airbus Helicopter H160 (ex : Eurocopter X4)

The H160 will be able to carry 12 passengers to an oil platform 120 nm offshore, complete a missed approach and return to land on the same tank of fuel. Cruise speed will be around 160 kt and maximum takeoff weight will be 5.5-6 metric tons. However, the company believes it can do all of this with a 1-ton lighter empty weight than the AW139 and improve fuel economy and direct operating costs by 15-20%.

“The key to this helicopter is efficiency,” says Aurelie Gensolen, marketing manager for the H160 program. “Like we did with the EC175, we are delivering an aircraft with the same level of performance as the AW189, but with a weight of 1 ton less.”

Most composite materials for the airframe are similar to those found on the military NH90. Airbus expects a reduction in maintenance needs and “maximized occupant safety.” An innovation on the rotor hub is the use of thermoplastics for lower-cost manufacturing, reduced weight and, above all, damage tolerance–a crack will propagate very slowly. Airbus Helicopters designers believe the hub has the greatest thickness ever of a thermoplastic part in aerospace. Conventional rotor hubs are metallic, although other Airbus Helicopter models such as the AStar are equipped with composite hubs, which use glass fiber and thermoset resin. The H160’s hub is made from carbon fiber with a thermoplastic resin.

On February 12, the first prototype airframe was still in the paint shop. It was incomplete, missing its main rotor and engines, among other components. Three prototypes–dubbed PT1, PT2 and PT3–will be joined by a pre-production (PS01) aircraft in flight tests. Gensse will be the test pilot aboard PT1, along with two flight test engineers. An EC155 demonstrator has been helping with development of the Blue Edge blades, the stabilizer and the canted tail rotor and will keep supporting the H160 program.

Airbus Helicopters is also introducing comprehensive new ground-test facilities to facilitate development of the H160. These include a dynamic integration testbed and a system integration testbed–respectively the “dynamic helicopter zero” (DHC0) and the “system helicopter zero” (SHC0).

The goal of DHC0 is to ensure the maturity of dynamic systems. These include the flight control system, rotors, drive shafts, gearboxes, engines, etc. “The more we find with DHC0, the easier the flight tests,” said Gary Clark, head of vehicle test and integration. DHC0 also can be seen as a means for fast testing, as a modification is easier to implement on the testbed than it is on a prototype. It is to start running this month and will also be used during the flight test and certification phases. “The first run of DHC0 is as important as the first flight of PT1,” Fujarski emphasized.

All individual components have already been tested. DHC0 is all about integration, Clark said. The program includes engine controls, acoustics, thermal and maintainability trials, among others.

A critical subassembly of DHC0 is the main gearbox, and Airbus claims to have learned lessons from the EC225’s problems. The H160’s main gearbox is a clean-sheet design with a new approach to lubrication redundancy. Two independent systems run 100 percent of the time. In case the main lubrication system fails, the backup provides enough lubrication for about five hours. The backup system has no cooling circuit, being entirely internal. In case both systems fail, the run-dry capability has already been demonstrated to be greater than 30 minutes. This demonstrated duration is expected to be increased through more trials. The rotation speed of the gears has been reduced, too, thus reducing the thermal build-up rate.

For electric and hydraulic systems, SHC0 runs in parallel to DHC0. It is all about anticipating problems for certification and maturity, said Eric Jansonnie, head of system test. Some components are simulated, such as the engines: for example, electric motors enable the generators to run. SHC0 entered into service in January.

Thanks to the new facility, issues have already been found, such as how two of the systems are integrating. Some design teams that were previously distant have been gathered around SHC0 to foster better cooperation. SHC0 is also an important tool–nearly a flight simulator–for flight deck development.

Another tool is the digital mockup. A notable use is to involve customers in the maintainability aspects. For example, retractable footsteps have been integrated in the side fuselage for easier access to the engines. A virtual mechanic could “test” them, thus pre-validating the design.

The MSG-3 process, already used on the EC175 to optimize the maintenance program, is this time involving customers at an earlier stage. Technical documents will be based on images (still or animated) with accompanying text–as opposed to text with accompanying illustrations. A health and usage monitoring system (HUMS) will be standard on the H160.

Airbus wants the H160 to be “a mature aircraft from day one.” The target is to reach a 95 percent availability rate from the first entry into service, up from the EC175’s 90 percent. Operational availability had already been the focus of many efforts on the EC175 program.

The design of the H160 has not been only about technical details, but style has been fostered, too. Guillaume Chielens, who was formerly employed by the PSA Peugeot Citroën automotive group, heads the style bureau. “A driver was the history of the company, but we’ve also had to show it is a new aircraft and give it a strong identity, which could make it as recognizable as a Dauphin,” Chielens explained.

The nose of the H160 creates a link with the EC175, he added. The black “mask” on the livery was created to contribute to modernity. Some lines could still evolve. Flight tests will help designers choose between various fairings at the rotor hub level, for example.

Debates with the rest of the design engineers have been numerous but common ground could often be found, such as with aerodynamicists, Chielens said. “But we can't measure the added value of style,” he pointed out.

Airbus Helicopters plans to begin taking orders for the H160 next year.

