New Products Unveiled At Heli-Expo
The first civilian tiltrotor aircraft is now in development and could reach the market by 2017, officials from AgustaWestland announced at Helicopter Association International’s Heli-Expo held in Orlando, Florida, in March. The nine-passenger aircraft will be capable of vertical take-offs and landings, and the engines will then swivel for level flight at speeds up to 250 knots. Airbus Helicopters presented its new clean-sheet medium-class rotorcraft design, the H160, which features the biggest-ever shrouded tail rotor and an all-new “biplane stabilizer” design that the company says will enhance stability. Bell Helicopter also introduced a new model, the 407GXP, an upgrade of its popular 407GX with new Rolls-Royce engines.
NASA At Work On Electric Power For GA
NASA engineers in California are now testing a 31-foot-long airplane wing fitted with 18 small electric motors and propellers, and plan to test the technology on a Tecnam P2006T within the next two years. The project is called LEAPTech, for Leading Edge Asynchronous Propeller Technology. The investigators aim to show that by designing the wing and the engines as an integrated unit, a small airplane can be more efficient and safer. NASA said the project is a key element in its plan to help a significant portion of the aircraft industry transition to electric propulsion within the next decade. Partners in the project include two California companies, Empirical Systems Aerospace (ES Aero) in Pismo Beach, and Joby Aviation, in Santa Cruz.
