HeliStorm electric rotorcraft motor

The HeliStorm is a liquid-cooled electric motor for helicopters, made by magniX as a direct shaft-power source for the transmission of an electric or hybrid-electric rotorcraft. It is part of the HeliStorm engine family, which the maker describes as covering applications from light single-engine helicopters to larger hybrid-electric twin-engine rotorcraft, and as usable for airborne power generation.

The headline figures of the unit are 221 kW of continuous power and 324 kW of peak power at a rated speed of 6016 rpm. The continuous rating is the power the motor can deliver without time limit when the cooling system keeps it within its temperature limits, while the peak rating is the short-duration power available for take-off, hover at high weight or one-engine-inoperative reserves. The ratio between them gives the integrator a margin for transient demands without sizing the whole powertrain for peak. The mass is 34.9 kg, and the dimensions are 383 mm in height and 363 mm in diameter, so the motor is a compact cylindrical package that can be placed close to the main gearbox.

Electrically, the motor is supplied from a high-voltage DC bus of 520 to 820 V. This range has to be matched by the battery pack, the fuel-cell or generator output, and the inverter of the aircraft. The operating temperature range is -40 to 50 degrees C. The motor is cooled by liquid, so the airframe supplies a coolant circuit with a pump and heat exchanger, and the thermal design of that circuit sets how long high power can be held.

Rated speed of 6016 rpm is higher than the rotor speed, so a reduction gearbox is part of the helicopter installation. The press material describes the HeliStorm family at an operating speed of 6000 to 7000 rpm. The helicopter airframe is the target platform, and the motor is intended to connect to an electric power source such as a battery system from the same maker or another energy source.

Installation and integration tasks sit with the aircraft: the electrical supply and motor control, the control connections, the coolant loop, the mechanical interface to the transmission and the monitoring of the powertrain. The maker has tested the family in Robinson R44 installations.

Typical applications are conversion of light piston helicopters to electric propulsion, demonstrators and purpose-built electric rotorcraft, hybrid-electric twin-engine helicopters in which the motor adds or replaces shaft power, and electrical generation on board. The sources consulted do not state certification or standards for this unit.