2004: More to come in 2004!

Year 2003 is already over. Prototype #1 is now complete and has been running since November. It already cumulated several hours of flight on the test bench. In early January we will post a video on the website featuring prototype #1. The results are very encouraging and make it possible to carry out the manufacture of prototype # 2 which will fly high in the sky.

Year 2004 is thus announced very promising for the company. Prototype #2 should be ready next March and prototype #3 next July. We intend to begin the sales at the end of the summer 04. We also will be much more present in exhibitions and magazines. We undoubtedly will be at EAA Oshkosh AirVenture 2004 . We will continue to inform you about the project. You were nearly 2000 last month to follow our developments on the website. Thank you for your support and your interest in our beautiful project. We hope that you will be there with us to witness the launching and we wish you a happy year 2004.

The Team of Laflamme Helicopters

Exceptional results for the first ground tests

The first tests with prototype #1 began with the new engine. The helicopter was fixed to the CAD designed test bench to ensure the safety of the pilot. Only the front rotor is being tested for now. But two weeks and 6 inches of snow later, the results are really good.

Réjean Laflamme tests its very new toy
during the second series of tests.

Several strong points arose during the preliminary ground tests. They confirmed the validity of the computer simulations. The rotor and the blades are really smooth. The sound of the composite blades turning at full RPM is astonishing. The blades and the rotor were tested at various collective, cyclic and RPM values.

Patrick Boilard shows us a blade.

On this photograph, one sees the end of the blades which is not painted in order to permit visual inspection of the flexible arm.

Let us recall that the blades were tested and the breaking load obtained was of 140 000 lbf, that is to say nearly 5.25 times the real force. The composites being recognized for their fatigue endurance, the blades offered with a LAF-01 kit are one of the best elements of the aircraft. The tests now continue and prototype #2 is on its way.

Prototype #1 testing

The tests of prototype #1 on test bench began last week. The first series of tests was to check the correct operation of the power plant, the driveshafts, the transfer case and the front transmission.

The tests validated the transfer case, lubrification pumps and transmission concepts. However, the 3.8L FORD V6 Javelin engine which powered the prototype #1 gave up.

The oil pan has been punctured from the inside.

This engine was kept in prototype #1 because it developed enough power for the front rotor. It was more economic to preserve this engine. But after this incident, we thus quickly replaced the FORD engine with a NORTHSTAR engine. In two days, electronics was completely reworked and the engine was installed on its new support in prototype # 1. The tests will then continue with the new engine. The clutch and driveshaft systems will be finished before the testing continues. The tests should thus go on again this week.

Northstar installation in prototype #1

The second prototype intended for the flight tests is doing well. The fuselage is finished and the landing gear is already installed. This landing gear is one of the first components entirely carried out according to FAA certified aviation standards.

The other parts are in manufacturing process and the prototype should be finished for December 2003. The manufacturing of prototype #2 will be done in parallel with the ground tests of the prototype #1 which are used to validate the resistance of the machine components.

The new rotor is installed

As you can see, prototype #1 is near completion for the first tests. The front rotor is assembled and installed as well as the transmission. We are finalizing the controls and blades assembly n order to begin with our first tests.

The tests for prototype #1 will be done on a test bench using only the front rotor to validate the stress on the components. Those tests are necessary to validate the finite element analysis. The tests will take place at the end of October.

Engine testing

A Northstar engine will be installed in prototype #2. This 32-valve multiport fuel injection engine is controlled by an Accel system. The tuning of this engine was done on the testbench using a portable dynamometer. In the following video (17MB), we are testing the cooling system.

Summer News

The making of prototype #1 is going as planned. The new rotor is assembled and the transfer case should be assembled as soon as we get all the parts from various jobbers.

While waiting for parts for prototype #1, we are also working on prototype #2. The later already has numerous improvements such as structural walls and composite reinforcements. Those parts are already installed in the machine.

To conclude, some of our team attended to the 'EEA AirVenture Oshkosh 2003'. The goal of this trip to Oshkosh was to help us plan our presence at this show next year.

The visit of Mr. Prouty

During the last week of May, we were pleased to welcome Mr. Raymond W. Prouty. Mr. Prouty is an aerodynamicist specialized in helicopters who worked with bigger helicopter companies such as Hughes Helicopters, Sikorsky Aircraft, Bell Helicopter, Lockheed and McDonell Douglas. Our R&D team members went through an intensive course on the aerodynamics and the design of helicopters during this week. Mr. Prouty was very kind and generous by helping us to determine the performances of the aircraft theoretically and answered several of our questions.

Mr. Prouty wrote several books of which the famous reference book "Helicopter Performance, Stability and Control". The "Helicopter Aerodynamics" series published under the Rotor&Wing International presses also is very well written and easy to understand. All these books are really a must-have for all those who are interested in helicopter design.

We were honoured to receive Mr. Prouty who taught us more thoroughly the concepts of design and performance. His assistance was very beneficial also for the controls adjustments and for the reduction of instability. It is another forward step for our company towards offering a kit helicopter as good as certified helicopters.

