Venture capital is scarce in the Czech Republic these days, but design éclat is still abundant. The NA Design Company’s Jan Namisnak has developed a twin engine, two seat light helicopter, code named “Bongo”, which has clocked up 70 hours of tethered flight; a further US$2 million is being sought to get the project to certification, according to Jaroslav Najman, the company’s sales manager.

“The Czech investor who was investing in us ran into financial problems of its own,” he told EBAN’s Dan Cook. “It wasn’t an aviation company, and they started to chop off everything, to streamline the company. A prototype was manufac-tured, then we ran out of money. Now, that aircraft has been dismantled.

Based on the reports from those tests, a number of changes have been instituted: The all-composite Bongo has evolved from a two-bladed to a three-bladed propeller, has a wider fuselage and cockpit, and has a more efficient torque compensation system. Furthermore, Namisnak’s aeroplane uses a NOTAR (no tail-rotor system), such as that used by MD Helicopters, which is said to reduce noise.

“Now we want to build two production-conformed prototypes. We have moved the whole project into the facility of the Czech aircraft manufacturer Moravan – they have given us some space where the two prototypes could manufactured. We have to slow down until we find a partner or investor,” said Najman.

Namisnak conceived the Bongo more than five years ago. It will retail for around $600,000, a substantial saving over existing types in competition, according to Najman.

“The Bongo has two engines and is fully compliant with JAR-OPS regula-tions, which means it can fly on one engine. It can fly in hostile environ-ments, such as cities. That is the niche market we are trying to address, we are not trying to make a helicopter which will be made in big numbers.

“If we look to the car market for an analogy, we are looking at something like a sports car, that can land in town, on hospitals or hotels. It will be privately affordable only by rich people. Also, there might be some military applications, or as a police patrol. With the right electronics it could be flown as a pilotless heli-copter. It would also be the cheapest twin for training,” Najman said.

The new prototypes have been redrawn on CATIA computers by Namisnak, reports Najman, and, pending investment, NA Design hopes to have two airframes in production by summer.

The projects chief financial officer is Jan Oplatek, and he is currently “negotiating in many directions”. Najman says NA Design has some promises but nothing on paper. “It is harder than we thought to make people interested, people always said that small aircraft manufacture makes millionaires out of billionaires!” said Najman.

“The nearest twin engine helicopter is the French Squirrel,” he said, and that is much more expensive. The nearest single engine turbine would be the Schweitzer, for around half a million dollars, and that is restricted because it only has one engine.

“But without money we can’t continue. What we have done so far was done at very low cost. We have invested $300,000, not counting Mr Namisnak’s brain work. We would need $2 million to get certified. We are open to moving abroad, although this would mean higher costs for the aircraft: It would be an advantage to do it in the Czech republic because there are lots of skilled aircraft workers.” Najman says that labour costs per hour for skilled work are around $20, significantly less than in the US.

EBAN asked Najman if there were any plans for mass production of the aircraft at the moment: “If we started talking about large numbers of helicopters at the moment, people would think that we are dreaming. We believe this is a segment of the market which could at least allow us to sell 50 a year. If we get the military interested or the police, it could be higher number. Because it will be quite an expensive helicopter for its size – it is only a two seater – it will be mainly for special uses.”

Designer Namisnak studied in France and the Czech Republic. The Bongo is the first aircraft he has brought to prototype, and Najman concedes it would be easier for NA Design to get funding if he had a history of getting innovative helicopter projects off the ground: “Maybe his name doesn’t carry sufficient weight to convince people,” he said.

“I spoke personally with Paul Schweizer because I represent Schweizer helicopters in Czech Republic, and he said he had so many projects of his own that he has no time to do anything else, so he wished everybody good luck. We then spoke to Robinson, and their reaction was strange; they were almost upset. This was two years ago at HAI in Las Vegas. The most positive answer was Bell, but they wanted us to sign away power of attorney, etc. We were a bit afraid to give all that away without any assurances on their side. They said they would be willing to look at it, but they wanted us to put our cards on the table. Namisnak was at that time involved in putting patents on the aircraft. He is now recognised as holding 12 international patents.”

Patented features that NA Design is claiming include a unique dynamic stabilisation system, constant engine monitoring, and a rocket powered safety parachute.

Rumours of the Czech aircraft industry’s demise have been greatly exaggerated, Najman believes. “We are seeing some good signs; Aero Vodochody is seeing foreign investment, Sikorsky is manufacturing its airframes in the Czech republic, and Moravan’s small aeroplanes are also doing better, in private hands now.”