Originally Posted by
RVDT
Quiet inside and out - conversation was easy in the cabin without headsets and there was very little sound proofing fitted.
Visibility from the cockpit is excellent. Inside to outside balanced 50/50.
Helionix - pretty much proven and across 4 models now and is very intuitive.
Vibration - very low - smooth. We pulled some pretty high loadings and vibration was very low.
Speed - we were full fuel and 5 ~ TAS 150 - set a speed on the AP above 150 and the 4 axis AP dials MCP and it sits there.
Engines - FADEC response is extremely good and fairly radical power changes were demonstrated and the Nr is solid.
Stability - at 150 with all AP's off and no SAS at all it was hardly noticeable. It seems to be naturally fairly stable.
Bi-plane stabiliser - they have finalised the angle that it should be at and the attachment has been cleaned up as opposed to earlier prototypes
Interestingly with this stabiliser arrangement, attitude change is reduced dramatically - the aircraft flies flat all the time. Impressive.
Undercarriage - it is possible to rotate the aircraft on the spot on the ground around roughly the mast axis. Push a pedal and around it goes
Fenestron - the cant makes a difference of ~200 kg in the hover
I was given a tour of the tied down test unit that sits in a large vertical wind tunnel and can be powered up with engines and various dynamic testing can be undertaken.
There is also a large static dummy with all the systems in place attached to a cockpit which looks like a sim with all the systems arranged behind, again for testing.
The production line sits between the Super Puma and 175 line and it is very advanced comparatively.
A lot of input was taken from automotive manufacture. Production time will be very short and may be one of the best features of the aircraft.
All sub-assemblies arrive completely fitted and tested.
Most of the electrics are in the nose and along with the instrumentation, forward air conditioning and most of the avionics goes in the side through the main door by robotic arm in one unit!
Most "options" are standard whether you want it or not or at least the "fixed parts" will be fitted to all as "standard". Air con is standard.
It probably deserves being labelled "next generation" and a credit to the team behind it.
Thanks RVDT. That’s a lot of good first-hand info on what looks like an interesting machine