Members Area
Username:

	AWARDS
	CALENDAR OF EVENTS
	DIRECTORS & OFFICERS
	HISTORY
	JOB OPPORTUNITIES
	KID'S PAGE
	LOCAL CHAPTER MEETINGS
	MEMBERSHIP
	NOVELTIES
	PUBLICATIONS
	VERTICAL FLIGHT FOUNDATION
	WWW LINKS

Archivals for 2003

FLIR Systems, Inc. has entered into an agreement with Max-Viz to act as the exclusive distributor of the Max-Viz Enhanced Vision Systems (EVS) for selected rotary wing applications worldwide. The EVS developed by Max-Viz uses a long-wave, uncooled infrared sensor to generate video-like images displayed on any cockpit video display. It helps prevent controlled flight into terrain (CFIT); approach and landing accidents; and runway incursions in rain, snow, haze, smoke, and darkness.

The Max-Viz EVS provides pilots with increased situational awareness in darkness or visual obscurants. In addition, the system aids in taxi/takeoff operations, and improves operational safety and efficiency. Mounted under the fuselage or on a landing skid, the lightweight sensor provides a 53 by 40 degree field of view.

Under the terms of the agreement with FLIR, Max-Viz maintains executive transport, emergency medical services (EMS) and commercial utility helicopters as its customers.

Northrop Grumman has received an eight-year, $115-million contract from Boeing and SAIC to start integrating the RQ-8B Fire Scount Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) into the US Army's Future Combat System. Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems sector will produce seven RQ-8B Fire Scout air vehicles by the end of 2008. It will also develop the Class IV UAS architecture, perform system tests and evaluations, and help develop future requirements. Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems sector will integrate surveillance, reconnaissance and target acquisition systems on the air vehicles.

As the Class IV UAS, Fire Scout is expected to provide real-time imagery at a 20,000 ft service ceiling, 150 nm from its ground control

station. The RQ-8B air vehicles will have four-blade rotor systems with improved airfoils plus other performance enhancements for more than eight hours endurance with a 130 lb payload. Tests indicate the four-bladed Fire Scout will have a 600 lb payload, twice that of the US Navy's three-bladed RQ-8A. Time on station at 110 nautical miles with a 200 lb payload is doubled.

The four-bladed rotor system also helps the Fire Scout carry multiple payloads simultaneously. The Navy RQ-8A air has flown 13 times carrying the General Atomics Lynx synthetic aperture radar with ground moving target indicator; an electro-optical/ infrared/ laser designator rangefinder; and a communications relay payload. Combined payload weight was 430 lb.

For the Navy Fire Scout, Northrop Grumman defined the optimum sensors, data links, and ground control station. In the Army program, the FCS lead system integrators define for Northrop Grumman the sensors, communications, and a common distributed ground control station for integration.

Both services will benefit from an ongoing weapons integration program. Northrop Grumman engineers have so far completed fit checks and engineering for the installation of two four-shot rocket launchers. The

launchers are designed to fire laser-guided Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System rockets. The company expects to begin a rocket-firing test program in February and March 2004 at China Lake using unguided rockets, followed by guided rockets when available. Northrop Grumman is also planning a Fire Scout weapons test in 2004 with the Viper Strike laser-guided precision munition.

Northrop Grumman has completed deliveries of three RQ-8A Low Rate Initial Production vehicles to the US Navy and is awaiting a decision on RQ-8B development for that service. The company is also proposing the RQ-8B for the UK Watchkeeper program.

The US Coast Guard has completed first-phase full-scale testing of a helicopter-deployed Boat Trap. Dropped by a helicopter crewmember, the pyrotechnically deployed trap opens an x-shaped net in front of a fleeing vessel to foul propellers and disable the boat safely.

The Boat Trap was made for the Coast Guard Research and Development Center in Groton, Connecticut by Foster Miller Inc. under subcontract to Anteon Corp. The 22 in. long, 13-inch diameter cylinder weighs less than 40 lb and requires no aircraft interface.

The trap has been under development for about two years. Phase I tests were conducted at the Coast Guard's Special Mission Training Center at Camp Lejuene, North Carolina from a Eurocopter HH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City, New Jersey. Successful Phase II tests this summer could support a production decision. "We know it works if the boat runs over it," explains Coast Guard Aviation engineer and project manager Lt. Jeffrey Dorwart. "What we're proving now is our ability to accurately place it where we want."

