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On the Record with
Emeric D'arcimoles, Chairman & Ceo, Turbomeca
Turbomeca has come to Asian Aerospace to do
battle -- with GE Aircraft Engines.
The prize is 12 engines for the Singapore Navy's six new utility
helicopters. If Singapore chooses the Eurocopter Super Puma, Turbomeca
is home and dry as it is the only engine on that helicopter. But
if the NH 90 wins, then Singapore can choose between the Rolls-Royce/Turbomeca
RTM322 and the GE T700.
"We cannot afford to lose any market, even if it is for only
one helicopter," Turbomeca chairman and CEO Eric d'Arcimoles
told Show News. To date seven out of eight European countries buying
the NH 90 have chosen the RTM322, but d'Arcimoles is taking nothing
for granted. GE is anxious to score an export win in the NH 90 to
validate Italy's choice of the engine, so the stakes are high.
Asia is important to Turbomeca, especially for the future. It
currently has a fleet of 600 engines in 14 countries in the region
and it sees that multiplying if it can play its trump card-China.
That country has fewer than 150 helicopters outside the military,
and perhaps fewer in camouflage. But exploding need has led to forecasts
of over 10,000 helicopters there within 20 years.
Turbomeca's Arriel 1 was produced under license for the Chinese
Z-9 license-built Dauphin, and is used on the Z-11 Ecureuil. Plans
are now under way to re-engine both with the Arriel 2C and produce
that engine there under license.
"We have a contract with the Chinese for development of the
Z-9, and we were just astonished with the speed with which they
converted it with the Arriel 2C and put the aircraft in flight,"
said Francois Courtot, Turbomeca VP for aero engines. "They
have already put 50 hours on it. And the Z-11 with the Arriel 2C
is nearly ready for flight."
Turbomeca is also working on re-engining the Chinese Z-8 (Super
Frelon) with the Makila 2 "which will bring it a lot of additional
performance," said Courtot. Talks are under way as well on
the twin-engined Chinese Medium Helicopter, or Z-10, for which Pratt
& Whitney Canada has already shipped development engines.
Turbomeca is also fighting P&WC worldwide for every EC 135,
and now every A109 Power, both of which come with a choice of engines.
"We have won two-thirds of the EC 135s ordered to date,"
d'Arcimoles claims, "but Pratt has a two-year head start on
the A109 Power that we have to make up. Our goal is to reach 50%;
we expect to achieve 20% in the first year."
Turbomeca has already won the competition to power up to 40 Agusta
A109 Power helicopters for the South African Air Force, and 20 for
Sweden's special forces. Two significant wins were the recent selection
of the more powerful and yet-to-be-certified Arrius 2B2 by Helicsa
of Spain for six twin-engine EC 135 helicopters, and by the German
Federal Border patrol for 11 EC 135s, marking the first wins over
the PW 206 B2 by the new, more powerful version of the Arrius.
Turbomeca now has 2,000 customers worldwide, with a combined fleet
of some 18,200 engines.
By John Morris
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ARDIDEN
New from Turbomeca is the 1,200-shp Ardiden turboshaft engine
that will initially power the Indian ALH helicopter. It is
also being considered by Eurocopter for future developments
of the Dauphin, and by Agusta for future versions of the AB139.
The Ardiden began as a more powerful version of the TM333
engine optimized for hot-and high performance, but it evolved
to such an extent that Turbomeca decided it is a new powerplant.
It will be co-developed in India by Hindustan Aeronautics
(HAL), and manufactured there for the Indian market as the
Shakti.
HAL's order for 82 TM333 engines still stands, but subsequent
helicopters will receive the Ardiden. "This will certainly
help the prospects for the ALH helicopter in Indian and export
markets," said a Turbomeca spokesman.
He stressed that the Ardiden is a commercial engine, not
a military powerplant (like the rival T800), and is designed
to commercial cost and cost of life ownership criteria that
suit it to operators who have to make money.
Certification is planned for 2005. Turbomeca anticipates
a worldwide market for up to 1,500 Ardidens and Shaktis over
the next 15 years.
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Turbomeca recently delivered the 5,000th Arriel engine, to
power an Ecureuil operated by Rocky Mountain Helicopters in
the U.S. That company has the largest Arriel fleet in North
America, with 34 engines.
Arriel engines have been produced in 28 versions from 640
shp to 980 shp since their launch 24 years ago in the Ecureuil
and Dauphin. The most advanced version, the Arriel 2B1, powers
the light, single-engine EC 130 B4. It features a dual-channel
FADEC with an automatic back-up system to provide engine regulation
without requiring pilot intervention should both FADEC channels
fail.
Arriels power the Eurocopter AS 350 Ecureuil, AS 365N Dauphin
2, EC 155B, BK 117 C-1, Sikorsky S-76C+ and the Agusta A109K2.
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