No. 112 - JULY 2018 NO LIMITS BEHIND THE SCENES LOGBOOK Manned unmanned H175 H145 high and teaming public services hot in Las Vegas Saving lives in the clouds © Anthony Pecchi © Anthony CONTENTS FEATURED ARTICLE Saving lives in the clouds © Anthony Pecchi © Anthony IN THE SPOTLIGHT BEHIND THE SCENES 4/ The H160 in New York City 22/ H175 public services SERVICES 360° 5/ Events at Airbus 24/ Data analytics Helicopters MISSION 26/ NH90: A Caiman in the storm UP ABOVE 16/ The H160 demo NO LIMITS tour across the United States 28/ Manned unmanned teaming Communication Director: Yves Barillé (Publication Director), Editor OFF THE BEATEN TRACK in Chief: Belén Morant ([email protected]), LIFE OF THE RANGE Director of photography: Jérôme Deulin, Translation: Burton, Van 30/ Christchurch at work Iersel & Whitney, Munich; Amplexor. Published by: , 18/ AS565 MBe Panther Printed by: SPI, N° ISSN 1169-9515 (Copyright Airbus Helicopters for the community 2018, all rights reserved). Airbus Helicopters’ logo and the names of its products and services are registered LOGBOOK trademarks. Magazine printed on Triple Star, paper originating from sustainable forests. 20/ The H145 goes high and hot in Las Vegas For more information Follow us on Join us on Follow us on www.airbus.com/Helicopters twitter/AirbusHeli facebook/AirbusHelicopters youtube/AirbusHelicopters 2 / ROTOR - No. 112 - JULY 2018 EDITORIAL © Lorette Fabre © Lorette I am very proud to be addressing you “We will continue on the increased use of digital technol- here as Airbus Helicopters’ new CEO. ogies to enhance helicopter safety for The helicopter is a unique and fascinat- on this path of the good of our customers. Our priority ing product that I know inside out. Airbus excellence to actions include better harnessing data Helicopters is also a company I have maintain our to improve our range and services; facil- collaborated with extensively, notably leading status, itating the sharing of reliable information in my last post as the CEO of Safran in our manufacturing cycles; and shap- Helicopter Engines. As a result, I have and our roadmap ing the connected missions of tomorrow. developed an appreciation of the values is clear.” Finally, we are set to implement an Airbus Helicopters holds, its expertise, ambitious innovation plan to enhance and its dedication to supporting custom- Bruno Even our helicopter range and make the ers around the world. most of the helicopter’s VTOL capa- I am taking over at Airbus Helicopters will continue innovating with a view to bility, all with the aim of meeting future at a time when the company, despite improving our existing range and devel- market needs in terms of urban mobil- the testing environment, has shown its oping new solutions to meet tomorrow’s ity and speed. CityAirbus, the all-elec- resilience in maintaining its market share. market requirements. tric fl ying taxi, paves the way for a new This is thanks to its extensive product We are also prioritising the continued solution for city-dwellers held captive range. We will continue on this path of optimisation of our processes to make by traffic congestion. Meanwhile, our excellence to maintain our leading status, our value chain even stronger – from Racer demonstrator, with its unrivalled and our roadmap is clear. We must, fi rst design through to support. The roll-out speed capability, is already generating and foremost, ensure customer loyalty of our new industrial model will allow us great interest among operators looking by fulfilling our commitments. We will to shorten our assembly cycles signifi - to reduce their response times. continue our transformation by target- cantly and ensure that our aircraft have Though our road map is an ambitious ing three priorities: the quality and safety a high level of industrial maturity, for the one, you can be sure of my determina- of our products; the competitiveness benefi t of our customers. As we continue tion, commitment and support in helping of our solutions; and the digitalisation to pursue these priorities, the second to take Airbus Helicopters forward for the of the company. Last but not least, we phase of our transformation will focus benefi t of its customers. ROTOR - No. 112 - JULY 2018 / 3 IN THE SPOTLIGHT 21 May 2018 USA The H160 stopped in New York City during its three-month long demo tour across the United States. © Anthony Pecchi © Anthony 4 / ROTOR - No. 112 - JULY 2018 360° © Charles Abarr © Charles © Ned Dawson © Ned © Christian Keller HOME TRAINING SOLUTION FOR NEW TECHNICIANS FINAL H135 FOR THE ARGENTINIAN BUNDESWEHR FEDERAL POLICE To provide newly qualified TRAINING FORCE BECOMES technicians with the necessary WORLDWIDE skills to perform maintenance Airbus