Composite Helicopters International (CHI) has announced that it began tethered testing new carbon-fiber main rotor blades on May 8 at its North Shore Airfield facility in New Zealand after 18 months of design, development and prototype testing.
A total of three main rotor blades were structurally tested with Auckland University’s Faculty of Engineering. First flight of the new carbon-fiber main rotor blades on a KC 518 Adventourer was conducted on May 15. Prior to flight testing, the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority’s Aircraft Certification Office completed an audit of the helicopter for the issue of a Special – Experimental Airworthiness Certificate to allow the flight testing to commence.
Peter Maloney, CHI CEO, said that CHI had always intended that the composite helicopter would be made available with carbon-fiber main and tail rotor blades. “We chose to use an aluminium 8-inch-chord main rotor blade on prototype helicopter serial number 001 in order to reduce our initial build-to-flight time because we knew the R & D effort in developing carbon-fiber MRBs was not a small undertaking and we did not want to delay overall progress of the composite helicopter program,” he explained.
“The design and development of the carbon-fiber blades is a real testament to the skill and expertise of our small design team and fabrication engineers,” he continued. “New Zealand is a world leader in composite technology and without this expertise in both design and fabrication this part of our project would not have been possible.”
The carbon-fiber main rotor blades have been demonstrated during testing to be more than twice as strong as conventional main rotor blades of a similar size. The choice of airfoil shape, blade twist and a 9-1/2-inch chord was recommended to CHI by a very respected helicopter design expert and author.
"CHI has kept a low profile over the last 12 months whilst the new carbon-fiber main rotor blades were being developed and tested. We did not want to be ‘all talk and no show,’ especially with such an important part. These have been busy times,” Maloney said.
CHI had begun ground testing helicopter Sn 003 ZK-HOL in late December in preparation for the new rotor blades. “We had also taken this window of opportunity to refine and test our Gen 1.5 dynamic components, add enhanced safety features, modularize the electrical system and to define our glass cockpit options,” Maloney said. “We are now looking forward to developing our customer base and new commercial opportunities.”
A total of three main rotor blades were structurally tested with Auckland University’s Faculty of Engineering. First flight of the new carbon-fiber main rotor blades on a KC 518 Adventourer was conducted on May 15. Prior to flight testing, the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority’s Aircraft Certification Office completed an audit of the helicopter for the issue of a Special – Experimental Airworthiness Certificate to allow the flight testing to commence.
Peter Maloney, CHI CEO, said that CHI had always intended that the composite helicopter would be made available with carbon-fiber main and tail rotor blades. “We chose to use an aluminium 8-inch-chord main rotor blade on prototype helicopter serial number 001 in order to reduce our initial build-to-flight time because we knew the R & D effort in developing carbon-fiber MRBs was not a small undertaking and we did not want to delay overall progress of the composite helicopter program,” he explained.
“The design and development of the carbon-fiber blades is a real testament to the skill and expertise of our small design team and fabrication engineers,” he continued. “New Zealand is a world leader in composite technology and without this expertise in both design and fabrication this part of our project would not have been possible.”
The carbon-fiber main rotor blades have been demonstrated during testing to be more than twice as strong as conventional main rotor blades of a similar size. The choice of airfoil shape, blade twist and a 9-1/2-inch chord was recommended to CHI by a very respected helicopter design expert and author.
"CHI has kept a low profile over the last 12 months whilst the new carbon-fiber main rotor blades were being developed and tested. We did not want to be ‘all talk and no show,’ especially with such an important part. These have been busy times,” Maloney said.
CHI had begun ground testing helicopter Sn 003 ZK-HOL in late December in preparation for the new rotor blades. “We had also taken this window of opportunity to refine and test our Gen 1.5 dynamic components, add enhanced safety features, modularize the electrical system and to define our glass cockpit options,” Maloney said. “We are now looking forward to developing our customer base and new commercial opportunities.”
However ... the helicopter itself looks like a (failed) Gazelle replica to me!
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