Astronautics To Provide Displays for Bell 412EPX, 429

Astronautics has captured a key program as the provider of the integrated flight display system on the newly designated Bell 412EPX, as well as the 429. Under the agreement with Bell, Astronautics is providing its updated Badger Pro+ displays for the Bell BasiX-Pro flight deck, replacing Rogerson Kratos displays.

The Badger Pro+ project has been in the works for several years, and Astronautics has secured FAA TSO for the display line as well as certification for both the 412 EPX and 429. The first few Bell 412EXPs have rolled off the production line, including one that is on display at the Bell booth.

Astronautics is providing four six-by-eight-inch, high-resolution displays for the BasiX-Pro flight deck of the 412EXP and three for the 429. Working with Bell, Astronautics customized the displays to the specifics of the BasiX-Pro flight deck, providing improved viewability to easily access primary flight, navigation, and engine data, as well as system synoptics, weight-and-balance, and checklist information.

Along with the improved viewability, the system includes new advisory vertical approach capability, LED mode-select lights on the autopilot controller, flashing messages synchronized between displays, clear on-screen presentation of the helicopter terrain awareness and warning system (H-TAWS), LED-based night vision goggle compatibility, sealed enclosure with passive cooling, and seamless interface with other avionics.

The Badger Pro+ system's video capabilities include inputs for FLIR and other camera types. The displays accept four video formats, including analog and high-definition inputs. 

Performance Packages Increase Power, Payload for AW169

Leonardo is developing two performance packages for the AW169 medium twin that will increase engine shaft horsepower (shp), transmission rating, and available payload. The “Enhanced" and “Superior” performance packs rely on software updates and minor aerodynamic modifications to deliver increased performance. Leonardo expects EASA approval for the packages by the end of 2020 and will make them available on new deliveries and as a retrofit to existing helicopters beginning in 2021. 

Retrofit pricing was not disclosed, but a company spokesman said he expected the retrofits to require 16 man-hours of labor. Available payload would increase by 440 pounds to 770 pounds, depending on phase of flight and external conditions; more than 770 pounds for hovering, over 660 pounds for CAT. A-PC1 operations, and 440 pounds for one-engine-inoperative (OEI) hover. Shortly after initial EASA certification approval for the helicopter, Leonardo certified the AW169 for a maximum gross weight increase from 4.6 to 4.8 tonnes in 2016. That increased-gross-weight kit upped the aircraft’s maximum takeoff weight from 10,141 to 10,582 pounds, a capability that could add up to 100 nm of additional range from the original ferry range of 431 nm (no reserve).

Leonardo’s Samuele Tosi, head of product marketing for dual-use helicopters, said the performance packs produce an increase of approximately 144 shp on the 1,000-shp Pratt & Whitney PW210A Fadec-controlled engines and an increased transmission rating of approximately 150 shp. 

Mars Helicopter Replica Rotors Into Anaheim

Helicopters have hovered over and landed on the 29,029-foot summit of Mount Everest, but hovering anywhere on Mars is a whole new ballgame. The Martian atmosphere is less than one percent of the atmospheric volume on Earth—the equivalent of flying at an altitude of about 100,000 feet above Earth.

This week at Heli-Expo 2020, visitors will see a non-working model of the twin-rotor, solar-powered Mars Helicopter. The actual Mars Helicopter has already been attached to the bell of the Mars 2020 rover in preparation for the scheduled launch in July as a part of NASA's Mars 2020 rover mission. 

On Wednesday at the show, a special presentation, “Taking Flight with the Mars Helicopter,” will be held from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m in Room 204B at the Anaheim Convention Center. Representatives of NASA and its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) are bringing the replica and will discuss the 2020 Mars Mission, which includes research into the potential for finding life on Mars. Speakers will also discuss the challenges of designing, developing, and testing a helicopter on Mars.

