AgustaWestland will continue icing trials this winter in Alaska on the AW189 in pursuit of certification of the full icing protection system (Fips) on the AW189 super-medium twin. That helicopter received certification in 2014 and is currently available only with limited icing protection (Lips), similar to the icing protection system installed on the smaller AW139 medium twin.

Certification of the full icing protection system is anticipated by the middle of next year, a spokesman told AINlast month. AW noted that any operating restrictions currently imposed on the AW189 could be eliminated “in the near term.”

“It is also worth noting that AW189s used for offshore transport in the North Sea have logged a significant number of flying hours that provide further evidence of the capabilities, reliability and high availability of the AW189,” the spokesman said.     

However, the absence of full icing protection prevents Bristow from employing AW189s in the near term on that company’s UK government SAR contract.  Bristow had planned to deploy up to 11 AW189s on that contract, but is now substituting Sikorsky S-92s as a stop-gap measure. Bristow does operate AW189s on commercial contracts in the North Sea successfully.

UKSAR bases will bridge the gap with a combination of AW139s equipped with Fips and more S-92s as an interim measure. The AgustaWestland Fips allows flight into known icing conditions. The package includes ice detectors, automatic activation system with manual backup, electrical power generators, engine intake protection grids, and heated windshield and blades (main and tail rotor). Helicopters equipped with Fips retain the performance and procedures for Category A operations and are not subject to any restrictions during IFR operations.

Fips differs from Lips inasmuch as the latter permits flight within a known and defined envelope of icing conditions provided that the capability to descend into a known band of positive temperature is available throughout the intended route, typical of conditions encountered, for example, over the North Sea. Lips is intended for flight in limited icing conditions for operations such as offshore and passenger transport as well as search-and-rescue. The system is available as an option and includes ice detectors, supercooled large droplet marker, ice accretion meter and heated windshield. It does not require heated rotor blades and associated equipment, while the engine air intake heating system is already incorporated into the standard AW189. The AW189 equipped with Lips retains the performance and procedures for Category A operations and has only limited restrictions in terms of low temperature and ice presence during IFR operations.

The Chicago Helicopter Experience (CHE) air-tour company is launching a new charter service called CHE Premier. The 24/7 service will use a diverse fleet that includes Airbus EC130 and EC135 helicopters.

These rotorcraft will be based at the company’s own heliport in Chicago’s South Loop that opened this past summer. The charter flights are available by the day or by the hour and include shuttle flights to all Chicago-area airports and more than 50 local and regional golf courses.

CHE has also been offering daytime, sunset and evening helicopter tours from its Chicago Heliport since early May. All of CHE’s helicopters are equipped with leather seats, floor-to-ceiling bubble windows and noise-cancelling headsets.

In a final report released on October 23, UKAAIB investigators were puzzled by the pilot's reaction—or rather the lack of it—after he acknowledged low fuel warnings in his Airbus Helicopters EC135T2+, which eventually crashed and killed 10 in Glasgow, Scotland, in November 2013. Without flight recorders, investigators cannot understand why the police observers and the Bond pilot undertook a task in the latter part of the flight, with such warnings active for eight minutes.

Moreover, the two pumps that transfer fuel from the main tank to the supply tanks (one for each engine) were deactivated during the flight for an undetermined reason. These transfer pumps can be switched off in flight to avoid a prolonged run-dry situation that could happen in certain conditions.

However, AAIB investigators could not find any circumstance during the flight that would have prompted the “run dry” caution message. More than 160 pounds of usable fuel in the main tank was rendered unusable as a result of the fuel transfer pumps being switched off.

Next year, Airbus will introduce changes to the transfer pump management logic—they will be switched on for takeoff and only switched off after landing. The dry-run indication will be omitted, due to improvement in the later generation of pumps.

The AAIB's safety recommendations center on the need for voice, data and image recorders aboard helicopters.

In a further consolidation move in the French helicopter operator industry, the HBG holding company has taken over the Loc'Héli group and is thus claiming the largest fleet in the country, with a combined 117 aircraft. HBG is adding three companies to its portfolio—Hélicoptères de France and HDF Maintenance in full ownership, as well as Helifirst, in which it now has “a significant share.”

