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Eagle Copters selected to re-engine Bell 412 helicopter
The National Research Council Canada Institute for Aerospace Research (NRC Aerospace-Booth H4/C19c) has contracted with Calgary-based Eagle Copters Ltd. to replace the engines in their Bell 412 HP Advanced Systems Research Aircraft (ASRA) with a Pratt and Whitney PT6T-9 Twin-Pac. The replacement engines have digital engine control instead of a manual engine governor, permitting more carefree operation of the aircraft near engine and torque limits.
For NRC pilots and researchers involved in control law design, the new engines will allow the aircraft to fly more predictably. In addition, the re-engining will allow NRC pilots to take full advantage of the aircraft's fly-by-wire capabilities during research and training activities. Specially configured with on-board research equipment for the development and testing of advanced flight systems and various modern cockpit technologies, NRC's 412 is an integral part of their "finishing school" for helicopter test pilots, a two-week training session on advanced handling qualities for students at training organizations in the UK, the US, France and Canada.
Eagle Copters Ltd. is installing the engines at its Calgary hangar. Once the job is complete, Eagle will hold a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) from Transport Canada, Canada's regulatory body for aviation, which will allow the company to do similar work for other clients in the future and expand the technology for additional foreign validations. NRC's Chief Test Pilot, Rob Erdos, who is a Design Approval Representative (DAR) for Transport Canada, will flight test and complete the necessary certifications for the modified aircraft.
"This project is an excellent example of how NRC Aerospace supports small and medium-size Canadian aerospace companies," said Stewart Baillie, director of the NRC Aerospace Flight Research Laboratory. "NRC Aerospace gets new engines installed in its Bell 412 from a well-respected Canadian supplier, while Eagle Copters Ltd. acquires a new service they can offer to Bell 412 operators around the globe."
The NRC Aerospace Flight Research Laboratory maintains and operates a small fleet of dedicated research aircraft, including a Falcon 20, a Convair 580, a Harvard Mark IV, a T-33, a Twin Otter, a Bell 412, a Bell 205A, a Bell 206 and an Extra 300. Researchers use these aircraft to support projects in the lab's main program areas: flight mechanics, avionics, aircraft recorder technologies and airborne research.
Source: NRC
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