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The Airbus developed Helionix system, an advanced avionics suite that increases mission flexibility and enhances flight safety, will be standard equipment on new production H135s. Airbus Photo

Airbus Helicopters announces major milestones at Heli-Expo

Airbus Helicopters Press Release | March 7, 2017

Estimated reading time 8 minutes, 16 seconds.

Airbus Helicopters is kicking off HAI Heli-Expo in Dallas, Texas, with several announcements.

STAT MedEvac to be first U.S. air medical transport service provider to operate Helionix-equipped H135s

STAT MedEvac will soon be the first air medical transport service in North America to operate Airbus H135 helicopters equipped with Helionix, an innovative and powerful avionics system.

The Airbus developed Helionix system, an advanced avionics suite that increases mission flexibility and enhances flight safety, will be standard equipment on new production H135s. Airbus Photo
The Airbus developed Helionix system, an advanced avionics suite that increases mission flexibility and enhances flight safety, will be standard equipment on new production H135s. Airbus Photo

The Pennsylvania-based critical care transport team has placed orders with Airbus Helicopters Inc. for three new H135s to replace older aircraft in its fleet, with delivery scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2017.

The Airbus developed Helionix system, an advanced avionics suite that increases mission flexibility and enhances flight safety, will be standard equipment on new production H135s.

Comprised of two computers and a one-of-a-kind cockpit layout, Helionix includes up to four electronic displays designed to improve pilots’ situational awareness. The system provides a four-axis autopilot to reduce pilot workload and a traffic advisory system, that improves safety by assisting pilots in detecting and avoiding other aircraft.

“The addition of these H135s builds upon STAT’s commitment to safety,” said Doug Garretson, president, and CEO of STAT MedEvac. STAT MedEvac was the first air medical transport program in North America to operate the EC135 and the EC135 certificated for single pilot Instrument flight rules (IFR).

“STAT MedEvac maintains the highest degree of safety in all our operations, and we are very proud of our safety culture,” said Garretson. “We are thankful the H135 series continues to evolve, enabling us to operate to the standards we set. We continue to invest in twin-engine, IFR platforms, and the H135 delivers what we need to meet our goals for the product and support.”

REACH Air Medical Services places first-ever order for Airbus H125s following high altitude fly-off

REACH Air Medical Services, a subsidiary of Air Medical Group Holdings, has placed an order for five new Airbus H125s, marking the first time the company has turned to an Airbus Helicopters aircraft for its single-engine platform solution.

The company selected the H125 after requesting a high-altitude demonstration and “fly-off” of the Airbus H125 and H130 models, and the Bell 407 in Colorado in summer 2016. Both the H125 and H130 exceeded flight envelope expectations, with the H125 emerging as the best performer followed closely by the H130.

Two H125s are scheduled for delivery to REACH in June, with the other three to be delivered in the third quarter. The new aircraft will primarily serve mountain communities in the western United States. Airbus Helicopters Inc. will install the air medical equipment packages.

Vicky Spediacci, vice president of aviation operations for REACH, said the company chose the H125 for its high-reliability rates and high-altitude performance capabilities. Although this is the company’s first time to place an order for the H125, it has long operated the twin-engine Airbus H135.

“The fly-off proved our intuition was correct. The H125 outperformed all of the similar aircraft in hot and high conditions, and it was a clear choice,” said Spediacci. “We look forward to our continued partnership with Airbus Helicopters Inc.”

Industry-leading Airbus helicopter models, including a Helionix-equipped H135, are being exhibited at Heli-Expo 2017, from March 7 to 9 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas, at booth #7648. The exhibit also contains a virtual reality experience demonstrating the cutting edge technology of the H160 helicopter now under development.

Airbus Helicopters Inc. subject matter experts are available to discuss support and services offerings, including HCare maintenance and spares support programs, and the Keycopter online portal.

H175 performance further enhanced with 7.8t extended MTOW

With 12 H175 now in operation and demonstrating the performance and reliability of the aircraft worldwide, the medium twin-engine helicopter continues to be enhanced in order to bring more value to operators.

The MTOW extension is available at no extra cost to the customers and only requires an update of the flight and maintenance manuals. A. Pecchi Photo
The MTOW extension is available at no extra cost to the customers and only requires an update of the flight and maintenance manuals. A. Pecchi Photo

Among the program milestones recently reached is the certification by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) of a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) extension from 7,500 kilograms to 7,800 kilograms, allowing customers to benefit from an additional payload of 300 kilograms or an extra 40-nautical-mile radius of action. The extended MTOW provides increased operational flexibility, particularly in highly demanding oil-and-gas operations.

The MTOW extension is available at no extra cost to the customers and only requires an update of the flight and maintenance manuals. The first H175s benefitting from this upgrade are already flying operational missions in the North Sea.

Meanwhile, the H175’s ability to fly in limited icing conditions has also been certified by EASA, ensuring the helicopter is able to operate in the challenging weather conditions encountered in environments such as the North Sea. Certification for snow operations was also granted at the end of 2016.

Additionally, oil-and-gas H175 operators will soon benefit from automated approaches to oil rigs, along with a sand filter that will be essential for operations in the Middle East.

In parallel to these development efforts, certification has also been granted in Russia, Mexico and Australia, paving the way to the entry into service of the H175 aircraft in new regions. Certification in the United States, Malaysia, Canada and Brazil will follow.

Milestone Aviation places  €200M firm order with Airbus Helicopters

Milestone Aviation Group Limited (Milestone), the global leader in helicopter leasing, announced a €200 million (approx. US$211 million) firm order with Airbus Helicopters including H145, H135 and H175 helicopters. Delivery of the aircraft on order is scheduled to begin in mid-2017, with deployment into emergency medical service (EMS) and other parapublic segments.

Milestone’s current helicopter fleet includes over 60 Airbus Helicopters consisting of H130, H135, H145, H155, H175 and H225s with a cost of nearly $1 billion. In 2016, Milestone acquired 10 Airbus H145s largely supporting global EMS missions and believes there is significant opportunity for this light-twin aircraft.

“Milestone was very active in emergency medical services and other parapublic segment in 2016, and this order gives us near-term availability for H145 and H135 aircraft to support growing demand for new technology in these segments,” said Milestone president and CEO, Daniel Rosenthal.

“We are honoured to partner with Milestone and General Electric. As the owner of the largest and most diverse fleet of commercial Airbus Helicopters in the world, they have truly innovated the helicopter industry and are uniquely placed to bring new technology and financing solutions to operators across missions,” said Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus Helicopters. “We are very pleased that Milestone is supporting operators with Airbus helicopters across diverse segments of the industry such as emergency medical services, police surveillance, search-and-rescue, utility, firefighting and oil-and-gas crew transport.”

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