The company already had stakes, including some controlling ones, in Mont Blanc Hélicoptères, Chamonix Mont Blanc Hélicoptères, SwiftCopters, Eagle Valais, HeliShare, LB Airpark, Aero Technic's Color and AD Software. Activities of the new group range from aerial work to sightseeing flights, commercial passenger transport, heli-skiing, rescue, EMS, offshore oil-and-gas support (in Africa), newsgathering, training, aircraft management and maintenance.

Both HBG and Loc'Héli are family businesses—HBG being a Franco-Swiss firm—and HBGCEO Renaud Blanc counts on the merger to help with international growth. In addition to France, with a strong concentration in the Alps, and Switzerland, bases can be found in Algeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The combined number of permanent employees stands at 210. By integrating Loc'Héli, HBG is to increase its revenues by 75 percent, at €58 million ($64 million).

The U.S. Marine Corps’ CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopter prototype made its first flight October 27 from the West Palm Beach, Fla., facility of manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. The first of four planned engineering development models (EDM) flew for 30 minutes in a ground effect hover up to 30 feet above the ground.

Sikorsky rolled out the helicopter in May 2014, and expected to fly it by the end of last year. But the maiden flight was delayed by problems with the gearbox and other technical issues. The program experienced “a handful of challenges we were working through,” explained Michael Torok, Sikorsky’s CH-53K program vice president, according to Defense News.

“We have entered a much anticipated phase in this developmental program,” said Marine Col. Hank Vanderborght, program manager for heavy-lift helicopters. “We have experienced significant learning at the system and sub-system levels, which continues to build our confidence in the capabilities of the 53K.”  

The EDM-1 helicopter will be joined by three other prototypes over the course of the three-year flight-test program. The Marine Corps program of record for the CH-53K stands at 200 helicopters, with initial operational capability planned in 2019.

The CH-53K is similar in physical scale to its predecessor—the CH-53E Super Stallion—but with the ability to carry a 27,000-pound external load over a mission radius of 110 nm, it offers nearly triple the payload. The King Stallion is powered by three 7,500 shp GE38-1B engines, designated T408-GE-400 by the U.S. Navy.

An AgustaWestland AW609 tiltrotor prototype crashed in Italy this morning while on a routine test flight, killing both crewmembers. The aircraft went down outside Santhia in Vercelli province.

Italy’s National Agency for Flight Safety (ANSV) is investigating. Unconfirmed Italian press reports indicate that one of the engines was on fire before the crash.

In a written statement from Finmeccanica-AgustaWestland, the manufacturer confirmed the loss of an AW609 prototype with the loss of both pilots. It expressed sympathy for the families and said that it is working with the investigating authorities.

The destroyed aircraft, Prototype 2, had been flying since 2006. Lately it had been used to test new installations, such as validation of a new pitot-static system, and making marketing flights for the company throughout Europe. AgustaWestland is not releasing the names of the pilots at this time.

AgustaWestland had hoped to gain FAA certification for the AW609 in 2017 and begin customer deliveries in 2018. Last month, Prototype 2 set a speed record on a trip of 627 nm from the UK to Italy, covering the distance in two hours 18 minutes. AgustaWestland is currently building test ships 3 and 4.

Airbus Helicopters and Sino-German Ecopark, a firm located in Qingdao, in the Shandong province of China, signed a letter of intent on Monday to build an H135 final assembly line in the Asian country. The agreement was inked by Sino-German Ecopark deputy general manager Yao Yixian and Airbus Helicopters Deutschland CEO Wolfgang Schoder; Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel witnessed the ceremony.

Sino-German Ecopark has committed to assemble at least 100 of the light twins over the next 10 years. An “ecosystem” will be developed with the Chinese partners to provide maintenance, repair, overhaul and training. The H135s produced in China will be distributed domestically. Airbus Helicopters claims a civil market share of 40 percent today in China and expects the Chinese market to grow to 3,000 to 5,000 helicopters in the next 20 years.

