NORWEGIAN helicopter operator Norsk Helikopter has won a lucrative transportation contract with Phillips Petroleum, displacing former monopoly Norwegian North Sea operator Helikopter Services. The deal covers transportation to the Ekofisk field, from 1 September, when the existing deal with Helikopter Services expires - one of the company's largest ...
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Sextant avionics
Sextant Avionique says that its Avionique Nouvelle (AN) series of helicopter avionics has been selected for the Eurocopter EC.120, EC.135 and future EC.165. The AN series consists of liquid-crystal multi-function displays, dual-screen vehicle- and engine-management display, global-positioning navigation system and air-data computer. SFIM will supply the automatic flight-control system. ...
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Launch pressure
Tim Furniss/LONDON Japan's third H2 booster will be carrying the nation's pride and, if successful, will raise post-earthquake morale when it is launched from the Tanegashima space centre on 22 February. After the $575 million losses of the Engineering Test Satellite 6 (ETS) in orbit in August 1994 ...
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Sikorsky tries out variable tilt-rotor
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES SIKORSKY HAS tested a scaled version of a variable-diameter tilt-rotor (VDTR). The configuration is "extremely stable" in hover, says the company. The VDTR differs from the traditional tilt-rotor concept in that the rotor blades can be extended during hover and then retracted to ...
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Launch Pressure
Tim Furniss/LONDON Japan's third H2 booster will be carrying the nation's pride and, if successful, will raise post-earthquake morale when it is launched from the Tanegashima space centre on 22 February. After the $575 million losses of the Engineering Test Satellite 6 (ETS) in orbit in August ...
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News
Sikorsky tries out variable tilt-rotor
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES SIKORSKY HAS tested a scaled version of a variable-diameter tilt-rotor (VDTR). The configuration is "extremely stable" in hover, says the company. The VDTR differs from the traditional tilt-rotor concept in that the rotor blades can be extended during hover and then retracted ...