Airbus Helicopters flies Bluecopter demonstrator

[chopper2004]

Airbus Helicopters (http://www.airbushelicopters.com/website/en/press/Eco-friendly-and-eco-efficient-technologies-of-tomorrow-take-to-the-sky-with-Airbus-Helicopters%E2%80%99-Bluecopter-demonstrator_1801.html)

cheers

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g209/longranger/BluecopterDemonstrator_CopyrightAirbusHelicopters2CCharlesAb arr_zpszdfrfjcz.jpg

[Flyting]

During cruise the Bluecopter can be switched to an “eco-mode” by shutting off one engine. The remaining engine operates more efficiently and the fuel consumption is drastically reduced. The “eco mode” is based on an automatic control system that assists the crew and ensures safe operation of the aircraft.

Great idea which I'm sure will benefit many operations. I wander what the height agl limitations are and how long it takes for the shut down engine to come back online?

:D:D:D

[Lonewolf_50]

Great idea which I'm sure will benefit many operations. I wander what the height agl limitations are and how long it takes for the shut down engine to come back online?

:D:D:D At the risk of sounding like a sarcastic jerk ...
of course Airbus engine control integration would never go wrong ...
oh, wait, the tragic A400M incident over on the Mil Forum. :mad:

I sincerely hope that the correct lessons are learned so that this helicopter isn't plagued with such problems.

[DOUBLE BOGEY]

Lonewolf - the risk you took was realised!

[noooby]

The only problem I see is cycles. You're doubling the cycles on one engine each flight. Well, each flight over a certain duration anyway. You wouldn't be shutting one down for a 25 minute Medevac, but on longer offshore flights it could be beneficial. But they need to get engine manufacturers onboard with cycles, otherwise the engine will cycle out way too soon, affecting DOC's!

I wonder if a more commercially realistic approach would be to have one engine at idle? Then it could quickly be brought back online if needed in an emergency.

[212man]

....isn't plagued with such problems

Plagued might be overstating the issue :mad:

[SuperF]

so to save all the associated cycle costs, etc. and too decrease fuel burn and operate more efficiently throughout the entire flight, why don't you just start with...... a single engine helicopter... ;)

what cruise altitude would you need in order to get an engine restarted and making power to save your a$$ if the other engine quits??

[whoknows idont]

When I saw the title I expected the diesel 120. I feel like I read somewhere that first flight was scheduled for summer 15.

[sycamore]

NOOBY,even dates it`s #2,odd dates #1; simples..!
Certification should be fun.....

[Tickle]

I thought it was going to be the Blue Edge quiet rotor blades technology. Maybe they can integrate this with those blades to take a big leap forward.

The T-tail made me instantly think of the Gazelle prototype:

http://www.aatlse.org/coll/helico_top.jpg

[terminus mos]

You wouldn't be shutting one down for a 25 minute Medevac, but on longer offshore flights it could be beneficial.

"Good morning everyone. Now that we are safely offshore and only have 120nm to go to the rig, please don't worry of you hear the engine note change. It just means that for eco purposes, we will be shutting one engine down. Don't worry, we will keep the other one as a spare, it will only take us a couple of minutes of autorotation (a bit like gliding) to re start it. If at any time you notice the rotors slowing down, please adopt the brace position and activate your re breathers. This means that the other engine (the non spare one) has stopped and we didn't react quickly enough so we will be ditching. In the unlikely event of this happening, the landing maybe slightly firmer than normal on the water. Thanks for listening, now sit back and enjoy the flight and we will talk with you in a couple of hours, yes, the aircraft is a little slower when we don't use the spare engine"


What a great idea in the current climate of cost reductions. I will see if we can trial it on the 225 fleet.

[heli1]

It's all done by magic these days Terminus Mos...no pilot needed.....and nothing really new. I remember pilots flying the twin engined Belvedere telling me that an engine failure could be almost unnoticeable,so quickly did the second engine double up on power(they normally ran at half power).

[iuk1963]

well, the idea of switching off one engine and save fuel is not new. The Portuguese have this "procedure" in some missions with the sar helos (Aw101); but off course they have 3 engines in total!..

[vfr440]

IUK, correct :hmm:. But this 'shut one down' idea was floated with the STC for the infamous 206LT (LongRanger with 2 x C20Rs) back in 1995. Didn't get acceptance from FAA, TCA or CAA so can't see EASA buying it, can you? :ugh:

[rugmuncher]

I haven't seen anywhere on the press release or other media to say that the one engine will be "shut down" or "switched off" as has been phrased on here.

