Aug 112022
 

Is it the final key form factor for most of eVTOL?

It is compatible with vertical take-off, vertical landing and fast cruise speed.

It stores the energy far from the cabin and it keeps the propellers above the embarking passengers.

The streamlined twin boom design, may be the answer, holding the lifting propellers and pushing propellers behind the fuselage.

This design is more and more adopted by companies with the most promising capabilities: Volocopter and Airbus in Germany, Beta Technologies in the USA and Autoflight in China.

VoloConnect (screenshot from manufacturer’s page)

CityAirbus NextGen (screenshot from manufacturer’s page)

Beta Technologies Alia-250c (screenshot from manufacturer’s page)
Autoflight Prosperity 1 (screenshot from manufacturer’s page)

Even Honda unveiled a similar design in artist’s view:

Honda eVTOL concept (screenshot from Youtube video)
Sep 082017
 
H145M with heavy cannons

The latest combat aircraft from Airbus Helicopters flies in the german skies.

Following the version for special forces, the heavily armed helicopter is a proud little brother of the Tiger.

H145M with machine gun and rocket launcher

H145M with HMP400 machine gun and FZ231 rocket launcher (C) Airbus Helicopters

H145M enters the growing market of the light attack helicopters, joining the Bell 407, EC635, or MD530.

H145M with heavy cannons

H145M with heavy 20 mm NC621 cannons (C) Blueskyrotor.com

Continue reading »

Jul 232017
 
EAC Whisper

08th April 2017, Friedrichshafen

Friedrichshafen is home of the Zeppelin, on the side of the Constance lake. Every year, the AERO attracts its lot of light aircraft manufacturers and aviation passionates.

While many gliders, small airplanes, drones, and ultra lights were on display, we focused on the helicopters.

Outside display

Mi2 outside

Mi2 outside

Mi2

Mi2

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Jan 032017
 
BK117 in the air

Bad Tölz is home of the winch training center for the german rescue teams. Located close to the Alps in the Southern Bavaria, Germany, the ZSA (Zentrum für Sicherheit und Ausbildung) provides indoor facilities to the mountain recue teams and helicopter crews.

Inside a room of approximately 1500 sqm and a height of 20 meters, two cranes simulate helicopter flights.

The first helicopter is a lucky BK117 that, instead of being scrapped, was shipped from the US back to Germany. It was then dismantled, the structure was kept, with the windows, the doors, and the landing skids. An electric winch was installed on a side. Fans create the downwash, and strobe lights simulate the shadow of the rotor blades hiding the sunlight.

The other aircraft was built by the Austrian company AMST. The BK117 was not sufficient to simulate bigger helicopters such as the Super Puma or NH90. The equipment is similar to the BK117, with small improvements. The winch can be positioned differently, closer to the fuselage, or farther out. The doors can slide to the front or to the back. All this will depend on which type of aircraft you are suppose to be flying.

The aircraft are piloted from the cockpit like real helicopters. Even though the behaviour is not meant to be realistic to the pilot, the platform provide the 6 axes of movement: translation forward and backward, to the sides, up and down, pitch, roll, and yaw.

The simulators are not meant to train the pilots, but the cabin crews: winch operator, rescuer under the hook, or any other personnel who has to be lifted or dropped from a helicopter. The benefits are obvious: training costs drop to a fraction of the flight costs, the flight can be paused at any moment, and even the wind and noise can be silenced in order to practice quietly.

the two aircraft in the hall

The two aircraft in the hall

BK117 in the air

BK117 in the air

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Sep 242016
 

Aiirsource published a video disclosing the ammunition loading by ground crews of the Apache AH64D helicopter.

Apache maintainers use dummy rounds to test the weapons systems on a Boeing AH-64D Apache helicopter. An ammunition handling check is done periodically to check the onboard weapons systems to include the 30mm M230 E1 chain gun, the AGM-114 Hellfire missile and the Hydra 70 rocket.

Apache AH-64D take-off

Apache AH-64D take-off

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Apr 072016
 
VC200 Volocopter first manned flight

E-Volo performed their first flight in Bruchsal, Germany, 30th March 2016 with a pilot on board of their prototype of the Volocopter VC200 (callsign D-MYVC, also named “White Lady”).

The multirotor helicopter maintained a height of 20 to 25 meters above ground.

VC200 Volocopter first manned flight, from the ground

VC200 Volocopter first manned flight, from the ground

 

VC200 Volocopter first manned flight, cockpit view

VC200 Volocopter first manned flight, cockpit view

 

VC200 Volocopter first manned flight

VC200 Volocopter first manned flight

Sep 092015
 

AVIC_Harbin_Aircraft_Z-19E_export (1)

Harbin Aircraft Z-19 E, export version by AVIC

AVIC_Harbin_Aircraft_Z-19E_export (2)

The aircraft is displayed with a wide range of armament: KD-9 air-to-ground missiles, 57 mm rockets, TY-90 air-to-air missiles, and a 23 mm machine gun pod. 90 mm rockets are displayed on the side. However, considering the heavy rocket launcher, it may not be possible for the Z-19E to fly with both the 90 mm rockets and the anti-tank missile launcher.

AVIC_Harbin_Aircraft_Z-19E_export (3) Continue reading »

Jul 082015
 
Bluecopter, preparing the flight

Bluecopter_19

July 07th, 2015. Airbus Helicopters presents its brand new prototype of a modified H135, featuring extremely low noise in flight. A reduction of no less than 10 EPNdB (perceived noise), corresponding to a reduction by 90 percent of the noise of a standard H135 helicopter. (More information on icao.intwikipedia.org/EPNdB, or wikipedia.org/Loudness. To refresh your logarithmic knowledge on the dB, check this.)

The aircraft displays an unusual shape to those familiar with the product family: T-tail horizontal stabilizer, new rotor blades… Continue reading »

Jun 192015
 

Airbus Helicopters, Bell Helicopters, Turkish Aerospace, Russian Helicopters… The 2015 edition of the Paris Air Show was far from being dedicated to the sole helicopters, but several manufacturers were there on the display.

Paris Air Show: mostly planes

Don’t get the wrong idea, Paris Air Show is mostly for planes

The French Army is proud of the NH90 TTH, used in operation in Africa and middle east.

NH90 TTH, French Army (ALAT)

NH90 TTH, French Army (ALAT)

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Dec 222014
 
EC145 T2 ADAC rescue helicopters in flight, in the cabin

November 2014 –

After delivery in September this year, the German rescue company ADAC proceeded with their first rescue winch operations training on the EC145 T2. The training took place in the Alps, southern Bavaria. Several teams enjoyed the large cabin suitable for 10 crew members with their full rescue gear. The aircraft is equipped with a folding rescue winch over the cabin side door.

All ADAC helicopters come with a yellow livery and the callsign “Christoph”. They are famous throughout all Germany, and air traffic controllers do their best to provide them with the fastest and safest flight routes. Continue reading »