The first mention of the project dates back to 2012, when then-Eurocopter CEO Lutz Bertling spoke about his intention to build a final assembly facility in China. Under a previous partnership, Avic Group's HAIG has produced EC120 light singles under the HC120 moniker. Meanwhile, Airbus Helicopters announced it gathered net orders for 181 rotorcraft in the first nine months of this year, representing a slight decline in units but more value.

India’s aerospace design and manufacturing industry is finally coming home to roost. Boeing (Stand 900) chairman James McNerney echoed confidence in the industry and the new government during a global summit, “India’s Time to Fly,” held in Delhi last month [October] when he announced that Boeing was “much closer to having final assembly [of] Apache or Chinook helicopters here.”

McNerney added: “That will play out, and that is our strategy. Companies like Boeing are always on the lookout for competitive advantages that come withinnovativenew technologies and long-term partnerships.” He said India, with its broad, deep engineering capability and skilled workforce, was a natural partner “that offers us the long-term opportunities…”

The statement came on the heels of India finalizing an order with Boeing in September for production, training, and support of 22 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and 15 CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters. It is the 14th nation to select the Apache and the 19th to select the Chinook.

“All capabilities are here in programs I want to make sure get done, even assembling entire airplanes–wings fuselages, systems, avionics and software that is in some ways are more sophisticated than structures. We are committed to taking Indian capability to that level–I see an opportunity to help India to move up by bringing technology,” McNerney said.

He cautioned, however, the two governments had to agree to “what technology they will share or not. Generally speaking, the more cutting edge the technology, the less sharing there will be.”

The process may have begun earlier this year, when Boeing’s Tier 1 partner, Bangalore-based Dynamatic Technologies, produced the first set of aft pylon and cargo ramp assemblies for the CH-47F.

McNerney said it was likely India would release a fighter campaign over the next couple of years. “Our approach will be to take a current state-of-art fighter and bid. Boeing will propose making the plane here [implying the F-18].” He added the modern production system and techniques would add value to India “as the capability can go into many industries in India.”

While issues relating to intellectual property, dispute resolution, bureaucracy and punitive taxes need resolution, McNerney was optimistic: “We are being listened to and working on these core regulatory issues…We thought they’d never be resolved, but with a pragmatic prime minister, we are now engaged in discussion…things are changing and that is an encouraging feeling.”

Skills that are at the heart of aerospace manufacturing are already being addressed, said Udayant Malhoutra, CEO and managing director of Dynamatic Technologies. “In this business, you’re only as good as how skilled you are.” Malhoutra said aerospace manufacturing skills included “high precision engineering, artisan craftsmanship such as how you apply sealants, and digital skills,” all of which the company seems to have mastered. “Our expansion is predicated on the quality of people and how they can move up,” he added.

Meanwhile, the National Center for Aerospace Innovation & Research has been set up by Boeing in partnership with the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, and the government. “We must go to a level deeper, not just use the umbilical capability of the country…[we’re] teaching our partners the link between design and manufacturing,” said McNerney.

Interestingly, GE is also in the process of detailing its plans for India. An order for 100 GEF414 engines (also used on the F-18) has been placed for the delayed Light Combat Aircraft Mk2. The same engine will be used on the under-development Advance Medium Combat Aircraft, which will possibly provide a business case for a facility, thus giving Boeing a distinct advantage.

Air Methods announced its intention November 5 to acquire air medical provider Tri-State Care Flight for $222.5 million. Tri-State was founded in 2002 and operates a mixed fleet of 19 EMS helicopters, including AgustaWestland AW109Es and AW119s, and Eurocopter AS 350 models, and four fixed-wing aircraft, including Beechcraft King Air B200s, from bases in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico.

Tri-State currently employs employs 350 and generated revenues of $81.5 million last year. Upon the deal’s closing, Tri-State will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Air Methods.

Air Methods expects to finance the acquisition through its credit facility, which was amended in August to provide for an additional $400 million in borrowing capacity. The acquisition is subject to customary closing and regulatory conditions, but is expected to close in 30 to 60 days.

