Honeywell’s small heavy fuel engine (SHFE), in development since 2003, “will change the game for turboshaft engines in the future,” predicted Ron Rich, the company’s director of advanced aerospace technology.
The SHFE is one of two engines directly applicable to helicopters on which Honeywell is working. The other is the HTS900 destined for the Bell ARH (armed reconnaissance helicopter), a planned replacement for the venerable Bell OH-58 Kiowa. Both are featured at the Honeywell booth (No. 2801) on the Orange County Convention Center exhibit floor. The SHFE is the object of a Honeywell/U.S. Army partnership for an engine that will be a power source for a wide variety of Army applications “for many years to come,” according to Rich. The primary design goal is commonality of fuel logistics throughout the service, using what is essentially kerosene, the “heavy fuel” in SHFE. It would be used in ground and air vehicles, from tanks to helicopters, and in stationary and mobile applications. Such wide use of a single fuel will simplify Army storage and transportation while affording maximum operational flexibility to forces in the field.