Lockheed Martin announced plans to build the Joint Common Missile (JCM) in Troy, Alabama if selected in March as the winning contractor for the next phase of the program. The competing team of Boeing and Northrop Grumman previously announced plans to build the JCM in Huntsville, Alabama, if selected. Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Arizona also competed in the system definition/risk reduction phase.

The JCM is the next-generation, multi-purpose, air-to-ground precision missile intended to replace the Hellfire, Longbow Hellfire, and Maverick on rotary and fixed-wing aerial platforms, and on ground platforms of the Army's Future Force. A winning team down-select is expected in March aimed at Initial Operational Capability is projected in Fiscal 2009.

The JCM began as a Hellfire missile modernization and grew to include US Army, Navy, and Marine Corps and United Kingdom requirements. With modular hardware and software, the Joint Common Missile will adapt to emerging threats with incremental upgrades. It incorporates a tri-mode seeker and multi-purpose warhead to destroy a diverse range of targets including advanced armored vehicles, missile launchers, and small patrol boats. The first version of the missile will be 7 in. diameter and weigh about 108 lb to fit the Hellfire missile envelope.

The Lockheed Martin JCM candidate builds on the Longbow/Hellfire missile lineage. The design includes imaging infrared, semi-active laser and millimeter wave radar capabilities for active and passive fire-and-forget capability and precision-strike targeting to enhance the survivability of the launching aircraft and minimize collateral damage. The JCM promises rotary wing platforms standoff ranges to out 16 kilometers (10 miles).

Lockheed Martin teamed with General Dynamics-Ordnance and Tactical Systems for the multi-target warhead combining the lethality of a shaped-charge warhead for tanks and the anti-ship capability of a blast fragmentation round. Perkin-Elmer Optoelectronics provides the multi-target warhead fuze.

The Boeing Team includes Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics Ordnance Tactical Systems, and Alliant Techsystems.

The high-fidelity S-70/UH-60 Black Hawk simulator at the FlightSafety International Learning Center in West Palm Beach, Florida has earned FAA Level D certification. Level D civil certification denotes the highest fidelity training device, one equal to the actual aircraft for pilot qualification. FSI uses the simulator to conduct 21-day initial/transition/upgrade and five-day recurrent qualification courses for any version of the Sikorsky S-70.

The advanced flight training device enables pilots to fly missions in adverse weather and on night vision goggles. The five-channel VITAL 9 panoramic visual system provides rotorwash, brownout, and other convincing visual effects in a realistic, textured environment. The six-axis motion base and audio reproduction system accurately simulate the vibration and sound of the real helicopter.

The Florida simulator is already being used by international Black Hawk operators including Jordan, Mexico, Malaysia, Chile, and Colombia. Training proposals are under consideration and talks are underway with the US Army National Guard, Los Angeles County Sheriffs' Department, and other domestic Black Hawk operators. A second Black Hawk flight simulator is being prepared for training at the FSI Daleville Training Center adjacent to Fort Rucker, Alabama and will be used primarily by the US Army.

The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) has ordered136 M3M (GAU-21) .50 caliber machine guns from FN Herstal in Belgium to outfit CH-46, CH-53, H-60, and UH-1 helicopters, and the MV-22 tilt rotor. The pintle-mounted GAU-21 has a rate of fire greater than 1,000 rounds per minute and can use 100-, 300, or 600-round ammunition cans. It can be dismounted for operation by one person within two minutes.

Effective against light armored vehicles, small vessels and light fortifications, the new gun is compatible with Night Vision Device (NVD) targeting, pointing and illuminating laser systems and it will be integrated into the UH-1 Improved Defensive Armament System. Maximum effective range is 1,850 meters.

The contract award followed successful testing on U.S. Marine Corps assault support helicopters by the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab (MCWL) along with Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron-One (MAWTS-1). Further testing and evaluation was conducted by NAVAIR's Defense Suppression Systems program team, who utilized additional feedback from rotary wing test squadron) HX-21 and CH-53 Fleet squadron HMH-461.

Maritime Helicopter Support Company (MHSCo), a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky Aircraft has received a five-year, $417 million contract to provide supply support, spares and repairs for US Navy H-60 helicopters. Under the H-60 Performance-Based Logistics (PBL) program, MHSCo will be paid based on total helicopter flight hours, rather than on the number and type of repairs. "Payment based on flight hours gives MHSCo a direct and clear incentive to help the Navy improve the reliability of the fleet," said Jeff Bantle, vice president of Multi-Mission Solutions for Lockheed Martin Systems Integration - Owego.

Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky formed the limited liability company to provide the Navy with a single-point life-cycle logistics solution for the SH-60B, SH-60F, HH-60H, MH-60S and MH-60R. Under the fixed-price contract from the Naval Inventory Control Point (NAVICP), Philadelphia, MHSCo will procure, repair, overhaul, modify, package, handle, store, and manage configurations and reliability improvements for 540 H-60-unique spare and repair parts. David Adler, senior vice president of Worldwide Customer Service at Sikorsky added, "We expect Performance-Based Logistics to significantly reduce the Navy's cost of ownership while improving overall aircraft readiness." About 70% of the work will be performed by Sikorsky in Stratford, Connecticut and 30% by Lockheed Martin in Owego, New York.

Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, has been awarded a $183,799,999 firm-fixed-price contract for Low Rate Initial Production of three upgraded AH-1Z attack and six UH-1Y utility helicopters. Bell broke ground in December on an expansion of its Amarillo, Texas assembly and integration center to accommodate the H-1 Upgrade work.

US Marine Corps plans call for 100 UH-1Ys remanufactured from UH-1Ns and 180 AH-1Zs remanufactured from AH-1Ws. Both types will be rebuilt around a common drivetrain and dynamics and incorporate a totally new avionics system. The UH-1Y is about 82% new structure and 18% reused. Starting from a newer airframe, the AH-1Z is 40% new and 60% reused. The old aircraft will be torn down at Cherry Point, North Carolina, and recovered items will be shipped in kit form to Bell Amarillo. The first UH-1Y teardown kit is expected Amarillo in late August 2004. New and modified gearboxes, composite main rotor yokes and cuffs, blades, electrical harnesses, and other new items will be fabricated by Bell in Fort Worth and shipped to Amarillo for installation.

The upgraded UH-1 and AH-1 are scheduled for an Operational Evaluation in March 2004. Initial Operational Capability is expected in 2008.

The Bell 407 circumnavigating the earth via the poles crashed December 20 in bad weather on the Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica. Pilot Jennifer Murray suffered a dislocated elbow, and co-pilot Colin Bodill fractured a lumbar vertebrae. Both were rescued by a fixed-wing Twin Otter and flown to a hospital in Punta Arenas, Chile on an IL-76 jet transport.

The crash occurred about a third of the way through the circumpolar mission. A Blue Sky Network on-board flight-tracking system provided rescuers with coordinates of the helicopter within minutes of the crash.

The system transmitted a GPS position report every 60 seconds while the helicopter was in flight and an emergency call with position every 15 seconds after the crash. The unit kept operate for three hours on battery power at the crash site. The helicopter crew also used an Iridium satellite phone to communicate with the emergency team. Despite the end of the mission, the Polar First Challenge team intends to claim a speed record for the flight from New York to the South Pole.

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. has announced its All-American VH-92 Team to bid on the new US Presidential helicopter (VXX). The team includes General Electric for the CT-7-8C engines, Rockwell Collins for cockpit avionics, L3 Communications for Presidential communications and cabin furnishings, Northrop Grumman for Aircraft Survivability Equipment, FlightSafety International for training simulators, and Vought Aircraft Industries for aerostructures. Sikorsky leads the effort as prime system integrator and will provide secure support for the VXX fleet in service with Marine Corps Squadron HMX-1. The Sikorsky VH-3Ds now in HMX-1 service are nearing 100,000-flight-hours in Presidential service.

The US Naval Air Systems Command released the VXX Request For Proposals in December, and the competing VH-92 and US101 teams are expected to reply by February 2. Lockheed Martin has teamed with Agusta Westland and Bell Helicopter on the US101. The winner announced this spring will supply from 8 to 24 helicopters with first deliveries in 2007. Presidential flights would begin in 2008. Both teams see the VXX competition as a doorway to larger US Air Force and Coast Guard orders.

The VH-92 is a derivative of the military H-92 with more high-and-hot power than the commercial S-92. Both VXX teams wish to maximize the US-made content of the highly-visible Presidential helicopter. While the S-92 is the product of an international partnership, Sikorsky calculates the aircraft is already 72% US content by value or 80% by weight. Assigning aerostructures and interiors to US contractors will further enhance domestic content.