The announcement comes just weeks after Air Methods announced that it acquired San Antonio AirLife in a much smaller transaction that included two owned and one leased Bell 430.

The general aviation industry shipped a total of 2,243 airplanes and rotorcraft in the first nine months of 2015 for a combined value of $18.5 billion, according to statistics released Friday by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). The statistics indicate a 6.5 percent decline in shipments in the fixed-wing segment compared with the same period in 2014 and a 5.9 percent decline in the rotorcraft segment.

“Although the industry’s performance among sectors in the third quarter remained mixed, new and recently certified business jet models helped raise overall billings,” said GAMA president and CEO Pete Bunce. “In the turboprop market, our agricultural aircraft sector has been particularly hard hit by the U.S. Export-Import Bank’s inability to make new financing guarantees since July 1. Therefore, we are very encouraged by the strong bipartisan support in the U.S. House of Representatives this month that complements U.S. Senate support in late summer to renew the Ex-Im Bank.

“We are hopeful that the Surface Transportation bill to which Ex-Im re-authorization is attached will be conferenced quickly and sent to the President’s desk for his signature. We also hope Congress will move quickly to extend critical tax policies, providing greater certainty to the market going forward.”

Business jet deliveries increased by 4.3 percent in the firstnine months of 2015 at 465 units compared to 446 unitsduring the same period a year earlier. Piston rotorcraft matched last year’s shipment rate at 205 aircraft year-to-date. However, piston airplane shipments declined from 806 units to 719 units, a 10.8 percent reduction, and turboprops declined from 413 unitsto 374 units, amounting to a 9.4 percent fall. The industry shipped 480 turbine rotorcraft, down 8.6 percent compared to last year.

Russian arms export agency Rosoboronexport (Chalet C8) celebrated its 15th birthday last Wednesday, marking the occasion by releasing the latest sales figures. Since 2000 the company has concluded contracts worth $115 billion, and in both 2013 and 2014 achieved annual sales of $13.2 billion. The company’s CEO, Anatoly Isaykin, reported that Western sanctions and the end of Ukrainian co-operation has had little effect on the company’s ability to fulfill its contracts.

Military aviation and air defense products account for 56 percent of Rosoberonexport’s sales total sales, with MiG and Sukhoi fighters at the forefront. Combat helicopters also account for a large share of the orders. In addition to the Kamov Ka-52 Alligator, Rosboronexport offers the Mi-28NE Night Hunter and Mi-35M, both designed by Mil and built by the Rostvertol factory. In their Russian army versions the helicopters are now operating in Syria.

Since its inception, Rosoboronexport has conducted business with 116 nations, with China and India heading the list. Isaykin reported that the Middle East region currently accounts for 37 percent of sales, including those to Syria. Without going into detail, Isaykin stated that the Syrian contracts were being conducted “within the international legal framework.”

Russia has also been pursuing business in Iraq with renewed vigor, which has already resulted in the delivery of Mi-28NE and Mi-35M helicopters, which are now in use against Daesh forces.

Rosoboronexport has also re-engaged with Egypt on defense procurement, and is to supply 50 Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopters. The deal may include the maritime Ka-52K Katran version to serve aboard the two “Mistral”-class assault carrier vessels being acquired from France. The Mistral vessels were originally built for Russia as Vladivostok and Sevastopol, but France halted the sale in 2014. Rosoboronexport is also hopeful of concluding a long-running procurement saga concerning the acquisition of long-range air defense systems by Iran, a program that has been revived since the Iranian nuclear agreement was reached in July.

Bell Helicopter is here on the static line exhibiting a Bell 429 light twin with a VVIP interior, a mockup of the Bell 505 JetRanger X light single, a flight simulator of the Bell 525 super medium twin and a weaponized Bell 407 GXP light single.

The U.S. airframer (a subsidiary of Textron, Chalet A43-A44) is also announcing the sale of two Bell 525s with VIP interiors to two unnamed private customers in the Middle East, via distributor BGS Corporation. “The number of orders for VIP 525s is in the two digits,” Patrick Moulay, v-p global sales told AIN. With the simulator, Bell wants to show helicopter pilots how fly-by-wire will change the way they fly, he added. The first prototype of the Bell 525 has been flying since July and a second one is to join the development program by year-end.

