Enstrom TH 180
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Join Date: Mar 2004
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Most probably several factors, no turbo charger, lighter helicopter, maybe more modern engine with fadec?
Really don't know at the moment could be also fuel consumption in the cruise?
Really don't know at the moment could be also fuel consumption in the cruise?
Fundamentally, its handling, payload and power reserves should make it a good trainer from a flying qualities perspective.
Unfortunately, its likely to be far too expensive to own and operate and despite the new composite front end it still looks like it's straight out of the 1960's which isn't going to help either.
I don't think it can compete with either the R22 on cost or the Guimbal as a updated training platform.
CRAN
Unfortunately, its likely to be far too expensive to own and operate and despite the new composite front end it still looks like it's straight out of the 1960's which isn't going to help either.
I don't think it can compete with either the R22 on cost or the Guimbal as a updated training platform.
CRAN
Helicopter crashes in Menominee neighborhood
A helicopter crashed in the middle of a street in Menominee, Michigan, Friday morning.
The Enstrom helicopter came down in a residential area of 18th Street and 15th Avenue just before 11:30.
Menominee-based Enstrom Helicopter Corporation describes it as an emergency hard landing.
Police say the Enstrom helicopter lost power and hit treetips and a power pole on its way down.
No one on the ground was hurt. The company says the pilot was able to walk away. Witness Joe Bulin tells Action 2 News he saw the pilot walk from the helicopter to an ambulance. Menominee police say the pilot did have some injuries but they didn’t appear life-threatening.
Enstrom says the helicopter was an experimental TH-180 model. Its workers are helping to remove the damaged helicopter and investigate what happened.
Michigan State Police accident investigators were also called, and the FAA was notified, police said.
The Enstrom helicopter came down in a residential area of 18th Street and 15th Avenue just before 11:30.
Menominee-based Enstrom Helicopter Corporation describes it as an emergency hard landing.
Police say the Enstrom helicopter lost power and hit treetips and a power pole on its way down.
No one on the ground was hurt. The company says the pilot was able to walk away. Witness Joe Bulin tells Action 2 News he saw the pilot walk from the helicopter to an ambulance. Menominee police say the pilot did have some injuries but they didn’t appear life-threatening.
Enstrom says the helicopter was an experimental TH-180 model. Its workers are helping to remove the damaged helicopter and investigate what happened.
Michigan State Police accident investigators were also called, and the FAA was notified, police said.
Join Date: Jul 2002
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When testing becomes more testing than it should be......
Enstrom: Flight test instrumentation caused emergency hard landing of TH180
By Sarah Grandy
The TH180 is a new, two-seat training helicopter based on the Enstrom F28F, and powered by a Lycoming IO-390 engine. Enstrom Photo
A mechanical problem with a piece of flight test instrumentation was the cause of an emergency hard landing of the first Enstrom TH180 prototype in February, the manufacturer has revealed.
Originally announced at HAI Heli-Expo 2014, the TH180 is a new, two-seat training helicopter based on the Enstrom F28F, and powered by a Lycoming IO-390 engine. The incident happened during a flight test in Menominee, Michigan, on Feb. 12, 2016.
Enstrom told Vertical the aircraft experienced a mechanical problem with bolts connecting a piece of flight test instrumentation in the helicopter’s main drive system, which disconnected the engine from the drive train.
“It was a piece of flight test equipment, it was not a part of the aircraft design,” said Bill Taylor, chief pilot at Enstrom Helicopter Corporation.
The test pilot performed an autorotation to a paved roadway, where the main rotor struck and chopped down a wooden utility pole; the aircraft then dropped about 15 feet, destroying the main rotor blades. The TH180 skidded 300 feet down the road before resting upright with the skid gear collapsed.
Fortunately, the pilot walked away uninjured. “In our opinion, it speaks well for the crash-worthiness of the aircraft,” said Taylor.
