The All-Electric Aircraft concept has been established for many years but has yet to reach fruition. Studies have indicated significant advantages in terms of performance, safety, reliability, weight and cost. Research and development in recent years has addressed many of the issues preventing the realisation of this technology breakthrough. The fundamental technology step for the All-Electric Rotorcraft is to move from the long established use of hydraulic primary flight control actuation to electromechanical equivalents. Allied with the migration to electrically powered auxiliary systems (such as hoists, undercarriage etc) this allows the total removal of hydraulic systems from the aircraft and the realisation of the All-Electric Rotorcraft. This technology step requires changes to the power generation architecture in order to provide the appropriate levels of safety integrity. Furthermore, a key part of this technology step is to delete the mechanical flying controls and move to a fly-by-wire control system, incorporating primary flight control, auto-stabilisation and advanced control features. Combining all these technology elements represents a significant step change to rotorcraft technology and yields many advantages. An initial research and rig demonstration programme has been completed to evaluate the integration of electrical primary flight control actuation, flight control technologies and electrical power distribution in order to move much closer towards the All-Electric Rotorcraft. In particular the programme assessed the benefits and risks of this technology. Westland Helicopters in partnership with BAE Systems and FHL have initiated a follow-on programme to develop the technology and conduct flight demonstration on an EH 101 Merlin helicopter This paper presents an overview of the key design features and considerations of an All-Electric Rotorcraft. Specifically it discusses the potential application to the EH101 and the expected benefits.
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