The Bell 429 on display had its cabin designed by Italy-based Mecaer Aviation Group. It is the first time this cabin design has been at the Dubai Airshow. “It is so quiet you can have a conversation without headsets, which is real progress on the light twin segment,” Moulay commented.

For the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X, the manufacturer has received more than 350 orders. “Three prototypes are flying and we are in the final phase of development,” Moulay said. He expects certification to be awarded within six months.

The 407 GXP was armed by Northstar Aviation. “The light attack helicopter market is very active, especially in the region,” Moulay noted. Bell 407 sales in the Middle East are also significant for VIP and EMS operations, he went on.

Globally, the helicopter market is in a down cycle but Bell is doing relatively well, Moulay said. “In sales, the industry is 30 percent below where it was last year, and recovery won’t happen until 2017,” he predicted, citing low oil prices, geopolitical instabilities, unfavorable currency exchange rates and disappointing GDPs in some countries as the main factors. Nevertheless, this year Bell forecasts it will receive more orders than in 2014, and that deliveries will remain level or increase. Hence, the company predicts its market share will grow.

Most notable are its healthy bookings in the U.S. and in the Asia Pacific region (where a recent success was the signature of the Japanese MoD’s UH-X contract), while the Middle East has also been strong. However, China has been “very difficult” and Europe is stagnating, according to Moulay. Sales in Latin America have been “very stable” for Bell, he said.

Making its Dubai Airshow debut here is the NorthStar Aviation 407MRH, an armed ISR version of the Bell 407 commercial helicopter. Based in Abu Dhabi, NorthStar also has a facility in Florida, where the prototype 407MRH conversion was developed and test-flown. The program was first announced at the “Quad-A” show in the U.S. last fall, and a technology demonstrator was shown at the IDEX show in Abu Dhabi earlier this year.

Now, NorthStar is well advanced in fulfilling an order for 30 from the UAE Armed Forces, and deliveries are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2016. A local media photo released recently suggests that the helicopters are already seeing action in Yemen.

NorthStar Aviation was established in 2011 as a full-spectrum MRO organization working primarily with government and military customers. It has the ability to rapidly prototype and field advanced modifications. The 407MRH (multi-role helicopter) was developed to answer the needs of customers who may require an armed ISR capability but at a much lower cost than is associated with full attack helicopters. As well as the UAE order, the 407MRH is receiving considerable customer interest in the Gulf region.

Based on the civilian Bell 407GXP model, the 407MRH is fitted out by NorthStar with a full military system package including a mission management system, embedded IMU/GPS, TACAN, and a FalconView moving map. Military communications systems include dual integrated tactical ARC-210 multi-band radios; Tetra radio; APX-121 Mode IVIFF transponder; and a BMS Helicoder 4 microwave video downlink system. An L-3 Avionics Systsems 3900.2 electronic standby instrumentation system is installed.

The custom-designed cockpit is compatible with the use of NVGs (night vision goggles), and the helicopter is fitted with infrared navigation lights and a dual-mode IR/white light searchlight. A lightweight modular cockpit armor system has been developed, as well as custom-built carbon fiber doors and covers for mission equipment and antenna mounts.

NorthStar has integrated a weapons management system that can support a variety of munitions, such as AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, laser-guided rockets and podded armament such as GAU-19 0.50-caliber or M134D 7.62mm Minigun and unguided rockets. Weapons are carried on a lightweight weapons platform. Targeting and ISR functions are made possible through the installation of a FLIR Systems Star SAFIRE 260-HLD in a stabilized nose turret, offering electro-optical/infrared, high-definition color day TV, mid-wave IR and low-light imaging capabilities. The turret also accommodates laser designator and rangefinder, and a near-IR laser illuminator visible to NVGs.