He said the crash set the production schedule back by a month or two, but says the company has adjusted the production schedule to get prototypes two and three ready sooner than originally planned.
Taylor noted the company has not seen any decrease in interest or sales due to this incident. “Our customers seem to understand that it was flight test equipment that gave out, not the aircraft design,” said Taylor. “Given the situation, they seem to be very pleased with the way the aircraft held up. If anything, from what I can tell, this seems to actually have increased their confidence in the product.”
The second prototype is scheduled to be off the production line and flyable within a couple of weeks. Once testing instrumentation is installed, flight tests in the aircraft should begin in about six weeks.
“I think it’s going to be a great trainer. It’ll be very forgiving for both the student and the instructor,” said Taylor. “It’s a great little aircraft. It’s robust, it’s honest, [and] it’s a lot of fun to fly.”
By Sarah Grandy
The TH180 is a new, two-seat training helicopter based on the Enstrom F28F, and powered by a Lycoming IO-390 engine. Enstrom Photo
A mechanical problem with a piece of flight test instrumentation was the cause of an emergency hard landing of the first Enstrom TH180 prototype in February, the manufacturer has revealed.
Originally announced at HAI Heli-Expo 2014, the TH180 is a new, two-seat training helicopter based on the Enstrom F28F, and powered by a Lycoming IO-390 engine. The incident happened during a flight test in Menominee, Michigan, on Feb. 12, 2016.
Enstrom told Vertical the aircraft experienced a mechanical problem with bolts connecting a piece of flight test instrumentation in the helicopter’s main drive system, which disconnected the engine from the drive train.
“It was a piece of flight test equipment, it was not a part of the aircraft design,” said Bill Taylor, chief pilot at Enstrom Helicopter Corporation.
The test pilot performed an autorotation to a paved roadway, where the main rotor struck and chopped down a wooden utility pole; the aircraft then dropped about 15 feet, destroying the main rotor blades. The TH180 skidded 300 feet down the road before resting upright with the skid gear collapsed.
Fortunately, the pilot walked away uninjured. “In our opinion, it speaks well for the crash-worthiness of the aircraft,” said Taylor.
He said the crash set the production schedule back by a month or two, but says the company has adjusted the production schedule to get prototypes two and three ready sooner than originally planned.
Taylor noted the company has not seen any decrease in interest or sales due to this incident. “Our customers seem to understand that it was flight test equipment that gave out, not the aircraft design,” said Taylor. “Given the situation, they seem to be very pleased with the way the aircraft held up. If anything, from what I can tell, this seems to actually have increased their confidence in the product.”
The second prototype is scheduled to be off the production line and flyable within a couple of weeks. Once testing instrumentation is installed, flight tests in the aircraft should begin in about six weeks.
“I think it’s going to be a great trainer. It’ll be very forgiving for both the student and the instructor,” said Taylor. “It’s a great little aircraft. It’s robust, it’s honest, [and] it’s a lot of fun to fly.”
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when asked was it just one bolt that came lose in the test equipment Taylor simply replied with the registration of the aircraft : "Ni both"
(N18OTH, ".... problem with bolts connecting a piece of fli ....", another duplex failure...)
(another good result, one of many demonstrating that power loss is most often not a calamity)
(N18OTH, ".... problem with bolts connecting a piece of fli ....", another duplex failure...)
(another good result, one of many demonstrating that power loss is most often not a calamity)
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Test vehicle 2 in the air !
Enstrom resumes flight testing with second TH180 prototype | Vertical Magazine
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Test vehicle 2 in the air !
Enstrom resumes flight testing with second TH180 prototype | Vertical Magazine
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: USA
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Looking forward to 2017!
Hmm.... From there website, "The TH180 is currently in development and is slated for certification in 2017." and "Enstrom is currently anticipating FAA certification by the end of 2017, with EASA and Transport Canada validation to follow shortly after."
TH180 Trainer « Enstrom Helicopter Corporation
TH180 Trainer « Enstrom Helicopter Corporation
