AlliedSignal Wins AB 139 Electrics, Offers New Recorders, Other Products

AlliedSignal said here that it's to supply the electrical power generation and distribution system for the Bell/Agusta AB 139, an all-new medium twin being kept under tight wraps by its Italian/American developers.

AlliedSignal also talked up products ranging from lightweight flight recorders to new engine enhancement hardware here. And the company issued a majorand for the most part positivestudy on helicopter market prospects for the coming half decade.

The AB 139 system is the first complete, integrated power system AlliedSignal has ever supplied for a helicopter. Based on anticipated AB 139 sales, the program could be worth as much as $50 million to AlliedSignal.

"More and more, our customers are looking for total, integrated power systems rather than system components," said AlliedSignal's George Nguyen, vice president/general manager for power and generation.

AS for the bigger picture, AlliedSignal, which says it's the world's largest supplier of equipment to the aviation industry, predicted sales of 2,350 new civil turbine helicopters for the 1999-2003 period, an upswing of 10% over the five-year period just concluded.

"We're going to continue to see sustained strong demand," AlliedSignal Engines helicopter programs director Chris Hickey said here Saturday.

AlliedSignal is offering a bevy of new products aimed at supporting the prospering helicopter sector.

• IntelliStart Plus, a device to prevent hot starts and gather operating data aimed initially at the Rolls-Royce Series 250 engines with variants for the Pratt & Whitney PT6T and Lycoming LT101 to follow;

• New, compact, lightweight AR Series cockpit voice and data recorders for Bell 212, 222 and 430, and Eurocopter helicopters, said to be about half the weight and to occupy a third to half the space of previous devices;

• LTS101 engine performance upgrade kits for operators of AS350D and BK117 helicopters; and

• An extension of LTS101 inspection intervals from 1200 to 1800 hours.

By Rich Piellisch