THE LHTEC T800-LHT-800 ENGINE INTEGRATION INTO THE AGUSTA A129 HELICOPTER

Agusta and the Light Helicopter Turbine Engine Company (LHTEC, a partnership between Allison and Garrett turbine engine companies) joined together to install the T800-LHT-800 engine into the A129 aircraft. The airframe was modified to accept the generic T800 preliminary flight rating (PFR) engine. Agusta modified its main rotor transmission inputs to accommodate the counterclockwise (CCW) rotation of the T800 engine. An Agusta-provided drive shaft and aircraft inlet were successfully rig tested at LHTEC (Allison). In addition, a MIL-STD-1553 data bus was installed in the aircraft and Honeywell supplied a bus controller and a multifunctional display, which was used to transmit and display engine and airframe parameters. Testing of the bus controller using simulation was successfully completed at Honeywell. The engine and bus controller system, using an aircraft interface simulation (AIS) panel to simulate the aircraft inputs, were run in an engine test cell. In addition, dynamic modeling and closed loop bench testing were successfully completed. The total system was then incorporated at the Agusta facility and ground testing was performed. Initial ground and flight testing was completed successfully.