Sat, Jul 31, 2010
Showcases Technology Demonstrator at AirVenture
By Chris Batcheller
The engine installation in the Sikorsky S-300C in the Learning
Center Hangar is far from typical. The typical Lycoming Engine has
been replaced by a single electric motor and two large battery
boxes have been fitted to either side of the helicopter. Crack
prone baffles and leaky hoses have all been removed.
Chris Van Buiten, Director of Sikorsky Innovations said 'our
goal is to instigate the dialog around electric technology', he
continued 'we are looking to tomorrow and 20 years in advance'.
Their motivation is to mature technology, find technology partners
and instigate discussion according to Van Buiten. He commented what
they also want the engineers start to warming up to a whole new
technology.
The team wanted to start with a robust and highly proven
helicopter so they installed a 190 hp electric motor in a Sikorsky
S-300C helicopter. He commented that the horsepower and torque
curves have been programmed to match the Lycoming engine that it
replaced. He directed the engineers, 'During the development
program don't fire a single neuron on the drive system, we want
ever neuron focused on the electrons". That allowed the engineers
to focus on the motor, motor controller, and battery
technology.
The team worked with US Hybrid and Eagle Technology to bring the
hardware together. The helicopter is designed to be transparent to
the pilot. Sikorsky has developed some avionics specific to
electric aircraft to display information on the electric propulsion
system.
The team has also included dual motor controllers. Engineer
Jonathan Hartman noted that one of the goals of the project is to
identify redundancy requirements. Currently the helicopter has two
motor controllers that check each other, triple redundancy in
wiring in battery packs and dual redundancy in the warning system
to the pilot.
The helicopter has yet to fly. The team plans to start tie down
testing where the helicopter is run tied to the ground. The team
plans to complete extensive flight testing starting later this
year.
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