Left to right:

• Jean-Pierre Lapointe Jr. Eng.
• Réjean Laflamme (president)
• M. Raymond W. Prouty
• David Laflamme Jr. Eng.
• André Dubois Eng. (Chief Engineer)
• Enrick Laflamme
  

Blades are almost done

First of all, work continues to go well. We apologize for not having given news recently but we are still finishing the equipment for the manufacturing of the blades and are casting the first parts. It is a colossal work which requires much energy and time.

However, during the next month, we should have great news to announce and the first images of the new blades to present. The quality of our blades will amaze many people. In the near future, we should also give more precision about the sales of the first kits and about the opportunity to become representative for our company around the globe.

Thank you very much for your interest in the project and for keeping informed about our last development. The next months are very promising.

New website traffic record

During March, you were nearly 1500 net surfers from 30 different countries to visit our Web site. It is surprising to see how the traffic on the website climbs each month even though we do not make publicity. Thank you very much for your interest in the project. Your support and your encouragements help us to persevere. We always try to answer all your messages as soon as we can. Do not hesitate to put your questions and to give us your comments.

For now, we are still completing the equipement needed for the manufacturing of the first blades. However, the other parts of the aircraft are all practically finished. We will soon begin the assembly of the first sets. In order to show you the quality of design and production of our parts, here is a picture of two of the most critical parts of the helicopter.

You can see the link on the left. The link is the part of the rotor which supports the blade and which is used to vary the pitch angle. On the right is the trunnion. The trunnion is used to drive and pivot the rotor (tilt bolt). The AN5-14A bolt (5/16in(7.94 mm) diameter and 1-19/32in(40.5 mm) length) gives you an idea of the dimensions of these two parts. They were designed with computers, they have a minimal safety factor of 3 and are manufactured from one of best steels on the market.

The link and the trunnion

The link and trunnion were design from computerized 3D modelisation.

Besides, we want to mention the parution of a very nice article (in French) about the LAF-01 in the March-April 2003 edition of the La Brousse Magazine www.labrousse.org. La Brousse is now distributed in the Aviation Quebec newspaper. The author of the article, Mr Jean-François Bellemare came to visit our installations last automn in company of Mr Gaston Lepage and his R44. Mr Lepage is a well known artist in Quebec and he is passionned by aviation. We thank Mr Bellemare for his very nice article and Mr Lepage for his great generosity.

David Laflamme, Gaston Lepage, Jean-François Bellemare, Réjean Laflamme

The first parts...

This week has been very good for the company which received its first parts of rotor for the prototype # 1. The company expects to receive the other parts within two weeks and carry out the assembly of the new rotor for the end of March.

Another good news, the company produced last week its first complete blade parts (coverings). The quality of the results is exceptional. The company is now ready to carry out official coverings for its first test blades.

In order to accelerate the manufacturing of the tools needed for the production of the other parts of the blade, the company acquired new equipments. Those will also make it possible to accelerate the manufacture of the other parts of the aircraft, such as the swashplate pieces.

Some people asked us why we were still at the development stage while the photograph on the Web site actually shows us a prototype ready to take off. The answer is very simple. The picture on the Web site shows the prototype #1 (1996 version) which then had rigid rotors and blades of 5¾ inches of aerodynamic chord. After the first tests, we decided to change the rigid rotors for semi-rigid ones, which enabled us to decrease the mechanical constraints in the aircraft and to improve the behavior of the machine in hovering as well. The semi-rigid rotor having only 2 blades, we have to establish the blade chord to 9-1/2 inches to have the same load capacity.

We had to remake the tools needed to manufacture the new blades and to design a new rotor. At the same time, we checked all the other principal components using computer-assisted analysis and carried out some small modifications. The new prototype #1 (version 2003) of is thus much improved. All the components were modelled in 3D on computer and were analyzed. This step will help us for the certification in future years. As the LAF-01 will be initially offered in version amateur, it will be an excellent opportunity for impassioned aircraft homebuilders to get a small safe designed helicopter.

As the new rotor is being manufactured, we leave you on a small outline of the final result by showing you images of its modeling on SOLIDWORKS 2003. This new design, although sturdily built, is innovating for the simplicity of its parts and its easy assembling. The rotor as well as the other parts of the machine are designed with a minimal safety factor of 3 in flying conditions of 3G. The rotor is thus very robust, safe, and is designed for hard work. We intend to optimize the rotor by removing excess material a little later, but as the payload of the LAF-01 is rather large, we prefer to begin in a safe way.

Moreover, Laflamme helicopters acquired some other Northstar engines for the next tests. The company is negotiating with General Motors in order to use LS1 and LS6 engines in the future aircrafts. Those engines are more powerful and lighter than the Northstar engines. These are simpler electronically and mechanically too, which should facilitate their use for the homebuilt market.

New Northstar engines