MOSCOW. Aug 22 (Interfax) - United Engine Corporation (UEC) of Russia's Rostec plans to begin bench trials of a hybrid engine demonstrator based on the VK-650V helicopter engine in fall, the Rostec press service said in a statement.
"The UEC plans to start bench trials of a hybrid engine demonstrator in fall. We use the VK-650V engine as a turbo-generator of the 500KW hybrid engine demonstrator. This is a prospective engine our company is developing for domestic light helicopters," the press service quoted UEC General Designer Yury Shmotin as saying.
UEC-Klimov has built a bench for testing hybrid and electric engines of up to 1MW, he said.
The full-size demonstrator has every main element of the future engine, Rostec said.
"A fixed-wing vertical takeoff and landing aircraft could eventually serve as a platform for the hybrid engine. Two 500-KW hybrid engines will be used to lift the aircraft with a mass of about three tonnes, which will allow transporting up to 500 kilograms of cargo," the press service said.
Hybrid engines will have a number of advantages over traditional gas-turbine engines. They will have reduced fuel consumption, lesser environmental footprint and increased flight safety thanks to using two sources of energy instead of just one, the ability of vertical takeoff or takeoff from short runways, and higher maneuverability.