Bell Helicopter (Chalet A43-A44) is here promoting its in-development super medium twin, the Bell 525 Relentless, notably through demonstrations in a traveling simulator. In designing the first-ever fly-by-wire control system for a civil helicopter, the airframer has endeavored to reduce pilot workload, a move to improve safety. The second prototype of the Bell 525 is to start flying by year-end, and letters of intent (LoIs) have been received for about 60 aircraft, mainly for offshore oil-and-gas applications.

Pushing the cyclic stick forward or backward directly controls speed, Mike Bothwell, Bell 525 control law leader, told AIN. The pilot does not have to mentally calculate what the pitch angle should be, relative to the desired speed and the aircraft's weight. In a bank, above 35 knots, the pilot can hit a “re-reference” button, meaning the pilot can release the controls and the aircraft will keep turning at the same bank angle.

To bring the bank angle back to zero, the pilot simply has to get within five-degrees. The digital flight-control system will take care of adjusting to zero.

Discussing takeoff and approach, Bell 525 sales specialist Michael Suldo emphasized the system provides the pilot repeatable maneuvers, whatever the weight.

In case of a double engine failure, the controls give the pilot a head start. The autorotation procedure in a conventional helicopter begins with the pilot lowering the collective pitch to keep the rotor turning fast enough. If the pilot fails to do so within a handful of seconds, rotor rpm may drop dangerously to 80 percent. At this point, the pilot may never get the required 100 percent back, meaning the engine failure will translate into a serious accident. The 525’s flight controls automatically lower the collective pitch after a double engine failure. It does so immediately, ensuring rotor rpm will remain at or above 100 percent.

Bell has worked with the FAA to develop a fly-by-wire certification basis, as no helicopter has yet been certified with a computer in the flight control loop. The rulemaking effort started for the AW609 Tiltrotor (Bell was involved in the program, at the time). But the Bell 525 is likely to enter service in 2017, before the AW609.

The Bell 525 sells for $20- to $21 million in a basic configuration, Suldo said. He expressed hope the oil-and-gas market will have recovered by 2017. The LoIs will then be more easily turned into firm orders.

The U.S. Navy exercised a one-year contract renewal option with AAR Airlift Group (Stand 1416) to perform vertical replenishment services for the 5th and 7th Fleets in the Mediterranean Sea, Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean. The contract option, valued at $6.7 million, is part of a 2014 contract awarded to AAR, worth $34 million, inclusive of all options.

AAR’s contract with the Navy’s Military Sealift Command includes the use of two helicopters, personnel and operational and technical support services. Based in Wood Dale, Illinois, AAR operates a total of six helicopters for the Navy’s commercial vertical replenishment program. The company’s rotary-wing fleet consists of Sikorsky S-61 and S-92 helicopters and the Airbus Helicopters 330J Puma.

AAR has performed commercial vertical replenishment services, including ship-to-shore and ship-to-ship replenishment, as well as search-and-rescue and humanitarian aid support for the Military Sealift Command since 2007.

AgustaWestland is showing off its RUAS (rotary-wing unmanned air system) technology demonstrator for the first time at Dubai. Based on the EASA-certified, single-engined PZL-Swidnik (AgustaWestland Poland) SW-4 Solo helicopter that entered service with the Polish armed forces in 2002, the RUAS is being used for a number of demonstrations and is configured for OPH (optionally piloted helicopter) operations. Although the SW-4 RUAS itself is capable of ISR and cargo transport missions, with or without a pilot, the technology could also be applied to other AgustaWestland types. Also on display is the smaller SD-150 HERO, which the company is marketing it as a lower-cost platform for similar missions.

First announced in 2010, the SW-4 RUAS/OPH project was developed to evaluate a range of unmanned technologies. It integrates a flight management system, flight control system and digital autopilot with precision navigation. The system incorporates numerous automatic safety features to cover issues such as engine failure, autorotation, vortex ring state, terrain avoidance and lost datalink.

A ground control system provides flight planning and mission management functions, including inflight reprogramming, and is equipped with three datalinks. There is a narrow-band line-of-sight link for platform command and control, plus a back-up. A wide-band line-of-sight link transmits sensor payload imagery and data.

