Composite Helicopters International’s new helicopter is billed as having the first monocoque [self-supporting] fuselage fabricated entirely from Carbon-Kevlar composites. Composite Helicopters International Photo


Composite Helicopters International


For Composite Helicopters International, 2015 is all about its composite materials-based rotorcraft. Company Director and Chief Designer Peter Maloney bills their aircraft as “the world’s first helicopter with a monocoque [self-supporting] fuselage fabricated entirely from Carbon-Kevlar composite materials.” According to Maloney, the Carbon-Kevlar fuselage includes the cabin, center section, tail boom, and empennage. The composite helicopter’s composite materials allow its fuselage to be cast using infusion and resin transfer molding processes, without any need for a supporting internal frame. As a result, this helicopter is built from the “outside-in,” starting with the fuselage’s shell, which is rivet and bolt free. The bulkheads and floor panels are put into the fuselage through the cabin doors.


44 February 2015


“This design and construction technique creates a simple and easy way to build a helicopter,” says Maloney. “By replacing the traditional steel tubular or aluminum structure found on other helicopters with a lighter, yet stronger and stiffer structural shell, Composite Helicopters International’s designers were able to incorporate secondary and tertiary crushable structures into their fuselage to provide a high level of energy absorption.” Composite Helicopters will be displaying two composite helicopters at Heli-Expo 2015. One will be configured as an executive five-seat model with an RR300 engine. The other will be a utility six-seat model set up to receive an LTS101 engine.


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