I do suspect that the one engine will be more than likely "backed off" and the NH and TQ reduced, thus providing fuel savings, and subsequent spooling up again will be quicker than a full re-start.

Lets wait and see.

[laurenson]

Single engine cruise... It look nice but what is behind this concept, an idle or a full shut down? And is the drag reduction allow to maintained the VBR around 135-140kts on one engine?

[Ian Corrigible]

Single engine cruise for twins (http://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/556804-single-engine-cruise-twins.html)
.....
I/C

[vfr440]

Thanks Ian, fascinating ( I was in the back-of-beyond earlier this year and no I'net to monitor Pprune) :{ VFR

[riff_raff]

They're claiming a 30% reduction in fuel consumption in cruise on one engine, which is nothing to sneeze at. This seems reasonable given the SFC characteristics of turboshaft engines at part load operation. Shutting down one of the engines during cruise will also reduce the number of hours accumulated on each engine.

But there are also the issues of starting a turboshaft engine on short notice. And the increased fatigue placed on the individual gearbox input drives from operating them at higher loads.

[bellblade2014]

Gemini Twinranger and Bell helicopter did this before. Cancelled production for a variety of reasons...acquisition costs were obscene vs a single. DOC and availability were worse than a twin since you were pounding one engine significantly worse than the other. Biggest issue seemed to be how uncompetitive it was to lug around an extra $400K dead weight when you usually only wanted 1. Hard sell... Easy to get "40% reduction in fuel consumption" by removing half of the fuel consumption...

Bell 206LT TwinRanger & Tridair Gemini ST, pictures, technical data, history - Barrie Aircraft Museum (http://barrieaircraft.com/bell-206lt-twinranger-tridair-gemini-st.html)

[Lonewolf_50]

Two points:

1. "singling up" in the two engine helicopters I flew was an emergency procedure. The problems with restart may have been overcome in the last 30 years, so my data point on the fatal mishap where a crew singled up, and when the operating engine gave up and the crew didn't successfully restart ... might be more due to old tech. (The root issue is that the engine still wind mills while flying even if shut off ...)

2. Regarding the A400M recent mishap, one hopes that, as I said, the appropriate lessons will be learned and such things removed from cause/risk factors in other products the company presents for sale.

One hopes.

[chopper2004]

I went to ILA Berlin this week so here are my photos of the Bluecopter,

cheers

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g209/longranger/longranger095/IMG_5418_zpsehnbniy7.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g209/longranger/longranger096/IMG_5435_zpsfagbd1z0.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g209/longranger/longranger095/IMG_5434_zpstrjk3ztt.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g209/longranger/longranger095/IMG_6483_zps00r083qk.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g209/longranger/longranger096/IMG_5440_zpskfc2pfrh.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g209/longranger/longranger096/IMG_5438_zpsfdoxdef5.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g209/longranger/longranger095/IMG_5457_zpsglqoa3u2.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g209/longranger/longranger095/IMG_5425_zpsvgjbjc9j.jpg

[Brilliant Stuff]

Thank you Chopper 2004. Always fascinating to see the 135 prototype.

[Agile]

Why the wavy Fenestron blade technology did not make it to the H160?


Anybody has input on the value of the rotor head being fully profiled?

[whoknows idont]

I heard a conference where two AH test pilots presented the Bluecopter project.
They said the effect of the rotor head fairing was less than expected and does not at all justify the maintenance headaches it creates.
All the other aerodynamical changes seem to lead to much more efficient flight resulting in significantly higher cruise speed compared to the stock 135.

They claimed that it is the quietest helicopter in the world, rated at 91db during approach (compared to 94db on MD Explorer, IIRC). Largely attributed to the main blades and redesigned fenestron.

Apparently the project is still running and they are looking into single engined cruise flight.

[ShyTorque]

I like the idea of the built in parachute.

[Agile]

So that's what the rotor head fairing does, hide the explosive parachute....

[Kulwin Park]

There's nothing to say that they can't MOD that wavy fenestron blades into the H160 at a later stage, as an improvement kit.

[500e]

whoknows idont
"I heard a conference where two AH test pilots presented the Bluecopter project.
They said the effect of the rotor head fairing was less than expected and does not at all justify the maintenance headaches it creates."