To create enough lift to sustain flight in such a thin atmosphere, the engineers designed a rotor system than spins at more than 3,000 rpm. (Earthbound helicopter main rotors operate at about 400 to 500 rpm.) The Mars Helicopter will fly autonomously because the time lag for radio signals between Earth and Mars makes direct control impractical. 

Airbus Helicopters Touts 50 Years of North American Operations

Though Airbus Helicopters has been known by that name for only a little more than five years, the company has been serving the North American market for half a century, which is why it held events throughout the latter half of 2019 in recognition of its golden anniversary.

The Airbus Helicopters story began in 1969 when France's Sud-Aviation joined forces with Texas-based Vought Helicopter to compete in the American civil and military helicopter business against industry heavyweights Bell and Sikorsky.

Those lofty aspirations weren't meant to be, at least not immediately. By 1976, the Vought name had all but disappeared in favor of Sud's own rebranding as the Aerospatiale Helicopter Corporation, and in 1979 the company marked its first year of 100 sales. Aerospatiale became American Eurocopter in 1992, and over the next 20 years it made serious inroads among commercial operators in North America. The company rebranded once again in January 2014, becoming Airbus Helicopters to better align with its parent company.

Today, Airbus Helicopters is a formidable presence in the commercial and defense markets. Its helicopters are in service across more than 150 countries, with a commercial line ranging from the single-engine H125 to the 11-tonne twin-turbine H225. 

The company supports more than 275,000 jobs in 40 U.S. states, with primary manufacturing facilities in Columbus, Missouri, and Grand Prairie, Texas, and 17,000 jobs throughout Canada with a composites manufacturing plant in Fort Erie, Ontario.

Heli-Expo Hosts Aircraft Mx Safety Session

S.A.F.E. Structure Designs CEO Johnny Buscema and HAI Training Work Group chair Terry Palmer are presenting a Rotor Safety Challenge session on aircraft maintenance safety tomorrow at Heli-Expo 2020 from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. (Anaheim Convention Center, Room 207C). The interactive session, “Maintenance Safety-First Solutions that Work,” serves as a reminder of basic safety principles and the new challenges in troubleshooting technology.

Separately, S.A.F.E., along with the Helicopter Safety Alliance (HSA) and Southern Utah University (SUU), are co-hosting their first annual Maintenance Symposium dedicated to safety and training for mechanics on June 10 to 11 in Dallas. The event will provide a series of interactive presentations that bring current information on the new generation of aircraft that requires an understanding of technology beyond normal maintenance skills.

While safety events are provided for pilots, “This one is just for mechanics and will help to provide input to the industry on what training resources will be needed to keep up with the new aircraft,” said Palmer, who is also the event director. “This symposium is necessary to provide mechanics with resources and techniques to help them get the job done effectively and efficiently. New technology has often been frustrating and time-consuming to maintain when mechanics are faced with challenges they haven't seen before."

Robinson Sees Off Year, Boosts Customer Service

The past year was a slow one for Robinson Helicopter, the world’s most prolific helicopter manufacturer. While the domestic market remained fairly stable, the California-based OEM generally exports approximately 70 percent of its output, and headwinds from many directions, both financial and political, placed a damper on deliveries in 2019.

“We expected it to be a slower year,” company president Kurt Robinson told AIN. “The high dollar and some of the tariffs have affected us, and it has been a slowdown for us.” In each of the previous two years, Robinson delivered more than 300 helicopters, but with various concerns in China, Russia, Brazil, and South Africa, the company viewed its delivery totals heading into Heli-Expo as closer to the 200-unit territory. Robinson said the decrease was particularly notable with regard to the company’s midrange R44, its biggest seller.

At Heli-Expo Robinson will display three of its products: the two-seat R44 Cadet trainer, R44 Raven II, and the turbine-powered R66. All three will be equipped with the manufacturer’s new cabin video recorder, which the OEM developed in partnership with Rugged Video. It features a 4K high-resolution camera mounted overhead in the comm box.