BIG Military Contracts Go Boing for Lynn Tilton + MD Helos
Admittedly, your MesaZona blogger finds it hard to describe Patriarch Partners Dominatrix WonderWoman Biz Exec Extraordinaire Lynn Tilton . . . Good news and bad news. After a recent setback in February under her 6-year scrutiny by the SEC, she was all-out last week @ HeliExpo 2017 as The Diva of Distressed Debt in a public relations-blitz, looking for a little love in military contract awards
MD Helicopters Touts Rotorcraft Developments
Curt Epstein March 2017
MD Helicopters CEO Lynn Tilton described the company’s situation as a “good news, bad news story."
Source: Business Jet Traveler “The good news is we are oh so busy, the bad news is we are oh so busy,” she told the crowd
noting that of the more than 50 helicopters the company will build this year, all will have block changes, such as glasscockpits. “We may have been a bit late to the game but we have finally taken every aircraft over into glass and digital, and I think we’ve done it with some gusto,” she said. Tilton credited the company’s military contracts for the transition.
In what is described as a cost-cutting measure, MD Helicopters has taken strides to bring more production in-house, including the single-engine fuselages, construction of which was formerly split between Monterey, Mexico, and Mesa, Arizona. GOOD NEWS FOR MESA All fuselage production has now been returned to Mesa. Tilton claimed that each part manufactured in-house results in savings of 35%, which could be reflected in the helicopters' bottom lines. The company will also soon be bringing training in house, offering specialized programs for police, rescue, military tactical, weapons, night vision goggles, and specialized mechanic training both on premises in Arizona and deliverable on-site.
The company was able to embrace new technology research and development that comes with certifying military aircraft and reinvest into new programs that enabled it to develop programs such as the 6XX single-engine helicopter.
Appearing at this year’s show, Tilton said the unveiling of the aircraft on MD’s booth was “a defining moment” for the company. The company began development of the MD 6XX as a scout attack helicopter, but said it will also pursue certification of a civilian version that would likely have applications as a law enforcement or emergency medical services (EMS) aircraft — and it’s in EMS configuration that the aircraft appeared at the show. Rather than featuring the company’s famous NOTAR anti-torque technology, the MD 6XX has a more traditional four-bladed tail rotor and an extended composite tail boom, which MD claimed will deliver 40 percent more anti-torque power. The use of the tail rotor is also said to provide a reduced noise signature. Its six-bladed main rotor will utilize S411 blades from Helicopter Technology Company. The bonded blades have a three-section airfoil design, said to offer more efficient operation, a reduced noise profile, and better autorotation characteristics. Tilton said she believed the blades would provide a performance boost of about 10%. In the cockpit, the 6XX will feature the Genesys Aerosystems IDU-680 avionics system — the same suite planned for the MD 902 as that aircraft evolves into the MD 969. It will also have boosted flight controls for a reduced pilot workload, digital three-axis autopilot, and will be instrument flight rules capable. The aircraft will be powered by a Rolls-Royce M250-C47E3 engine, and Tilton said it would be fly-by-wire, as well as featuring several types of new technology in development.
These include
a “radar cocoon” akin to the sensing capabilities provided in some automobiles for use in degraded visual environment conditions,
utilizing LIDAR, radar, and camera technology
the capability to deploy and recover drones.
Tilton said her connections to the automotive industry were helping to streamline the development of some of the new technologies in the aircraft. “You can’t be in the [automotive] industry if you’re not building an autonomous vehicle,” she said. “We’ve been able to bring a lot of that technology to the aerospace industry. The cocoon technology that we’re building right now, which is an incredible safety feature, is all done with automotive technology.”In terms of its projected performance, Tilton said the MD 6XX will have a 5,500-pound (2,500-kilogram) maximum gross takeoff weight; a 3,200-pound (1,450-kilogram) useful load; a 500 nautical mile range; a cruise speed of 140 knots with a maximum of 160 knots; and a 20,000-foot ceiling. Tilton said the MD is aiming to have the aircraft available on the market by the end of 2018, but didn’t set a certification timeline for the civilian version.
While Tilton admitted that testing for the upgraded Rolls-Royce C47 E3 is taking longer than expected, she said the 5,500-pound, clean-sheet design is expected to fly by the end of the year, and the company could achieve certification by the end of 2018.
BAD NEWS
Zohar CLO Funds Target Lynn Tilton in $1 Billion Lawsuit
Tilton-created funds accuse founder of ‘fraud, theft and mismanagement’
By Peg BrickleyThe Wall Street Journal Updated Jan. 17, 2017 9:29 a.m. ET
Lynn Tilton is hoping for a little love from the Trump administration. The private equity executive, known as the Diva of Distressed Debt, believes a Republican-led Securities and Exchange Commission will be more reasonable and end her nearly two-year regulatory nightmare.
Admittedly, your MesaZona blogger finds it hard to describe Patriarch Partners Dominatrix WonderWoman Biz Exec Extraordinaire Lynn Tilton . . . Good news and bad news. After a recent setback in February under her 6-year scrutiny by the SEC, she was all-out last week @ HeliExpo 2017 as The Diva of Distressed Debt in a public relations-blitz, looking for a little love in military contract awards
noting that of the more than 50 helicopters the company will build this year, all will have block changes, such as glass cockpits. “We may have been a bit late to the game but we have finally taken every aircraft over into glass and digital, and I think we’ve done it with some gusto,” she said.
Tilton said her connections to the automotive industry were helping to streamline the development of some of the new technologies in the aircraft. “You can’t be in the [automotive] industry if you’re not building an autonomous vehicle,” she said. “We’ve been able to bring a lot of that technology to the aerospace industry. The cocoon technology that we’re building right now, which is an incredible safety feature, is all done with automotive technology.” In terms of its projected performance, Tilton said the MD 6XX will have a 5,500-pound (2,500-kilogram) maximum gross takeoff weight; a 3,200-pound (1,450-kilogram) useful load; a 500 nautical mile range; a cruise speed of 140 knots with a maximum of 160 knots; and a 20,000-foot ceiling. Tilton said the MD is aiming to have the aircraft available on the market by the end of 2018, but didn’t set a certification timeline for the civilian version.
No comments:
Post a Comment