Kawasaki\ Hughes did a 500 with the same idea a machine is in a Japanese museum with it on

[riff_raff]

The AH Bluecopter rotor hub is bearingless, so how does the fairing create a "maintenance headache"?

[whoknows idont]

Well, I'm not familiar with the type but I'll take a wild guess that even a bearingless head needs to be inspected from time to time, presumably even during preflight. Also note that while the blades are bearingless, the flight controls are not.

On the other hand the fairing itself probably requires maintenance. They said it was rather complex to adjust the gap below the head fairing. If this is not done properly, the aerodynamical effect might even be negative compared to no fairing at all...

[Lonewolf_50]

The picture shows what looks to me like a hinged vertical stab, at least the upper 2/3's of it. Are there flight control linkages to what looks like a rudder? It's easy to see the gap at the bottom, but harder for me to make out a gap at the top.

[Self loading bear]

The picture shows what looks to me like a hinged vertical stab, at least the upper 2/3's of it. Are there flight control linkages to what looks like a rudder? It's easy to see the gap at the bottom, but harder for me to make out a gap at the top.

Yes definitely a rudder.
But what are those 3 sensors taped with white tape onto the stabiliser?
To difficult to remove for the airshow?

Cheers SLB

[Ian Corrigible]

A presentation titled "Flight Test of the Bluecopter Demonstrator" is included on the schedule (https://secure.whoglue.net/setpadmin/event/default.cfm?EventUUID=EF8133DF-92B2-161F-2C040D2EC6E6FFE7) for the Society of Experimental Test Pilots' 60th Annual Symposium & Banquet in Anaheim in September.

"Transport Category Performance Testing of the AW609 Civil Tiltrotor" is also on the schedule, as is "MV-22B Osprey Shipboard Rolling Takeoff and Landing."

I/C

[SASless]

I thought Bell had considered the "Shut One Down" concept in one of their Light Twins?

How did that turn out?

Of course Old Hands remember the Wessex with two Gnomes....just like the Single Engine Version with the same Engine.

Did commercial operators ever cruise on just One in the Twin Engine Wessex?

I would think AH would be concentrating on a more reliable MGB for its big aircraft and a much less complex fuel system for its light aircraft.

As to the claim of the "Quietest Helicopter in the World"......perhaps currently but not the quietest I bet.

http://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/air-americas-black-helicopter-24960500/?no-ist

[riff_raff]

The real benefit from single engine operation of a twin is the reduction in fuel consumption during cruise. Turboshaft engines give best fuel efficiency when operated at max load, which is not practical with two engines operating at cruise flight conditions.

[SASless]

So why have two engines to begin with?

IFR? We have single engine airplanes flying IFR/IMC everyday in this country...some doing Public Transport (Cessna 208 Caravans for example).

[John Eacott]

Of course Old Hands remember the Wessex with two Gnomes....just like the Single Engine Version with the same Engine.

Did commercial operators ever cruise on just One in the Twin Engine Wessex?

The single engine Wessex (the HAS 1, HAS 3 & HAS31) were powered by the Napier Gazelle turbine, not the Gnome.

& no, the Wessex 60 wasn't cruised on one. Not in Bristow, anyway.

[Ian Corrigible]

Previous threads on the single engine cruise topic:

Ferry flight - single engine debate (http://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/362784-ferry-flight-single-engine-debate.html)
Single engine cruise for twins (http://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/556804-single-engine-cruise-twins.html)

I/C

[Agile]

Going back to the rotor head fairing, I seem to remember in Ray Prouty's book, his recurring argument that thee rotor head aerodynamics is miserable.


was it the amount of induced flow going through it in the center ...
I ashamed to say I have to read the book again.


anybody has a better analysis on that subject?

[klingonbc]

Some time ago now, but I do remember ferrying a Wessex on just one gnome engine. A quick <30 min sortie to recover the downbird to a base location as the engine repair/change could not be effected on site. I think it was a min crew transit as well - probably the only time I flew the fine girl on my own. It was no drama but such a reasoned decision/solution would be frowned on by today's safety/risk culture gurus. Come to think of it, I ended up doing the same several years later with an early mark Lynx. Nowhere near as comfortable - single crew again but had to remove everything that we could including most of the fuel to get her down to a weight that would allow departure.