Kaman K-Max
| Kaman K-Max | |
|---|---|
 Helicopter with a Flettner double rotor |
|
| Type: | Transport helicopter |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
December 23, 1991 |
| Production time: |
1999–2003, from 2015 |
| Number of pieces: |
38 (first series) Total 52 and a test cell |
The K-1200 K-Max is a helicopter with a Flettner double rotor (interlocking main rotors with Flettner flaps ) made by the US manufacturer Kaman Aerospace . It has been specially developed for the transport of external loads .
history
The K-Max was specially designed to transport external loads . After the first flight on December 23, 1991, the machine was finally approved in 1994. Due to the high level of specialization, only a few copies were built and production temporarily ended in 2003.
Due to the continued demand for this niche product, Kaman announced in 2015 that it would resume production of the civilian K-Max. The first machine in the new series was delivered in 2017, and there were plans to modernize the avionics.
In mid-2015, an unmanned version of the K-MAX was given the military designation CQ-24A. A version as an Optionally Piloted Vehicle BURRO (Broad Area Unmanned Responsive Resupply Operations) for military replenishment purposes was at an advanced stage of development in 2019. In the field test with two helicopters in Afghanistan, more than 1000 unmanned missions had already been completed.
A remote-controlled application would also be desirable for fire fighting in extreme situations and to extend the uninterrupted operating time.
technology
The particular advantage of the design based on the Flettner double rotor principle is the large payload, which is achieved with a relatively low drive power; with the K-Max this clearly exceeds the empty mass. The result was a single-engine aircraft which, due to its special purpose - flights with large external loads - was designed in a very minimalist manner. The aluminum half-shell fuselage is just wide enough to accommodate the pilot as well as the engine with gearbox and the fuel tank. Co-pilot and passenger seats were dispensed with, as was internal storage space, with the exception of a small overhead locker behind the pilot's seat. This simple construction keeps the empty weight as low as possible, and the pilot has a very good view of the external load on both sides of his cockpit. The fuselage has a rigid three-legged landing gear and a tail boom with horizontal and vertical stabilization surfaces, which are articulated as a pendulum rudder (horizontal stabilization surface) and as a rudder flap for steering support. The rotors meshing in opposite directions each have two rotor blades and are synchronized with a fixed offset of 90 ° via the main gearbox. The angle of attack of the rotor blades is controlled with a Flettner flap on the rear edge of the blades. The rotor blades consist of a shaping, continuous nose spar made of Sitka spruce plywood in the front part and a honeycomb support core in the rear part of the profile and are covered with fiber composite laminate .
As a special feature, there is the option of taking a passenger or crew member with you on a seat attached to the outside of the fuselage (“Personnel Carrying Device System”) for short flights .
commitment
The K-Max is mainly used for heli-logging in areas that are difficult to access, as the recovery of the tree trunks from the air is much gentler on the forests and soils than heavy work equipment on the ground that causes damage in the undergrowth. A similar application focus from more recent times is the quick processing of throwing wood after storm damage in the alpine area in order to prevent bark beetle infestation; After the storm Kyrill in January 2007, several machines of this type were in use in the Bavarian and Austrian Alps.
These machines are also used in Switzerland and Liechtenstein: HB-XHJ crashed in 1999; a machine of the "Eagle Helicopter" in Zweisimmen suffered a total loss during an emergency landing due to technical problems on October 2, 2007 on the Ibergeregg in the Swiss canton of Schwyz . From the last delivery of a machine in December 2019 with the serial number A94-0050, three K-Max are in use across Europe at the “Rotex” in Balzers, Liechtenstein . Another (JA6184) belongs to Kyokuto Boeki (Japan Royal Helicopter) in Japan.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| Overall length with the rotors running | 15.85 m |
| Total height (without load) | 4.14 m |
| Rotor diameter | 2 × 14.73 m each |
| Rotor speed | about 260-270 / min |
| Empty mass | 2300 kg |
| Max. Payload | 3109 kg |
| Max. Load on the hook | 2720 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 5443 kg |
| Top speed | 185 km / h |
| Max. Altitude | 4570 m (in VFR operation) |
| Tank capacity | 865 liters of kerosene |
| Engine | an Avco-Lycoming T5317A-1 shaft turbine |
| power | Max. 1350 SHP (wave PS) |
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Flight Global: Civil demand prompts K-MAX production re-start proposal. Retrieved March 17, 2015 .
- ↑ Production List for Kaman 1200 , update March 2, 2020
- ↑ FlightGlobal: Kaman restarts K-MAX Production on new commercial orders. Retrieved May 11, 2015 .
- ↑ Vertical Mag: Kaman resumes commercial K-MAX helicopter production. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on June 7, 2015 ; accessed on May 11, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Aviation International News, Mark Huber: Kaman Delivering First New-production K-Max . June 9, 2017.
- ↑ Flight Global: Kaman authorizes the second batch of K-Max helicopter production .
- ↑ DoD approves designations : In: AIR International July 2015, p. 19
- ↑ Kaman: K-MAX Unmanned Aircraft System; Optionally Piloted Cargo Lift Helicopter for the Warfighter. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on September 7, 2012 ; Retrieved December 18, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Flight Global: NATO allies expressing interest in OPTIONALLY-manned K-MAX. Retrieved December 18, 2012 .
- ↑ FlightGlobal.com: USMC extends K-Max mission in Afghanistan. Retrieved April 2, 2013 .
- ↑ HAI: Kaman to offer optionally piloted K-Max by 2020 , flightglobal, March 7, 2019
- ↑ Swiss Helicopters Fleetlist , Update 22, March 2020
- ↑ Fleet. In: ROTEX Helicopter AG. Retrieved on December 29, 2019 (Swiss Standard German).
