Kaman Sees Broader Roles for its K-Max;
Helicopter Flies at Heli-Expo for First Time

Slowing of Asia's economies and a sharp cutback in demand for building lumber in Japan have prompted Kaman to revamp its marketing approach to the K-Max aerial truck.

"We thought we would have opportunities in Malaysia and other parts of Southeast Asia," Steve Daniels, manager for commercial aviation operations at Kaman Aerospace, told Show News. But they have been put on hold until economic conditions improve. The result: a thin year in 1998 for the K-Max, in which only three helicopters were delivered instead of the hoped-for five or six.
So Kaman shifted its focus from logging to a broader role for the K-Max, including power line construction, hauling for the oil industry, and unarmed military applications such as rapid movement of supplies and even mine-hunting, equipped with
a Kaman laser-based Magic Lantern pod. "We are exploring the K-Max as a remote piloted vehicle," said Daniels. In the Magic Lantern trials with the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, the mine-hunting data was transmitted live via telemetry to a remote operatorthe first time this has been done.

In other Marine trials the K-Max took on the role of burro, or mule, ferrying up to 6,000 pounds of provisions at a time from fast, 28-kt boats to scattered pinpoint landing zones on shore. It proved surprisingly stealthy, and showed the possibility of performing this task, too, without a pilot. Kaman also expects to bid soon on a U.S. Navy requirement for replenishing ships at sea.
These efforts show signs of paying off. Talks are beginning with "several" foreign governments, and Kaman is confident it will sell around five of the $3.9 million helicopters this year.

With 26 aircraft completed, the K-Max has racked up some 60,000 hours of operational experience in the four years since it entered service. The high-time aircraftoperated by Kimberly-Clarkhas logged 6,500 hours, and on two notable occasions hauled 40 million pounds of lumber in just 24 days worth of flying hours, and one million pounds in a single day alone.

Three K-Max have been lost in accidents: a training rollover; a pilot-induced fuel shutoff; and a fatal crash in Germany where the log and line remained attached as the pilot responded to a loss of power caused by a mechanical failure of the engine-driven fuel pump. A cockpit warning light is being certified to warn of pressure changes in the twin fuel pumps; meanwhile, their drive splines must be inspected every 50 hours.

"We found no other worn splines in the fleet. This is the only one we aware of," said Daniels.

The second accident occurred when the fuel was switched off as the K-Max climbed in mountainous terrain. It hit the ground at a descent rate of some 6,000 feet per minute, breaking the gear, crushing the structure, and putting the impact-absorbing seat through its first live test. "The pilot walked away," said Daniels. "Not only did he walk away, but he walked several miles for help." He was flying again two weeks later, and the company has since bought a replacement K-Max.

Daniels believes the operating economics of the K-Max make it attractive for many applications, even in the oil industry where prices are at a 12-year low. Kaman no longer claims operating costs half those of its competitors, or gives figures, "because the complete economics picture is much more complicated than that," said Daniels. "But direct operating costs continue to be lower than any other helicopter with comparable lift capability" he said. However, in 680 flight hours of seaborne ship trials with the U.S. Navy, maintenance (including folding the blades, washing the engine, and putting the helicopter into a hangar every day) amounted to only 1.9 man hours per flight hour.

Many operators are coming in below this figure, and Kaman expects it to drop further with recent life extensions to 2,500 hours for the transmission, rotor shaft and rotor towers, and to 3,500 hours for the drive shaft. A phased maintenance plan has also been introduced, which allows progressive inspections instead of a strip-down every 100 hours.

By John Morris