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| Rotorcraft |
Noise, Power Focus of AgustaWestland Research
September 01, 2008
AgustaWestland last year invested 11 percent of its revenues in research and development. It is a co-leader (with Eurocopter) of the CleanSky Joint Technology Initiative, a major European research program, and is studying active blade control to reduce noise. Planned is ground testing of an active blade segment, then wind tunnel testing of a complete model...
moreThe Koala Floats
September 01, 2008
Dart Helicopter’s Apical Industries has received EASA approval for its Tri-Bag Emergency Float System on the AgustaWestland A119/AW119 Mk II. The system includes two forward and two aft bags and a baggage compartment reservoir option. It is available with or without external life rafts and is compatible with ground-handling wheels. With bags deployed, the...
moreRound-the-world speed record falls to A109S
September 01, 2008
The around-the-world helicopter speed record fell hard on August 18.
Pilots Scott Kasprowicz and Steve Sheik flew a stock twin-engine 2007 AgustaWestland A109S Grand 20,078 miles in 11 days, 7 hours and 2 minutes, shattering the old record by 5 days and 23 hours and substantially beating their goal of breaking the old benchmark in 13 days. The pair beat...
moreNoise issue incites furor in Saint-Tropez
September 01, 2008
Residents of the Saint-Tropez gulf, on the French Riviera, are threatening to block helipads and the road through Saint-Tropez if the city does not make progress on addressing helicopter noise. Every summer, wealthy visitors to Saint-Tropez make extensive use of helicopters, either private or chartered, to bypass traffic jams on the busy roads. Residents...
moreMi-171s One Hero after Chinese Earthquake
September 01, 2008
Operators of Mil helicopters meeting at Russia’s Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant (UUAP) in late July heard how the Mil-171 led rescue operations for victims of the recent earthquake in China’s Sichuan province. Of the 137 Russian, Chinese, French and U.S. helicopters involved in the effort, 74 were Mi-171s, and these were responsible for rescuing more than 37,000...
moreUK charter firm buys SW4s
September 01, 2008
Biggin Hill, UK-based helicopter charter operator Sky Charter has been designated the UK dealer for PZL Swidnik rotorcraft. The company has ordered three SW4 light singles and is expecting deliveries next spring.
Gary Slater, Sky Charter’s managing director, sees the EASA-certified five-seater as a low-cost alternative to the Eurocopter EC 120 and the Bell...
moreCompound Sikorsky X2 Makes First Flight
August 28, 2008
Thirty-eight months after Sikorsky’s formal announcement of the X2 “technology demonstrator,” the compound helicopter made its first flight yesterday at the Sikorsky-Schweizer rapid prototyping facility in Horseheads, N.Y. During the 30-minute flight, Sikorsky chief test pilot Kevin Bredenbeck conducted slow forward flight, hover and hover turn maneuvers....
moreDuo Smashes Around-the-world Helo Speed Record
August 19, 2008
The “Grand Adventure” concluded yesterday morning at New York La Guardia Airport. Helicopter pilots Scott Kasprowicz and Steve Sheik flew a stock twin-engine 2007 AgustaWestland A109S Grand 20,078 miles in a little more than 11 days, shattering the old record by almost six days. The pair beat the record without auxiliary fuel tanks, chase airplanes or an...
moreRobinson’s switch to steel blades gets mixed reviews
August 01, 2008
For Robinson Helicopter, switching from aluminum to stainless-steel skin for main rotor blades has been “a mixed bag,” said company vice president Kurt Robinson, who defended the move on the grounds that the change means lighter and stronger blades with better corrosion resistance. But critics argue that the stainless skins do not hold paint well and that...
moreOffshore Contract for Norsk
August 01, 2008
Norsk Helikopter has signed a six-year contract with StatoilHydro and ENI Norge for offshore oil platform helicopter transportation from Hammerfest, Norway, starting next year. The agreement includes two Eurocopter EC 225s, which will perform platform crew change services and 24/7 search-and-rescue in the Barents Sea. The search-and-rescue helicopter will...
moreEurocopter Takes Over Mx Firm
August 01, 2008
Eurocopter has announced it will take over Motorflug Baden-Baden, a German helicopter MRO specialist. The firm has bases in Baden-Baden, Rheinmünster and Schönhagen, near Berlin. It will become part of Eurocopter’s service and support business. The manufacturer intends to continue to provide MRO services to all Motorflug customers’ helicopters, whatever the...
moreSilver State Students Sue Lender
August 01, 2008
Students of the now-defunct training school Silver State Helicopters are suing KeyBank, one of the banks that financed their tuition, charging that it engaged in fraudulent loan practices and was an active participant in a Ponzi scheme concocted by Silver State executives. Silver State filed Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy on February 3. The class action...
morePoland Picks EC 135 for EMS
August 01, 2008
The Polish Ministry of Health has ordered 23 Eurocopter EC 135s for its nationwide EMS network. Deliveries will be spread over 2009 and 2010. The EC 135s will replace aging Russian-made Mi-2s. They will enable Poland’s air rescue system to become fully compliant with European JAR OPS-3 standards, Eurocopter emphasized. An EC 135 flight simulator is also...
moreSkyTrac Approved for Robinsons
August 01, 2008
SkyTrac’s automated flight following and satellite communication system has received FAA STC and Transport Canada Type Certificate Data Sheet (TCDS) approval for installation in Robinson R22s and R44s. SkyTrac is already approved for installation in various AgustaWestland, Bell, Eurocopter and Sikorsky models.
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