LTS101 vs Arriel

[droop_snoot]

Hi I know the superDs were not popular with many just wondering if anyone has some anecdotes/opinions re these powerplants??

[Kulwin Park]

I think they're both good, and both have their advantages.

LTS weren't good,but have improved with their Soloy kits, and are cheaper to operate.

Arriel are proven, and have good power.

It all comes down to $$$$

[droop_snoot]

i thought the early 101s had reliability issues, scared off a lot of operators?

something to do with the fuel system?

[Bry78]

The 101 did have some problems early on, which permanently tarnished its reputation. Currently the 101-650 and 101-750 are good engines, and cheaper to operate than the Turbomeca. I mentioned these two models because they're the only two I have experience with, which were in BK117's.
I don't recall having too many problems with them, other than an occasional torque matching problem due to the airflow modulators on them.
The Arriel is also a great engine. Most models do put out more HP than the 101. We flew the Arriel in our BK117 C-1's as well as in all of our Dauphins. I don't recall too many major problems with them. The only reoccuring item that I remember is that everytime the aircraft (Dauphin) sat in the hangar for a month or two during an inspection, the start-drain valves would leak like a siv on our first runs. No problem though, we just changed them, and that wasn't Turbomeca's fault anyway.
The Arriel is also a true modular engine, so with a trained mech and a few tools it's pretty easy to do a lot of in-house maintenence on them.
All in all I think they're both great engines. It all depends on what the operator needs out of the aircraft, direct operating cost, etc.

[S92mech]

I've never worked on the 101's, but from what I hear from the side of our company that does operate them (a couple of BK's and 222's) is that they are much improved from the early models. The Arriel is a great engine until it comes time to overhaul, then it gets very expensive and parts from Turbomeca are hard to come by. With the US military changing engines in the HH-65 and now buying EC-145's, Turbomeca is pushed to the limit in providing parts and modules. We have had problems with sulfidation and power turbine erossion in our 2S1's and I don't know of any that are making it to scheduled changes. We usually run into low power problems well before life limits.