On the Record with

STUART MULLAN, PRESIDENT, ROLLS-ROYCE HELICOPTERS BUSINESS

R-R Roasts of Wide Range of Helo Engines

From jet fighters to Jet Rangers-that's the career path that has brought Stuart Mullan to his first Heli-Expo as president of the worldwide helicopter division of Rolls-Royce.

The company is exhibiting here in strength to push home the message that it is the world's leading producer of helicopter turbine engines, with 28,000 delivered since 1961. Some 20,000 are still in use, powering as many as 50 helicopter types.

"We have the widest product range of any helicopter engine manufacturer," said Mullan, who was previously program manager for the RB199 jet engines in the Panavia Tornado fighter.
Rolls-Royce's big effort here stems from its purchase in 1995 of the Allison Engine Company, which added the Allison Model 250 turboshaft engine to R-R's portfolio. In the last year it has made a concerted effort at integration under the Rolls-Royce banner, and the Allison brand name has been all but dropped.

The engine, however, has not, and there are no plans to replace it.

Mullan said the engine, which powers nearly one-half of the light helicopters in the world, including the Bell 206 and 407, has been substantially upgraded in its reincarnation as the Model 250-C20R/S, or Super R, which will be certified this year.

"The 250 is no longer the product it was when it was introduced-it is not your father's 250," Mullan told Show News. "We're not rushing out to replace what is a very good product, although we floated a trial balloon on that."

Mullan's view of the helicopter world from his Indianapolis headquarters includes rather greater penetration of the U.S. market by Rolls-Royce products. For example, he is pushing to fit the RTM322 engine on the new Sikorsky S-92 Helibus which, because of its Black Hawk transmission heritage, would give Rolls-Royce a chance to displace GE Aircraft Engines on the military Black Hawks.

The RTM322 also powers the British Apache helicopter, and Mullan believes that Allison's strong links with the Department of Defense could open doors to retrofit U.S. Apaches in due course.
Rolls-Royce, through its Allison acquisition, is now a partner with AlliedSignal on the LHTEC T800 turboshaft engine that powers the RAH-66 Comanche, and has been retrofitted into UH-1 Hueys.

"We are now a single company with a single focus," Mullan said. Part of that, he is quick to point out, is to meet customer requirements. The latest manifestation in this area is today's announcement that the turbine time between overhaul on Model 250-C30 and -C47 engines will be increased 12.5% to 2,250 hours in the first quarter of this year, and that Rolls-Royce is working on a new design of the first stage gas producer wheel that will double the life of this component.
Mullan, who assumed his new position only last month, doesn't believe helicopter engines are less demanding than afterburning RB199s. "There might be a slight difference in size,
but the challenges are equally large," Mullan told Show News.

By John Morris