Page 17 - World Airnews Magazine March 2021

HELICOPTERS NEWS

ACCELERATING HELICOPTER HELO RECOVERY EXPECTED

INNOVATION

ewer commercial helicopter
Fdeliveries contributed to 28 - 29 2021
th
th
lower revenue and profit at Bell in

the fourth quarter, parent company SUMMIT - 2021 April BAngAlore
ance for Landing Extension - an electro-op- the data before it is sent to the global Textron reported recently. Commer- indiA

tical, gimbaled camera system that aims to computer on the aircraft,” said Alexandre cial deliveries during the three-month “The Evolution of Smart & Futuristic Airports”

irbus Helicopters has developed support enhanced flight automation. Gierczynski, Flightlab project leader. period totalled 57, compared with 76

Aa fl ying laboratory that could Previous trials had already enabled The HUMS system will also enable owners in the same period a year ago.
help bring new innovations to market automated landings using imaging data. to undertake rotor track and balance without Revenue of (US) $871 million was

three times faster. The next step will involve EAGLE technol- the need for an external device to measure down from (US) $961 million in the TIEr OnE sponsors

Flying since last April, the company’s sin- ogy matured for low-altitude navigation, it. The Flightlab will also be the platform with fourth quarter of 2019, while profit

gle-engine H130 Flightlab has already test- automatically identifying obstacles. which Airbus will test a refined electrical declined by (US)$8 million to (US) $110
ed several so-called technology bricks to A more significant research effort to sup- backup system. It will use a Thales-supplied million. Lower military revenue con-

improve safety and to pave the way for the port urban air mobility activity is planned for 100-kW electric motor powered by a battery tributed to the decline, Textron said.

company’s urban air mobility ambitions. 2022: The installation of a hybrid fly-by-wire developed by Airbus Defence and Space, Backlog was (US) $5.3 billion, com-
“We want to move from ideas to control system will aim to modify the ergo- in what Krysinski has previously called a pared with (US) $6.9 billion a year ago.

flight-testing applications very quickly - this nomics of the flight controls to make flying mild-hybrid architecture, to act as a safety Textron CEO Scott Donnelly said he

is at the heart of the Flightlab. We are work- the aircraft more intuitive, and inceptors will device in the event of an engine failure. expects “solid margin performance”

ing together with other Airbus divisions,” he be fitted to the mechanical control linkages As rotor speed falls, the electric motor will at Bell of about 12.5 percent even

said. “We are integrating partners, start-ups, in the helicopter to provide more authority kick in and give the pilot more time to find with lower military and commercial TIEr TwO sponsors

and that is how we are preparing for the and a level of envelope protection. Airbus somewhere to make a smoother and safer au- revenue and increased investment

future,” said Tomasz Krysinski, Airbus Heli- said the trial will study several combinations torotation landing. The trials will build on flight in research and development related

copters head of research and innovation. of inceptors and control laws to define the testing carried out with an AS350 Ecureuil/ to the US Army’s Future Long-Range

Flightlab is an Airbus-wide research and most optimised configurations. Squirrel/AStar platform in 2011. A later phase Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) and Future

technology initiative. The H130’s equivalent “Several possibilities will be tested on stick will expand the capability of the system, con- Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA)

in the commercial business is the prototype inputs with regards to aircraft response, necting two motors in parallel to the dynamic programmes.

Airbus A340 airliner used for the BLADE such as speed hold and automatic return to system and allowing the aircraft to make 2 “FLRAA, we talked about a little bit, TIEr ThrEE sponsors

laminar-flow-wing experiments. hover,” a company spokesman said. min. of electric flight in a low-power setting. that's going into its phase two of that

So far, the H130 Flightlab has been used The combination of both the flight Krysinski believes that in addition to safe- risk reduction phase,” Donnelly said.

to mature Airbus’ Rotor Strike Alerting control system and EAGLE is designed to re- ty benefits, the hybrid technology, even “So, that's fully ramped. And on the
System (RSAS), which uses lidar sensors duce the workload of the pilot by providing in this early stage of development, could FARA programme, we've actually be-

fitted on each side of the aircraft to provide “full autonomous assistance so that the increase the payload capacity of the light gun component manufacturing and…
detection of obstacles that could present a pilot only needs to make decisions if the helicopter, although the systems them- initial assembly work on the flight test

collision risk to the main or tail rotor. system is failing,” said Nicolas Damiani, selves will come with weight penalties. aircraft to get it ready for flight late

RSAS development flights took place in autonomy expert at Airbus Helicopters. Hybridisation will also be a “lever” for next year.”
December, and the company plans to begin Airbus will also test a new health and usage reducing rotor speeds and reducing noise and Despite lower commercial projec- SuppOrTIng partners
offering the system on its family of light monitoring system (HUMS) technology that could open up a path to hydrogen-based pro- tions for 2021, Donnelly told analysts

helicopters by the middle of this year. it hopes will become cost-effective for use pulsion, Krysinski said. Gierczynski said the he expected to see the beginnings of

To support urban air mobility efforts, the on light helicopters. Until now, the weight of company plans to test a road map of technol- a recovery.

Flightlab has also undertaken flight trials in wiring, systems and black boxes associated ogy on Flightlab through 2024. Some of these “As you know, so much of our com-

conjunction with the French civil aviation with such systems has been too heavy and technologies will be tested in parallel, and mercial helicopter market is interna-

regulator, the DGAC, to gauge the percep- costly to install on light helicopters, but the others in isolation, notably the EBS, he said. tional," he said. "It's just been tough

tion of helicopter sound in urban areas and new lightweight HUMS integrates the analysis “Having a dedicated platform to test to get deals closed here in 2020. So, I

to better understand noise propagation. software into the five sensors that monitor these new technologies brings the future of think we'll start to see that pick back For More Information: Contact

During 2021, Flightlab will be used to fur- the H130’s dynamic systems. flight a step closer and is a clear reflection up again, but it'll leave a little bit of a

ther develop the company’s EAGLE project “The accelerometers in the system will of our priorities at Airbus Helicopters,” said decline in 2021 for commercial orders Shyuj | Tel: +91 77956 77503 | Email: shyuj.k@traiconevents.com

- which stands for Eye for Augmented Guid- feature software [that] will pre-analyse Airbus Helicopters CEO Bruno Even. Q as well.” Q
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