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First Flight Gallery: Eurocopter All Weather Helicopter
 
All Weather Helicopter
 
Read the original first flight press release:

First Flight of the All-Weather Demonstrator

Marignane, 29.10.2002 -- On 15 October 2002, the All Weather Helicopter (AWH) Demonstrator made its maiden flight from Marignane, with Eurocopter Chief Test Pilot Didier Guerin at the controls, Patrick Bremond as backup pilot, and Frédéric Nourisson as Flight Test Engineer. The successful 50-minute flight confirmed the satisfactory operation of the helicopter's systems, and cleared the way for other flights in the following days.

The demonstrator was an EC 155 B fitted out with:
  • A position-finding system based on GPS and DGPS navigation. The system dialogues with an STNA ground station on the Eurocopter site that provides the differential corrections.
  • A mission computer to manage the 3-dimensional flight plans, to guarantee the safe clearance of the flight plans over the database-stored terrain, and to insure accurate guidance over the flight path with the assistance of a ground collision avoidance function. - Two large screens on the instrument panel to display the AWH-specific piloting symbology, and to show the mission information on a 3D map background.
  • A 4-axis autopilot to allow steep approaches in zero visibility with DGPS guidance.
All these new functions have already been evaluated by simulation. They will now be tested, with the system/crew interfaces, in flight conditions. The goal is to demonstrate their effectiveness in helping the pilot perform zero-visibility, low-altitude flights with the same flexibility as VFR flights.

IMPROVING THE ALL-WEATHER CAPABILITIES OF CIVIL HELICOPTERS

One of the main operating limitations of helicopters today is their inability to fly in adverse conditions with low visibility, by night or in poor meteorological conditions.
There are few IFR equipped helicopters because of the cost of the equipment involved and the constraints imposed by this type of operation compared to its operational advantages. The air regulations applicable to helicopters are identical to those of aircraft; they are quite suitable for the latter but limit significantly the operational flexibility and mobility of helicopters that are capable of high gradient and low speed approaches and must often take-off or land on partially or even totally unprepared ground. The future regulations should even be worse as far as those constraints are concerned.

Furthermore, night take-offs and landings are authorized from regular runways only, even with satisfactory meteorological conditions. The usefulness and cost effectivenes of the helicopter is thus limited from the operators' standpoint for all those reasons

Safetywise, statistics show that a high percentage of accidents are due to human error or obstacle collision (with a wire or the ground), with poor weather conditions as an aggravating factor.

The current technological advances offer solutions - safe and accurate navigation, efficient means of detection, economical deicing - that will help design all weather helicopters. This capability should prove of interest for many operators who will enhance the operation of their machines beyond the cost-effectiveness of the system added to perform new missions.

It must also be pointed out that to be fully efficient the introduction of an all-weather capability on the market will impose changes to the regulations. The diffferent studies and demonstrations to be undertaken will thus be followed by reflections and proposals regarding these changes.

The general objectives of this improvement programme shall be:
  • enhancing flight safety
  • reducing operational minima to extend the operating envelope of helicopters
  • suggesting that helicopter specifics be considered and the all-weather helicopter concept, in particular, with a modification of the current air regulations and their future developments authorizing operation in icing conditions at a reasonable cost
Five main technological themes have been defined to meet the needs of the all-weather helicopter: 1. Allowing for safe and accurate navigation without external visibility to authorize IMC flight (in clouds) down to the area where final approach begins 2. Enhancing the assistance given to the pilot with flight management systems 3. Providing take-off/landing aids reliable enough to allow the pilot follow accurately and safely climb/descent gradients steeper than the current ones, to land on terrains prepared or not with minina less restrictive than those currently applicable 4. Avoiding collisions with fixed or mobile obstacles to authorize flight with poor visibility outside air traffic control zones delineated in IFR regulations while offering an equivalent safety level with autonomous equipments. 5. Authorizing flight in icing conditions at an acceptable cost for the recommended solution to become applicable to medium helicopters.

Eurocopter is a wholly-owned subsidiary of EADS. EADS is a global aerospace and defense leader, and the world's second largest in terms of revenues. EADS maintains a workforce of more than 100,000 and is a market leader in defence technologies, commercial aircraft, helicopters, space, military transport and combat aircraft, as well as related services. Its family of leading brands includes the commercial aircraft maker Airbus; Eurocopter, the world's largest helicopter manufacturer; Astrium, the space company and MBDA, the world's second largest missile company. EADS is also the biggest partner in the Eurofighter consortium and heads the A400M military transport aircraft programme. EADS has more than 70 facilities in France, Germany, Spain and the UK. It is active in markets around the world, including the U.S. and Asia.

 
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