I have heard that Honeywell have been working on certification of their D star engine that gave the Falling Star its name
I am assured that it is now an excellent engine and has been flown for many 1000 hrs by Papillon Helicopters. I will be speaking to them but does anybody have first hand experience of this engine now ( dont want to hear of near death experiences with the old one ...) I am told it is 4,000 hr tbo with NO calender life and could be 15 -20% more efficient than the french one . I have heard so many horror stories regarding turbomeca engines lately i hope Eurocopter offer this as an option...without the current engine the 350 would be a great machine to operate and it would be nice not to have the worry of a $400k + bill every time you start it up
ps I know the 350 engine is a great engine when it works ....but i know of a lot that have packed up after less than 1000 TT and you then give them yr beautiful new engine PLUS $400k and get back some old dog thats got 000,s hrs but gone through ohaul...
