The new life of the old "Lynx", the Super Lynx 300 helicopter
Aircrafts, including helicopters, are increasingly technologically advanced. Developing a brand-new product requires large capital, long cycle, and high risks, so new products are rare. All countries are focusing on letting old equipment "use its residual heat." An example is the cooperation between the United Kingdom and Italy to improve the "Lynx" helicopter.
The "Lynx" helicopter developed by the British Westland Company made its first flight many years ago, in March 1971, and began to serve in the British Navy and Army in 1976. In addition to the Navy, the British Army is also an important user of the "Lynx" series of helicopters.
As a multi-purpose military helicopter, the "Lynx" has 20 different improved models, with 380 units produced. After the merger of Westland and Italy's Auguste Company, the "Lynx" was significantly improved to adapt to technological development and different customer requirements, and the "Super Lynx 300" helicopter was launched.
In July 2002, the prototype appeared at the Farnborough Air Show in the UK. According to reports, Malaysia has ordered 6 naval models, Thailand has ordered 2, and Oman has ordered 16 multi-mission land models. It is estimated that there will be more buyers.
A new engine with greater power is adopted. The biggest improvement is to replace the original Rolls-Royce "jewel" with the LHTEC CTS800-4N engine jointly developed by Honeywell and Rolls-Royce. (GEM) 42-I turboshaft engine, the power is greatly improved.
This new engine is the civilian version of the T800 engine used by the American stealth helicopter "Comanche". It can guarantee an emergency maximum power of 1210 kilowatts (1620 shaft horsepower) for 30 seconds, which is faster than the original engine. Each unit is increased by about 360 kilowatts, mainly to adapt to the hot weather in North Africa and the Middle East. Commonly used maximum power (unlimited time) is 990 kW (1325 shaft horsepower).
Although the "Comanche" helicopter project has been discontinued, the various high-tech technologies used have gradually been transferred to the upgrade of active equipment. When the atmospheric temperature is 35°C higher than the standard temperature, the helicopter's take-off weight can increase by about 15%, but the normal maximum take-off weight of the helicopter is still stipulated at 5,330 kilograms.
The advantages of this engine are only shown when used in hot weather or on plateaus. Vertical takeoff does not require much weight loss or even the inability to fly.
The volume, weight and air intake of the new engine of the "Super Lynx 300" helicopter are different from those of the "Gem" type. Therefore, the top of the helicopter, the engine room and the reduction gearbox must be redesigned. Special applications Some shielding technologies that reduce infrared radiation from engines and exhaust pipes. The air inlet is equipped with an "automatic particle separation device" to adapt to harsh climate conditions such as dust often encountered in desert areas.
The engine adjustment has been changed from hydromechanical to dual-redundant digital control, allowing parameters such as rotor and engine speed to automatically coordinate. The original "Lynx" used two power control levers and a speed selector. lever to adjust the engine using.
After the exhaust port of the "Super Lynx 300" helicopter is changed to electronic digital adjustment, many functions will be automatically performed, and the engine load will be automatically limited, especially when an engine fails, it will be helpful to the driver. bigger. Now, pilot control of the engines is simply a matter of pointing a knob to one of three selected positions for each engine: park, ground idle, or airborne.
The airborne equipment has been updated, and all major electronic equipment on board have been replaced with successfully developed products. Military mission equipment uses the U.S. military standard 1553 bus, while other equipment still uses the ARINC429 standard, and a digital-to-analog converter for converting digital information and analog information is set up in the system to retain some of the original analog equipment and reduce the workload of modifications. and fees.
The "Super Lynx 300" uses a comprehensive attitude and heading reference system (AHRS) instead of the past attitude system, heading system, horizon, etc. This system is dual redundant and cancels the original vertical gyroscope and compass. Aircraft movement data is transmitted directly from the system to the autopilot and cockpit-related displays.
In addition, many onboard equipment can be selected by the user, especially electronic equipment. There is a disc-shaped radar radome under the nose, which is used to observe the sea surface and can scan 360°.
There are forward-looking infrared and TV cameras scanning the rotating tower above the nose. There are two radar warning receiving antennas on the left and right sides of the nose, and two more on the winglets on both sides of the fuselage.
In addition, the AAQ-24 infrared countermeasure system can be installed according to user requirements to protect the helicopter from infrared missile attacks. If you want to save costs, you can also install the cheaper ALQ-144 system. The latter is improved on the basis of the "signal" system. This type of equipment is configured on the rear fuselage and is mainly used to defend against ground missiles.
The infrared radiation in the front hemisphere of the helicopter is very weak, which can effectively avoid infrared missiles attacking from the front. Looking at the "Super Lynx 300" helicopter from the front, you can see that a lot of equipment has been installed. The navigation system is a GPS inertial integration system (called EGI), but there is an optional Doppler navigation mode. The system can be used in conjunction with radar to provide data for active map displays.
In addition, there is a laser alarm device on the machine, which will send out an alarm signal when it is locked by the other party's laser beam. In order to adapt to the power requirements of the new equipment, each generator was increased from the original 18 kVA to 25 kVA.
"Glass cockpit" replaces the traditional cockpit, and "glass cockpit" has become an inevitable choice for new or improved aircraft. The so-called "glass cockpit" uses multiple displays to replace the original numerous traditional instruments. The cockpit instrument panel of the "Super Lynx 300" helicopter has implemented a "glass cockpit".
There are basically no old instruments on the dashboard of the "Super Lynx 300". There are four 15×10 cm LCD displays directly in front of the pilot. The two on the far left and right are used for comprehensive display of forward-looking infrared, radar, and flight data.
The two inner ones are comprehensive displays for the co-pilot and observer. The upper and lower smaller displays are engine status displays, and the lower one is used for backup and auxiliary display. There are also two navigation control display panels under the instrument panel between the two pilots. The only backup instrument on board is the integrated horizon on the far right side of the instrument panel.
New weapons have been added. The weapons that the "Super Lynx 300" can carry include rocket launchers, depth bombs, 20mm aircraft gun pods, torpedoes and "Seagull" air-to-ship missiles. The Army version is mainly equipped with Raytheon's BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missile. A test launch of Lockheed Martin's AGM-114 Hellfire anti-tank missile is underway.
According to customer requirements, a movable machine gun can also be installed in the hatch on one side of the fuselage. The cross-sectional view of the "Super Lynx 300" helicopter shows that it can carry a variety of weapons. The onboard fire control system software is highly flexible and can be modified according to weapon characteristics, and a plug-in management system is planned to be added. There seems to be no armor protection inside the fuselage, and it can be modified if required.
Overall performance improvement, the entire rotor system of "Super Lynx 300" is basically the same as the original one. Since the engine power has been greatly increased, the ability to adapt to high temperature weather has been significantly improved, and other performance has also been improved to varying degrees.
The maximum sideways and backwards flight speed is limited to 72 kilometers/hour, the maximum steering angular speed is 60° per second to the left and right, and the maximum flight speed that is not allowed to be exceeded is 305 kilometers/hour. , the maximum normal level flight speed is 278 kilometers/hour. The test flight showed that there were no control problems even when the speed reached 337 kilometers/hour.
The stable tilt and circling slope angle is generally limited to 45°, the transitional circling slope angle does not exceed 60°, and the cruising speed is 222 kilometers/hour. When the speed is within 280 kilometers/hour, the pilot feels very slight vibration. Although this type of helicopter is not an armed helicopter for air combat, its maneuverability is sufficient for attacking sea targets and armed reconnaissance.