Fri, Jul 29, 2011
High-End Kit For A 5-6 Place Carbon/Kevlar Helo
By David Juwel
Composite Helicopter, a New Zealand company, introduced their
new kit helicopter at AirVenture this week.
The KC-518 Adventourer kit helicopter is a high-end kit. The
company states that it carries 5-6 people, has 36 cu ft of baggage
space, cruises at 135 kts, carries up to 141 gal. of fuel, and has
a 1450 lb. useful load with a direct operating cost of
approximately $125 ph. The VNE is 160 Kts, it cruises at 135 Kts,
and flies 6-hours with the internal aux tanks. It has 4-rotor
blades and a 4-blade ducted fan tail rotor.
The helicopter has 28 sub-assemblies and the fuselage is made of
carbon/kevlar. The seats are energy absorbing. The large baggage
capacity is accomplished by building in numerous spaces within the
framework of the fuselage. Composite Helicopter states that they
are the first all composite helicopter.
The cost is approximately $395,000 with a Rolls Royce 250
series, T63-700 turbine engine. A quick build kit is an additional
$44,500, for a total of $439,500.
In their written documents the owners try to compare and show
that the KC-518 is better than several different commercial
helicopters. But its not apples to apples. The commercial
helicopters have specifications that are measured and certified.
The KC-518 is still under development and not commercially
certified. While it does have some interesting innovations, and it
could develop into a premier kit, nevertheless, it is still an
experimental kit-built aircraft and subject to those flight
restrictions.
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