VIDEO FEATURE: COMPOSITE HELICOPTERS

This February at Helicopter Association International’s Heli-Expo 2015 in Orlando, Fla., conference attendees had the opportunity to climb into two mock-up helicopters from Composite Helicopters — a New Zealand-based manufacturer that will be seeking certification for its new, five- to six-seat, light single-engine aircraft.

The company presented two variants at the show: the Rolls-Royce RR300 powered KC630, and the high-performance KC650, powered by the Honeywell LTS101-600A3A. The company’s third variant, the KC640, will be equipped with a Rolls-Royce 250-C20B engine.

All three variants of the unique helicopter are based on the same “EvoStrength” carbon-aramid composite fuselage, and will also feature carbon-fiber main and tail rotor blades. 

“It has an airframe that is six times stronger than your conventional helicopter airframe,” Peter Maloney, Composite Helicopters International CEO, told Vertical.The airframe demonstrated its crashworthiness in a November 2014 flight testing incident, and, at Heli-Expo, the company was also offering a more light-hearted demonstration of the strength of its fuselag

The helicopters will be marketed for a variety of missions, including private and corporate flights with the KC630, and aerial work, law enforcement, and electronic news gathering operations using the high-powered KC650. The company is aiming for initial type certification of the KC630 by the end of 2017, with certification of the KC640 and KC650 to follow.