Program update: Honeywell spotlights the old and new

By: Harry Weisberger

HAI Convention News >> February 2009
Engines

Honeywell Engines comes to Heli-Expo with five turboshaft models ranging in age from venerable to brand-new and in power from 1,000 shp to 5,000.

Doug Kult, Honeywell’s director of sales for helicopter and surface systems, told HAI Convention News that the company’s biggest engine, the T55, continues to power the Boeing CH-47 Chinook. The T53, which was the old Huey engine, is not only still around but also back in production as the T53-17BCV. “We’re taking old military assets and putting them through rework. The result is an FAA-certified zero-time engine,” Kult explained. The T53-17BCV is in use on the Eagle single-engine conversion of the Bell 212 to a heavy Bell 205.

The CTS800, originally developed for the Army Comanche armed reconnaissance helicopter, is now FAA certified and selling for the new production UK Lynx and retrofit to older Lynxes. Kult said the worldwide Lynx retrofit market is about 300 airframes (600 engines) of which the UK portion is 50, with additional quantities to power the Agusta T-129 for the Turkish armed forces. Developing from 1,300 to 1,500 shp, the CTS800 has the highest power-to-weight ratio and lowest fuel burn of any engine in its shaft horsepower class, he said.

Kult noted that Honeywell has won most recent Department of Defense turboshaft engine competitions. “They fund us to push the limits of technology, reducing weight and fuel consumption. We’re able to use those improvements in our commercial engines as we develop them.” As an example he cited the newly FAA-certified HTS900. “It has a specific fuel consumption of about .52. We got there by taking the twin centrifugal compressor from the Small Heavy Fuel Engine [SHFE] program and with new means for controlling surge,” he said.

The HTS900, with a 1,000-shp takeoff rating, is Honeywell’s newest turboshaft engine, originally built for the Bell 407 armed recon helicopter version. “So we’ve got an engine, and hope to announce a new application soon,” Kult said. It was originally slated for the now-cancelled Bell 417 in a 925-shp version. Other new Honeywell turboshaft engine technology “in the pipeline,” according to Kult, is a dual-alloy turbine with a higher cycle life and lower operating costs.

At Heli-Expo, Honeywell is presenting the latest and most powerful version of its LTS101 commercial engine, the 850-shp LTS101-850, being developed for certification on the BK117. It will be offered to upgrade the BK117 “B” model to “C” performance specifications.   

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