Dubai 2011: Quest achieves a goal with new tandem rotor

Quest Helicopters is headquartered in Dubai and is a subsidiary of Quest Investments. The company has teamed with Ukraine’s Aerovortex to produce a new helicopter, the Quest AVQ.

The company’s goal has been to develop new technologies and the boxy looking AVQ shown at Dubai in mock-up form is representative of the initial prototype/technology demonstrator, with the actual production aircraft likely to be larger, with more seats, and expected to look more streamlined.

The key technologies being developed under the programme are a quadruplex fly-by-wire flight control system, a unique ‘ejectable’ cabin, which serves as an escape capsule in the event of any catastrophic failure, telemetry downlinks for progressive maintenance monitoring, and a tandem rotor system. The aircraft will also have a state-of-the-art avionics system, with touch-screen displays.

The programme is “all about the technology”, according to John Creed, Quest’s commercial and deputy project director, who sees a place for licensing the developed technologies to others, as well as using them in Quest’s own helicopters. “We will have something quite relevant to sell to the world.”

Designed by Volodymyr Udovenko, previously responsible for the Aerokopter AK 1-3 Sanka and Cadet KT-112 Angel light helicopters, the Quest AVQ prototype will be designed, built and flight-tested in the Ukraine from 2013, with production aircraft undergoing assembly at a new facility near Umm Al Quwain from 2014.

The helicopter will be certificated in the UAE and the Ukraine, with a proposed bilateral agreement between the Ukraine and EASA ensuring that parallel European certification will also be achieved. The company has said that it will guarantee a price of $2.95 million for the first 20 helicopters.

Below: Mike Creed with the Quest AVQ helicopter