Bell 206 gets newly developed RR500 engine

Bell Helicopter and Rolls-Royce announced the selection of Uniflight LLC to develop, manufacture and market an upgrade kit that will enable retrofit of the Bell 206B/L fielded fleet with the Rolls- Royce newly developed RR500 engine.

“Bell Helicopter remains focused on supporting our legacy fleet of helicopters,” said R Danny Maldonado, Senior Vice President Customer Support and Chief Services Officer. “We have invested significant resources and funding into developing a comprehensive product strategy for our legacy aircraft.” Bell Helicopter’s legacy support strategy includes initiatives designed to enhance mission capabilities and increase overall productivity, including product development, retrofits, modifications, upgrades and obsolescence management.

This engine upgrade is just one of many steps that Bell Helicopter will be undertaking to accomplish this objective with respect to its legacy 206 fleet. “For many years the Bell 206 was the industry standard in the light helicopter class. It has a loyal following and continues to bring superior value to civil and paramilitary missions across the globe,” said Joe Hawke, President and Chief Executive Officer, Uniflight.

“We are pleased to team with Bell Helicopter and Rolls-Royce to develop a cost effective, performance-enhancing upgrade kit for the 206 community.” The RR500 engine provides 206 operators with higher performance capabilities and lower direct operating costs.

“At Rolls-Royce we are committed to investing in core technologies that can be used multiple times across a family of engines and create new market opportunities. Installing the RR500 turboshaft engine on the 206 is an important step forward for our business, offering operators more power and takeoff capabilities in hot-high conditions,” said Chris Fultz, Rolls-Royce Programme Director for the RR500.

The upgrade kit will be certified by Uniflight through the Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) process. Formal agreements are currently under negotiation and further announcements will be forthcoming.

“Industry alliances, such as the one with Uniflight and Rolls-Royce, will play a large role in Bell Helicopter’s legacy support strategy,” said Maldonado. “We look forward to working with both Rolls-Royce and Uniflight as the STC approval process develops over the next 12 to 24 months.

”Uniflight is a long-time platinum-level Bell Helicopter authorized customer service facility based in North Texas, servicing Bell models 205, 206A, B and L series, 212, 222, 230, 407, 412, 430, UH-1H, UH-1H II and OH-58. More than four thousand 206-series helicopters have been produced since its inception in 1965. The last 206B JetRanger was delivered in December 2010. The Bell 206L LongRanger remains in production.

IMPERIAL Holdings endorses NAC announcements

Strategy Director, Tak Hiemstra shared the following:

“NAC’s delivery of the Robinson R66 is a clear indication of the company’s commitment to securing the finest new products in the industry for its customers. Added to this, Beechcraft’s decision to extend its Service Centre Agreement is an indication of the expertise, professionalism and knowledge provided by NAC. The company’s exceptional service levels are also endorsed with NAC’s appointment as exclusive Flight Options and Netjets resale representative in Africa. Its appointment as the sole African sales representative for the Quest Kodiak and Nextant Aerospace serves as ratification of the company’s high standing and capability within the aviation industry. As a 62 percent shareholder of the company, Imperial Holdings is fully supportive of NAC’s strategy and is exceptionally proud to be associated with this professional aviation company, which offers a range of the best new and used products in the industry. NAC’s outstanding reputation, capability and experience are clearly evident through its strong relationships and the key supply contracts it has secured across the industry.”

About IMPERIAL Holdings

IMPERIAL is a diversified industrial services and retail group with activities spanning logistics, car rental and tourism, distributorships, automotive retail and related financial services. IMPERIAL operates in South Africa, Africa, Europe and Australia. IMPERIAL is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and is run on a decentralised management structure that actively encourages entrepreneurship, innovation and best practice. The company employs around 34 500 people, who are responsible for the growth and continued success of the group that began as a motor dealership in downtown Johannesburg in 1948.

Key facts

• 419 million kilometres travelled by Southern African transport fleet last year

• 5 500 trucks in logistics fleet

• 500 barges in Germany, transporting 50 million tons per annum

• One in six vehicles sold in South Africa through IMPERIAL

• One in every three car rental transactions in South Africa through IMPERIAL

• Supplier of all team buses to 2010 FIFA World Cup and other major sporting events

• Imperial’s Tourism division recently won the exclusive hospitality programme agency in South Africa for 2014 FIFA World Cup BrazilTM and the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.

NAC develops local modification

Beginning in October last year, the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) required Supplementary Type Certificates (STCs) for any major avionics installation into a pressurized aircraft.

Due to the unavailability of suitable HF STCs for Embraer-120s, NAC Avionics, together with the NAC Sheet Metal department and Aerostruct, undertook a project to develop a local modification that led to the approval of KHF-1050 installations into three Embraer 120s. The modification falls within the SACAA engineering and certification review and, if approved by this body, NAC Avionics will be issued with an STC which can then be re-used and made available to other operators that might require the use of this STC.

One major element of the design was to enable field installation of the system with minimal downtime of the aircraft.

This was accomplished by the design of an equipment tray that can be pre-manufactured as a module, together with equipment trays and wiring attached. Field installation is a simple matter of mounting the shelf, running the wiring loom to the flightdeck and mounting the antenna in a matter of only three days downtime.

The KHF-1050 is a solid-state, high frequency, long-distance voice and data communication system made by Honeywell. The system is composed of four units, which function as follows:

• KRX1053 receiver/exciter to receive and transmit low-level signals

• KPA1052 power amplifier to amplify the low-level signal from the KRX1053

• KAC1052 antenna coupler to match the various impedances of the antenna to the 50ohm output of the transmitter

• Last but not least, the PS440 CDU (Control Display Unit) mounted in the cockpit that allows the pilot to select the frequency and mode of operation of the system and displays that information to the pilot.