This week
flightglobal.com 15 December 2015-4 January 2016 | Flight International | 9
Spirits on the rise
at Renton as first
737 Max unveiled
new focuS P 1 0A
irbus Helicopters is hoping
to capitalise on the smooth
service entry of its new H145 –
formerly the T2 variant of the
long-running EC145 medium
twin – and add extra capabilities
to the baseline rotorcraft.
First delivery of the Donau-
wörth, Germany-built model –
which gains uprated 900shp
(671kW) Turbomeca Arriel 2E en-
gines, a shrouded anti-torque rotor
and new carbonfibre tail boom –
took place in July 2014 to medical
services provider DRF Luftret-
tung. Since then, 43 helicopters
have been delivered to 14 custom-
ers, accumulating a total of 10,
flight hours, says programme
manager Dragos Grigorincu.
Availability is targeted at 85%,
but Grigorincu believes it will be
able to achieve over 90%.
Envelope expansion work has
been carried out, with test flights
conducted in April and May 2015
in Bolivia to enable a certificated
density altitude of 20,000ft from- The Helionix avionics suite
will also gain additional features,
including automatic dependent
surveillance - broadcast out, a syn-
thetic vision system, and digital
maps.
rotorcraft domInIc perry Donauwörth
airbus to increase
capability of H
helicopter manufacturer expands flight envelope of medium
twin following high-altitude evaluations in Bolivia during 2015
An iPad-based electronic flight
bag is also being developed, says
Grigorincu. A health monitoring
system is being rolled out, which
includes engine vibration moni-
toring, largely required by opera-
tors in the offshore transportation
segment, he says.
Although around 80% of de-
liveries so far have been to the
emergency medical services sec-
tor, offshore operators are in-
creasingly showing interest in the
eight-passenger helicopter.That has been underlined by a
firm commitment signed on 2
December for 10 H145s from
Mexico’s Pegaso for use in oil and
gas operations. Deliveries are to
start from 2017.
Backlog for the type now
stands at 180 aircraft, represent-
ing a mixture of firm orders and
options, says Grigorincu.
Production ramp-up of the
new variant is ongoing, from 13
in 2014 to 40 in 2015, and rising
to a maximum of 60 in 2016. ■medical services provider
drF Luftrettung received
first example in July 2014airbushelicopters