General Electric already supplies the CT7-8 turboshafts of the civil S-92 and has been selected to provide the 2,500 shp CT7-8E for the Americanized US101. The CT7-8C under development for the VH-92 is a 3,000 shp class engine expected to begin testing in 2004.

Rockwell Collins is already the Avionics Management System (AMS) supplier for the civil S-92 and military H-92. It is also the developer of the Special Operations Common Avionics Architecture (SOF CAAS) being tested on US Army Special Operations helicopters and to be adapted to the Marine VH-60N executive helicopter.

L-3 Communications Integrated Systems is the prime contractor for the mission communications system on Air Force One and other Presidential fleet aircraft. It provides voice, data, and video distribution systems for other VIP Special Air Mission aircraft.

Northrop Grumman Defensive Systems Division provides the AN/ALQ-24 Nemesis Directed Infrared Countermeasures system on the British Royal Air Force EH101 Merlin HC.3. The company is a major supplier of integrated countermeasures suites.

FlightSafety International is building an advanced S-92 Level D simulator to start training S-92 crews at West Palm Beach, Florida in the second quarter of 2004. The S-92 simulator has a state-of-the-art motion base and five-channel visual system for realistic out-the-window views and simulated weather radar imagery.

Vought Aircraft Industries based in Dallas supplies major structural assemblies for the V-22 tilt rotor and a range of military and commercial fixed-wing aircraft.

The U.S. Army's has certified its ninth AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter battalion combat-ready after the unit completed training at Fort Hood, Texas. The Tigersharks of the 1st Battalion, 229th Aviation Regiment based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, completed eight months of training to qualify on the AH-64D. The unit accumulated some 3,200 flight hours during the training program and completed comprehensive classroom, flight, and field training, including three live-fire exercises.

Following the battalion's deployment with AH-64As to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Tigershark pilots received initial AH-64D training at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Mechanics received AH-64D maintenance training at Fort Eustis, Virginia, before the unit regrouped at Fort Hood for battalion-level training.

The Army fielded its first combat-ready AH-64D Apache Longbow battalion in the United States in 1998. Of the eight U.S. Army Apache Longbow battalions deployed, five are based in the United States and three are overseas. In addition, US-based AH-64Ds deployed to the Middle East in support of Operation Desert Spring, to Afghanistan in the war on terror, and to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

 Lockheed Martin Gets MH-60 Common Cockpit Multi-Year Contract

Lockheed Martin Systems Integration has received a $423 million multi-year contract for common cockpits to outfit new US Navy MH-60R and MH-60S helicopters. The Naval Air Systems Command figures combining four annual buys and a fifth-year option in one contract will save up to $63.9 million.

The new multi-year contract covers 172 Common Cockpit systems with an option for 71 additional systems. It allows for up to 270 systems to equip both aircraft and training devices. With 60 MH-60S helicopters in the fleet, the Common Cockpit system is now in its sixth year of production and has accumulated over 40,000 flight hours including missions flown in Operation Enduring Freedom.

The MH-60R/S Common Cockpit incorporates four 8-by-10 inch NVG-compatible color active matrix liquid crystal displays, the largest integrated cockpit displays in US military service. It also has dual integrated programmable keysets for data entry and mission management; dual prime/backup flight management computers for all flight critical operations; a digital audio management computer for flight communications and sensors; and a dual embedded GPS/inertial navigator.

The MH-60S Knight Hawk replaces the CH-46E Seaknight in fleet squadrons and now serves with HC-3, -5, -6, -8 and -11. Production of 237 MH-60Ss continues through 2011. Two follow-on MH-60S Block Upgrades introduce Organic Airborne Mine Countermeasures and Combat Search And Rescue/Armed Helicopter capability.

The MH-60R Seahawk will replace the SH-60B/F for anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, area surveillance and combat identification, and Naval surface fire support missions. The Romeo-model Seahawk is now in testing at Patuxent River and will achieve Initial Operational Capability in fiscal 2006. MH-60R production is expected to total 254 aircraft.

The Common Cockpit for both aircraft promises the Navy significant life cycle cost savings and a system compatible with new capabilities. In the Armed Helicopter configuration, one of the flight management computers is replaced with a mission computer that provides multiple sensor/weapon data fusion in addition to flight management functions.

TOP