22nd Congress of International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, Harrogate, UK, 28 August - 1st September, 2000
Paper ICAS 2000-6.1.4

OBOGS INTEGRATION INTO A TURBO-PROP TRAINER AIRCRAFT

D. Richardson
Pilatus Aircraft Ltd, 6370, Switzerland

Keywords: obogs, oxygen system

The state of the art of modern On-Board Oxygen Generation Systems, OBOGS, has advanced to the point where these systems are both financially and technically viable for use in turbo-prop trainer aircraft. Lifecycle costs for OBOGS systems are significantly lower than those for a conventional gaseous oxygen system. Operational advantages include the removal of oxygen endurance limitations from aircraft operations and improved aircraft and maintenance safety due the reduced use of high-pressure oxygen. The technical difficulties in introducing such systems to small turbo-prop trainer aircraft are primarily those concerned with ensuring the system operates successfully throughout the flight envelope whilst subject to the particularly low compressor bleed pressures available from the small turbo-prop power plants used in these aircraft. This paper demonstrates the lifecycle savings possible with the modern OBOGS. It describes the Pilatus development programme to integrate a Litton Life Support OBOGS onto the Pilatus Modular Trainer aircraft, including the technical problems, which were overcome on the way to successfully certifying the system for use.

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