Aerospace Diary

Neelam Mathews Feb 12, 2013 A Eurocopter AS 350 B3 Ecureuil, VT-JKB, with a gimbaled camera at the front, owned by Himalayan Heli Services, also used for aerial filming at the 2012 Formula 1 Airtel Indian Grand Prix, was grounded for flying "dangerously low" at the Kumbh Mela reports BBC Hindi. Police in Allahabad have also   detained a french photographer doing the filming. The private helicopter was cleared to fly over Allahabad by federal aviation authorities, but it had no permission to fly over Sangam - where the rivers meet - to take pictures.It flew so low that boats started shaking an official told BBC. Security helicopters have been flying high over the sprawling grounds to monitor crowds.

Neelam Mathews Oct 4, 2011 Eurocopter says it has successfully tested a hybrid helicopter that combines a turboshaft internal combustion engine with an electric motor - an innovation that opens the way for further enhancements in rotary-wing aircraft safety. The demonstrator helicopter is a production version of Eurocopter’s light single-engine AS350, which has been equipped with a supplementary electric motor. In the event of an engine failure, the electric motor provides power to the rotor, allowing a pilot to control the helicopter very easily during the descent to a safe touchdown. The next step is to bring this concept to maturity and evaluate its implementation on Eurocopter’s series production helicopters Lutz Bertling, Eurocopter President and CEO said: “Hybrid propulsion is an important element of Eurocopter’s innovation roadmap in developing the next generation of helicopters. It offers new opportunities for improvements in safety, along with the potential for reducin...