Initial trials were conducted under a contract to the Italian defense ministry, and ran from September 2013 and May 2014. Undertaken in Poland and Italy, the trials were flown in OPH mode with a safety pilot on board. The tests began with the unmanned control systems and ended with the remote execution of mission profiles.

In 2013, AgustaWestland was awarded a CCD (capability concept demonstration) by the UK MoD to outline future Royal Navy options regarding unmanned and optionally piloted helicopters. As part of the CCD AgustaWestland and industry partners evaluated a range of helicopter sizes in long-endurance maritime roles such as mine hunting, hydrographic survey and surveillance.

An important element of the CCD was a campaign of OPH trials using the SW-4. In May this year, the demonstrator operated from Llanbedr, Wales on a series of trials that included 27 flight hours. The first phase covered launch and recovery, mission management and compatibility with a ship combat management system.

In the second phase, the RUAS conducted simulated deck recovery trials, landing 22 times on a simulated ship’s landing deck being towed behind a vehicle. In the final phase, the helicopter conducted simulated maritime security and littoral reconnaissance missions.

Also this year the SW-4 was operated successfully during the European Defence Agency’s Italian Blade exercise, demonstrating ISTAR capabilities, manned-unmanned teaming and data dissemination.

Hero Spares Pilot

The SD-150 HERO is a 400-pound-mtow unmanned helicopter that can carry 44 pounds of payload on its nose and 154 pounds under its belly. Just like the SW-4, it has a six-hour endurance. It is well suited for “dirty, dangerous and dull” missions and can carry sensors that are comparable to the SW-4 Solo’s, AgustaWestland’s senior v-p for marketing James Wand said here at the show. The smaller payload may translate into lower resolution images.

Extensive flight testing has taken place and a simulated ship deck landing is the next step, Wang said. The SD-150 shares a common control console with the SW-4 Solo. It has a triple redundant GPS, inertial navigation system and flight control system. It is powered by a 50-hp diesel engine and has a three-meter-diameter rotor.

Another Italian company, IDS, was involved in the design through a joint venture with AgustaWestland.

Upgraded SW-4 to be Unveiled at Heli-Expo 2016

An improved SW-4, with enhanced capability, will be introduced at the Heli-Expo show in March 2016 in Louisville, Kentucky, AgustaWestland’s senior v-p for marketing James Wand hinted on Sunday. Answering a remark about AgustaWestland no longer producing the SW-4 at its PZL-Swidnik factory, he said the company is counting on synergy between the manned and unmanned platforms. The SW-4 is a five-seater and can be seen as a competitor to the Airbus Helicopters H120 and the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X.

Bell Helicopter (Chalet A43) has received additional letters of intent (LoIs) here for its new Bell 525 Relentless super medium twin. Petroleum Air Services, an Egypt-based operator, has signed up for two Bell 525s. The company provides both fixed-wing and helicopter transportation to the oil-and-gas and travel industries.

Meanwhile, Kuwait City’s Strong Aviation signed a LoI for one Bell 525 and plans to operate it for corporate transport missions in the area.

On the MRO front, Petroleum Air Services has applied to become the first Bell Helicopter authorized customer service facility in North Africa, in 2016. Based at Al Ain international airport, Horizon International Flight Academy is to become the first Bell Helicopter authorized training center in the Middle East. “Our commercial helicopter sales have tripled since last year in the Middle East,” said Ray Lamas, Bell’s general manager for global customer training.

The FAA has begun a process that could lead to mandating retrofit of safer passenger seats and restraints, as well as more fireresistant fuel systems, in legacy normal- and transport-category rotorcraft. In September, the FAA charged the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ARAC) with making recommendations to enhance the safety of normal- and transport-category rotorcraft, including those still in production with crashworthiness and occupant protection certification bases that predate modern safety standards adopted in the 1980s and 1990s.