Avec sa future ligne d'assemblage, #Airbus Helicopters compte produire son #H160 en 18 semaines, contre 50 pour le #Dauphin. #aeronautique

— Olivier James (@olivjames) 12 Mai 2015

La maquette taille réelle du tout nouveau #H160 d'#Airbus Helicopters, à Marignane. Pas moins de 68 brevets déposés. pic.twitter.com/uQElGPI7cV

— Olivier James (@olivjames) 12 Mai 2015

Pour son #H160, #Airbus Helicopters va acheter une chaîne s'assemblage clé en main pr l'automne, axée tout numérique (tablette, robot...).

— Olivier James (@olivjames) 12 Mai 2015

A Marignane, dans un coin du hangar K-1 s'active toute une équipe de techniciens, d'ingénieurs et d'ingénieurs d'essais en vol autour de l'appareil qui n'est pas encore équipé de sa tête de rotor et de ses pales.

L'heure est pour l'instant à l'installation progressive de l'instrumentation d'essais nécessaire au suivi et à l'enregistrement des paramètres de vol. Un ingénieur d'essais en vol sera aux côtés du pilote, un second assis derrière eux avec deux écrans où s'afficheront toutes les données requises. Le H160 est le premier appareil chez Airbus Helicopters à bénéficier de "bancs" similaires à ceux qui sont utilisés pour les avions de ligne. Ce qui permet aux équipes de réaliser un important travail préparatoire en amont, validant les calculs du bureau d'études, identifiant les "bugs" éventuels et les modifications à réaliser, si nécessaire.

Admin a écrit:http://www.air-cosmos.com/2015/05/12/34639-airbus-helicopters-derniere-ligne-droite-pour-le-h160
Un extrait

A Marignane, dans un coin du hangar K-1 s'active toute une équipe de techniciens, d'ingénieurs et d'ingénieurs d'essais en vol autour de l'appareil qui n'est pas encore équipé de sa tête de rotor et de ses pales.

Pour le moment donc on reste sur un premier vol avant le Bourget

Admin a écrit:Ce sont des pièces qui sont prévues pour être montées / démontées ?

Disclosing the flight-test progress at a Dubai media briefing held at the H160 mock-up on the static display, Benoit Terral, sales promotion manager for the type, said the velocity was achieved during a slight descent.

Nonetheless, he is confident that Vne “could be just after this limit”. Maximum cruise of the 5.5-6t helicopter is targeted for 160kt.

Terral says the company has so far accumulated some 60h of test flights since the H160’s maiden sortie in June. This has been achieved using the initial flight-test prototype, which is fitted with Pratt & Whitney Canada PW210 engines.

.@AirbusHC second #H160 prototype takes off
https://t.co/uD9Si2HWuS pic.twitter.com/2PieBBZs89

— Airbus Helicopters (@AirbusHC) 27 Janvier 2016

The H160’s second prototype took off today in Marignane, kicking off a busy 2016 for the H160 as it pursues its flight test program with two prototypes.
The second prototype is the first H160 to fly with the Turbomeca Arrano engines. PT1 had accumulated more than 75 hours of flight testing by the end of 2015, allowing the aircraft to open the flight envelope and validating some of the helicopter’s excellent features and outstanding handling qualities right from the start.
“After a very busy year 2015 in terms of flight activities, introducing PT2 is an important step in the H160 development as we will launch performance testing with the Turbomeca Arrano engines.” said Bernard Fujarski, head of the H160 Program. “The development program will benefit from 5 development aircraft; two helicopter zeros and three flying prototypes will be paving the way to entry into service in 2018.” he added.
2016 will be an equally active year for the H160 with the beginning of its commercialization and many other milestones in helicopter development, industrialization and preparation of support activities in order to bring a fully mature helicopter to the market.

Some 250 flight hours have been logged on the type from Airbus Helicopters’ Marignane, France, headquarters. “Performance goals have been met or exceeded,” said Olivier Michalon, head of global sales for the type. Vibration on the prototypes is said to be particularly low. One factor contributing towards this is the optimized height flight-test pilots and engineers have chosen for the main rotor mast.

The engine seems to be contributing to the satisfactory development. Safran Helicopter Engines is confident the 1,100-1,1300 shaft horsepower Arrano 1A will be 100 percent “on specification” at entry into service. “We are on target, or better, for power and fuel burn,” said Maxime Faribault, Safran Helicopter Engines’ executive vice president for OEM sales. Engine certification will happen “six months prior to helicopter certification,” he predicted.

Highlighted in a data sheet on show at the Helitech exhibition in London, the manufacturer gives the H160's maximum take-off weight (MTOW) as 5,670kg (12,500lb). However, it is also listed in an "extended gross weight" configuration of 6,050kg.
Both options are available from day one, with no operational penalties, according to the brochure.
Airbus Helicopters had previously been vague on the H160's MTOW, listing it only as 5.5-6t.
Fast cruise speed is given as 155kt (285km/h), with a range of above 460nm (850km).
So far, the manufacturer has amassed 500h of flight testing with the initial pair of Safran Helicopter Engines Arrano-powered H160s.
The programme's third prototype has now been handed over to Airbus Helicopters' flight-test department in Marignane, France and a maiden sortie looks set for the coming days.
With the entire flight envelope now opened, the remaining development activities will focus on hot weather tests, antennas, and optional equipment, says the airframer.