Farnborough 2008 Show News - July 16, 2008 - (Page 46)

FA R N B O R O U G H 2 0 0 8 Bell to Gauge ARH-70A Build Costs One purpose of the two additional development models of the new ARH-70A Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter, now being built, is to give Bell Helicopter Textron a more precise fix on the cost of producing 512 of the aircraft for the Army, says Bob Kenney, the company’s executive vp and head of government programs. The first four System Development and Demonstration helicopters were hand-built by a highly experienced crew—a relatively fast, but expensive, process, according to Kenney. One had a hard landing, so the flight test program was temporarily reduced to three aircraft. The last two SDD birds, Nos. 5 and 6, are being built on the final production line in Bell’s Army Program Center at the Fort Worth, Texas, Alliance Airport. “Now we’ll get a better idea of what the aircraft will cost in a pristine production environment,” Kenney says. Bell bases the ARH-70A on the commercial Bell 407 helicopter which, “from an airplane point of view was the way to go because our customers have millions of flight hours on the 407,” Kenney says. “It’s very popular.” And the ARH-70A’s armed reconnaissance mission is generally similar to that of the 407 used in civilian law enforcement. But Bell assumed, incorrectly, that the military wasn’t going to re-qualify the airframe for its own duties. “That doesn’t mean the 407’s still not the right machine,” Kenney says. “It’s just that the military can’t accept FAA qualifications. They don’t start from scratch, but they do their unique military qual.” Asked if that hadn’t been made clear to Bell at the outset, Kenney says, “Probably not as well as we should have.” Delays and cost hikes forced a restructuring of the ARH program. Bell submitted its proposal for Lot 1 low rate initial production of 10 aircraft on June 16—a day ahead of schedule, according to Kenney. A Pentagon decision to proceed with LRIP is expected in 2009. The first ARHs are slated to enter service in 2011. Kiowa Warriors, which they will replace, will be phased out in 2020. The U.S. Army is to buy 512 Bell 407-based ARH-70A helicopters. A Short Century Bombardier’s Belfast, Northern Ireland division has its roots in Short Brothers, which was founded in 1908 by Eustace, Horace and Oswald Short. Regarded as the world’s first true aviation manufacturing company, “Shorts” as the company was popularly known, won British rights to manufacture the Wright Flyer. Shorts subsequently gained fame as a manufacturer of seaplanes and flying boats, both military and civil. Its Singapore, Calcutta and Empire “boats” facilitated long-range passenger and airmail services throughout the British Empire, and the first westbound services across the North Atlantic. The heavilyarmed Short Sunderland long-range patrol flying boat proved effective in countering German U-boats during World War II, particularly in defending the “Mid-Atlantic air gap” between Iceland and Greenland during the Battle of the Atlantic. Post-war Shorts designed and built a number of research aircraft, including the S.B.1 vertical takeoff and landing pioneer and ‘swing-wing’ S.B.5, and manufactured under subcontract the English Electric Canberra twinjet bomber and Bristol Britannia turboprop airliner. In the 1960s and ‘70s attention turned to the Belfast military transport for the Royal Air Force, Skyvan light cargo carrier and Shorts 330 and 360 twin turboprop commuter airliners. The last complete aircraft manufactured by the company was the Shorts Tucano, a much-modified version of the Brazilian Embraer turboprop trainer developed for the Royal Air Force. In 1989 Shorts was bought by Bombardier Aerospace, under whose wing it continues to design and manufacture airframes, systems and flight controls. “A century of aircraft innovation is being celebrated with great pride by Bombardier Aerospace, Belfast,” says Guy Hachey, president and CEO, Bombardier Aerospace. Short Brothers held British rights to build the Wright Flyer (top). Next from top is the Calcutta Flying Boat, a bevy of World War II-era Sunderland patrol flying boats, and the Belfast military transport for the Royal Air Force. Shorts was bought by Bombardier in 1989. 46 July 16, 2008 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews

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Bombardier, Shenyang $5 Billion for Composites 787 and Seven V-22s for Export Sale? Saving Fuel at SFO Raytheon Roars Into UAVs Bell Eyes ARH-70A Costs All According to Plan We Fly the PC-12NG Russia’s T-50 PAK-FA Optimistic in Israel ICAO Sim Classifications Pratt to Power New Drone Russian Conglomerate

Farnborough 2008 Show News - July 16, 2008

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