Now the ARAC is forming a Rotorcraft Occupant Protection Working Group that is expected to make recommendations within six months as to the cost-effectiveness and advisability of retrofitting the entire U.S. helicopter fleet, regardless of manufacture date, with seats, restraints and fuel systems that meet modern standards for crashworthiness. The FAA recently noted that as of the end of last year only 16 percent of the domestic civil helicopter fleet complied with modern requirements for crash-resistant fuel systems.

Lockheed Martin announced on November 6 that it has completed its $9 billion acquisition of Sikorsky Aircraft, a purchase the U.S. defense contractor announced in July. Sikorsky is being folded into Lockheed Martin’s Mission Systems and Training business segment.

“Today we are proud to welcome the Sikorsky team to Lockheed Martin,” said Marillyn Hewson, Lockheed Martin chairman, president and CEO. “Together, we are even better positioned to provide the best value for our customers, employees and shareholders.”

Lockheed Martin (Stand 1260, Chalet P6) and Sikorsky are already partners on the U.S. Navy’s MH-60R/S Seahawk and VH-92 Presidential Helicopter programs and U.S. Air Force’s Combat Rescue Helicopter. Acquiring Sikorsky further provides Lockheed Martin access to the U.S. Army’s fleet of some 2,100 UH-60 Blackhawks.

Sikorsky, which employs nearly 15,000 people overall, will retain its headquarters in Stratford, Connecticut. Dan Schultz, previously vice president of Lockheed Martin’s ship and aviation systems business line, has been named president of the newly named Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company.

“Dan is a former Marine helicopter pilot and has decades of experience in the rotary-wing segment, including leading Lockheed Martin’s helicopter system integration business,” said Hewson. “He brings a wealth of leadership experience and a deep understanding of our international customer base. I am confident he is the right person to lead Sikorsky at this pivotal time.”

AgustaWestland reaffirmed its commitment to the AW609 civil tiltrotor program in the wake of the October 30 fatal crash of the second prototype in Italy, outside Santhia in Vercelli province, that killed company test pilots Pietro Venanzi and Herb Moran. The company also revealed that the ship was scheduled to perform high-speed testing at the time of the crash.

“We can confirm that during the standard tests before flight, completed shortly ahead of takeoff and performed in full compliance with the inspection plan authorized by the relevant aviation and certification authorities (ENAC and FAA), the aircraft proved fully serviceable,” the company told AIN. “The flight plan included tests at high speed to demonstrate certain capabilities as agreed with the certification authority (FAA) and which had already been successfully performed in previous flights also on aircraft number one. The flight route is approved by the Italian flight regulations for testing prototypes and production aircraft.”

The accident aircraft had logged 567 hours since its first flight in November 2006 and was scheduled to complete its flight-tests by the end of next year. The first prototype first flew in 2003. Two more test aircraft are under construction and the bulk of the flight-test work is being moved to AgustaWestland’s Philadelphia campus. Before the accident, AgustaWestland had hoped to have the AW609 certified by late 2017 and begin customer deliveries in 2018. The company has not released a revised program schedule.

In a prepared statement released November 8, AgustaWestland parent company Finmeccanica reaffirmed its support for the AW609 program and minimized the potential for any program delay. “With regards to the AW609 tiltrotor program, Finmeccanica-AgustaWestland is fully committed to mitigating any delay this tragic accident, and the subsequent investigation, might have on the program itself.”

The investigation into the accident could prove lengthy and complex. Various bodies will be party to the investigation: the Italian National Agency for the Safety of Flight (ANSV); the FAA and the NTSB (the aircraft was registered in the U.S. and operating under U.S. flight rules); the prosecutor’s office of Vercelli, Italy; Italian Civil Aviation Authority ENAC; and the EASA.

Venanzi had been a test pilot with AgustaWestland since 1999 after a career as a test pilot flying both airplanes and helicopters with the Italian Air Force. Moran joined AgustaWestland after working at Bell Helicopter on the BA609, as the AW609 program was known before AgustaWestland took full ownership from Bell. He also worked on the military UH-1Y and AH-1Z programs and had been a pilot in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Venanzi was one of three AgustaWestland test pilots awarded the Society of Experimental Test Pilots Iven C. Kincheloe award last year for his work in conducting autorotations on the AW609.