IDEF 2017: Turkey’s first commercial heli unveiled
Turkish Aerospace Industries has unveiled a full-scale mock-up of its T625 helicopter at this year's IDEF exhibition.
10th May 2017 - 15:39 by Grant Turnbull in Istanbul
The 6t helicopter is the first commercial rotorcraft to be completely designed and developed in the country, marking a major step forward in the country's indigenous aerospace design and manufacturing capability.
The company is aiming to conduct the T625's first flight by next year and current schedules indicate that EASA certification will be achieved by 2020, though a TAI spokesperson stressed that date is subject to change.
If the company can meet its aggressive development schedule and achieve certification, the T625 could present stiff competition to the established European helicopter manufacturers such as Leonardo Helicopters and Airbus Helicopters.
Placing itself firmly in the 6t MTOW category means that the T625 will compete directly with the Leonardo Helicopters AW139 and the new H160 from Airbus Helicopters. How this could affect their sales is yet to be determined, but it will be interesting to see how the market dynamic changes with the inclusion of a new, non-European manufacturer.
The T625 is powered by two LHTEC T800-4A turboshaft engines, the same powerplants utilised on the T129 attack helicopter also manufactured by TAI.
Much of the skills and expertise required to design and build a helicopter from scratch has been accrued on the T-129 ATAK programme, which was a cooperation effort with Leonardo. However, the Anglo-Italian company has, for the time being at least, had no involvement in the new helicopter project according to one Leonardo official.
The TAI spokesperson said that plans are underway to eventually utilise a Turkish-made engine for the helicopter. The transmission, rotors and landing gear are all manufactured in Turkey, along with the structural elements and avionics.
A total of 12 passengers can be carried along with two crews. According to technical specifications put forward by TAI, the helicopter will have a max cruise speed of 165 knots (306km/h), a service ceiling of 20,000ft, a 740+km range and an endurance of around 3.8 hours.
The main rotor diameter is 13.2m, and the length of the aircraft when rotors are turning is 15.9m. Height is a little under 13ft.
At the IDEF exhibition, the aircraft was shown in a passenger-carrying configuration with 12 seats in the cabin. Other configurations could include emergency medical services, offshore and VIP.
TAI displayed a mock-up of a VIP cabin at the exhibition, featuring a spacious four-seat cabin configuration.
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