Simplex manufacturing has been selected by Battelle to develop a large internal water tank for the CH47 Chinook Helicopter. The tank will be a component in a new airframe icing test system called the Objective Helicopter Icing Spray System (OHISS). OHISS will be used by both the military and industry customers to test aircraft flight characteristics in both icing and heavy rain conditions.
OHISS will include two systems, one for the UH- 60 based Cloud Characterization System; which will replace the current C-12 Airborne Cloud Measurement System, and the Cloud Generation System; which will replace the current 35 yearold U.S. Army HISS. These new systems will provide a safer, more reliable flight test environment for evaluating de icing technologies. Small scale rain conditions can be created to provide a more controlled flight test environment for evaluating rain effects on critical aircraft surfaces, sensors and engine inlet.
Mark Zimmerman, President and CEO of Simplex Manufacturing, said the “new system will help aviation customers around the world to develop safer aircraft.” He went on to say “Battell’s selection of Simplex highlights the strength of our in house engineering team in new product development”. Simplex will introduce several other new products over the next year according to Mr. Zimmerman. The new products will be in both the agricultural spray and fire attack industry segment.
Founded in 1946, Simplex has built a reputation as the leader in design, manufacturing, and certification of mission equipment for helicopters. Simplex maintains its industry leadership by incorporating the latest technology in design and manufacturing systems from high strength, low weight composite materials to produce cost effective systems for firefighting and other aerial application.
