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UK's next generation Wildcat helicopter completes sea trials
By David Szondy
18:14 February 22, 2012
A Lynx Wildcat helicopter has completed 20 days of sea trials aboard the British frigate HMS Iron Duke in waters off southern England and northern Scotland. It was the latest in a series of trials required before the £16 million state-of-the-art combat aircraft can enter into active service with the British Army and the Royal Navy. The latest tests involved putting the helicopter through tests that involved over 400 day and nighttime take offs and landings from the Iron Duke in the worst weather conditions that could be found to put the mission systems, night-vision equipment and navigation systems through their paces. Read More
Eurocopter is set to build on the success of its X3 demonstrator with plans to introduce an advanced X4 helicopter into service in 2017. Designed to replace the AS365 and EC155 Dauphin medium twin helicopters, Eurocopter is keeping its cards close to its chest in regards to the X4 concept, but has said it will feature a radically different cockpit. Read More
Humpback whales inspire better helicopter rotor blades
By Ben Coxworth
12:59 February 3, 2012
Oh, those humpback whales and their weird fins. First, they inspired more efficient wind turbines. Next, their unique qualities were copied by undersea turbines used to harness tidal flow energy. Now, they’ve led to rotor blades that allow helicopters to be more maneuverable. It all comes down to bumps along their leading edge, known as tubercles. Read More
Griffin HELO TC Assault loaded with firing missiles and Android support
09:51 January 19, 2012
It's another typical day in the office when your co-worker conspicuously begins to play "Ride of the Valkyries" on high volume. Before you can react to the strange shift in tone, you hear the "thwip thwip" sound of a helicopter coming your direction, as if you've stumbled into a cubicle version of Apocalypse Now. Next thing you know, a bright light shines over your cube wall and in your face, blinding you right before you spot two missiles launching straight at you ... which then bounce off your chest since they're made of plastic. You've just become the latest victim of the HELO TC Assault, the newest toy helicopter from Griffin that includes Android support and twin missile launchers. Read More
US Navy developing app-summoned robotic helicopters for Marines
06:44 January 12, 2012
We may be closer to the day when United States Marines will, within a matter of minutes, use a handheld app to summon robotic helicopters to deliver battlefield supplies. On Tuesday, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) announced its five-year, US$98 million Autonomous Aerial Cargo Utility System (AACUS) program, with the specific aim of developing "sensors and control technologies for robotic vertical take-off and landing aircraft." Read More
Cameras and iControlled helicopters take flight from Swann
By Enid Burns
02:22 January 7, 2012
An iPhone app and a camera take flight in the new remote control helicopters from Swann. Three models include i-Fly Micro Lightning, Sky Eye and Black Swan. The i-Fly Micro Lightning lets you control the helicopter via an app for the iPhone, iPod or iPad. The Sky Eye and Black Swann models house a camera capable of taking still and video images. Read More
Unmanned K-MAX helicopter makes first combat cargo flight in Afghanistan
By Darren Quick
14:18 December 28, 2011
The unmanned Kaman K-MAX helicopter has made its first combat resupply mission in Afghanistan. Designed to reduce the reliance on truck convoys that are often targeted by IED (improvised explosive device) strikes when resupplying front-line troops in remote areas and manned aircraft that place their crews in danger, the unmanned aircraft is a modified K-MAX intermeshing rotor helicopter with the ability to lift a payload of over 6,000 pounds (2,721 kg). Read More
AH-64D Apache Combat Helicopter gets upgraded
By Jack Martin
04:11 November 3, 2011
Boeing has now produced more than 1200 of its fearsome US$20 million AH-64 multi-role attack helicopter, but with the first deliveries of the latest AH-64D Apache Block III this week, the capabilities of the 36 year old design have been lifted significantly. The Block III Apache incorporates 26 new technologies, a vastly improved 3,400 shaft horsepower drive system with a split-torque face gear transmission, a new composite main rotor blade, an enhanced digital electronic control unit, better performance and more payload, which effectively equals either more range, or more firepower. Read More
First-ever manned flight of an electric multicopter takes place in Germany
By Ben Coxworth
11:22 November 1, 2011
By now, most readers are probably pretty familiar with quadracopters - small hovering unmanned electric aircraft, which get their lift from a set of four propellers. Well, make the whole thing larger, boost the number of propellers (and accompanying motors) to 16, and you get what German aircraft developer e-volo calls a multicopter. While the company has previously demonstrated unmanned drones, on October 21st it accomplished what it claims is a world first - a manned flight. Read More
Fire Scout UAV makes first biofuel-powered flight
By Gizmag Team
23:05 October 2, 2011
The US Navy has successfully flown its MQ-8B Fire Scout Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) on biofuel. The unmanned helicopter became the Navy's first UAV to use biofuel technology when it took-off on Friday over Webster Field in St. Inigoes, Maryland, running on a blend of JP-5 aviation fuel and plant-based camelina. The Navy says that the use of this blend cuts carbon dioxide output by 75 percent when compared to conventional aviation fuel. Read More