Helicopters has delivered THE FIRST H145 GERMANY tasks autonomously, Airbus the fifth and final H135 that will OPERATOR ARGENTINA Helicopters is now offering a be used by the German Armed IN THE COUNTRY © Jay Miller © Jay fully customised solution to Forces in Bückeburg to train The Argentinian Security Ministry demonstrate limited hands- their pilots. received the first H145 aircraft on skills and experience. AN H135 FOR US These five H135s join 14 others to be operated in the country. During this Hands-on maturity USA NAVY TRAINER from the H135 family, which have The aircraft will be used by the and enhancement (HOME) REPLACEMENT been in service for training at the Argentinian Federal Police (PFA) training, a dedicated instructor Bundeswehr since 2000, where Airbus Helicopters Inc. for police missions and public stays on the customer’s site they have accumulated more will offer the Airbus H135 security services. to perform the instruction than 100,000 flight hours. helicopter as the solution The PFA thus becomes not through real maintenance The lightweight twin-engine for the US Navy’s planned only the first H145 operator tasks on the customer aircraft. H135 is used by military forces helicopter trainer replacement in Argentina, but also the first The training content is worldwide to train their programme. The H135 is police unit in Latin America to defined through a Training personnel. Among others, the rotorcraft of choice for use this helicopter model for law Need Analysis (TNA) during armed forces from Great Britain, military pilot training due to enforcement missions. which an expert evaluates Switzerland, Portugal and its manoeuvrability, visibility, Equipped with a searchlight the technician’s working Australia put their trust in the and low vibration levels. The and an airborne surveillance environment, missions H135 family for this mission. aircraft is equipped with the camera to support patrols, and the necessary skills most advanced technologies the H145 delivered to the to develop. available, providing instructor Federal Police benefits from The duration of this pilots with an ideal platform a multipurpose configuration programme depends on the for training missions for the allowing it to reconfigure its conclusions of the TNA, with US Navy. cabin and equipment in a few a minimum training period of minutes to perform various types 2 months per trainee batch. of missions such as search and rescue (SAR), transport of loads and food, insertion of assault units, medical evacuations (EMS), etc. ROTOR - No. 112 - JULY 2018 / 5 360° HELICAL CHOOSES THE HCARE SMART CONTRACT HELICAL, a member of the New Caledonian group HC, operates an H125 helicopter in nickel prospecting. The aircraft is also involved in drilling prospecting in the island’s mountainous regions, as well as in various operations in the mining sector. To ensure the availability of its H125, HELICAL SOUTH PACIFIC has opted for the HCare Smart contract. With this, scheduled and unscheduled works are carried out by a dedicated group of international equipment manufacturers and benefi t from optimised and reduced maintenance costs. © Helical © XXXXXXXXXXXX THE FENESTRON CELEBRATES ITS 50TH BIRTHDAY FRANCE Fifty years ago, on 12 April 1968, the fi rst Fenestron ducted tail rotor took its maiden fl ight aboard the second prototype of the Gazelle helicopter. Half a century later, the Fenestron has established itself as a form of technology that symbolises the know-how of Sud Aviation, Aérospatiale, Eurocopter and fi nally, Airbus Helicopters. © Christian Keller Today, Airbus Helicopters’ new-generation helicopter, the H160, is equipped with the 200TH H145 Fenestron, setting new standards in terms of acoustic footprint and safety. HELICOPTER DELIVERED © Thierry Rostang At the end of April 2018, Airbus Helicopters delivered the 200th H145, to Norsk Luftambulanse (NOLAS). The GERMANY air rescue operator will use the aircraft for helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) in Norway. The 200th H145 is the fi nal H145 delivered to NOLAS under its current order, bringing the operator’s Airbus fl eet to a total of eight H145s and seven H135s, all dedicated to delivering HEMS from bases across Norway. This fl eet renewal will equip NOLAS to be the only air ambulance operator worldwide to operate a 100% Helionix-equipped mixed fl eet of H135s and H145s, which commenced operation on 1 June as Norway’s national HEMS operator. The global H145 fl eet has achieved more than 100,000 fl ight hours since its entry into service in 2015, with Babcock being the largest global H145 operator. This customer has a global fl eet of 31 H145s in service, operating in HEMS and police missions. 6 / ROTOR - No. 112 - JULY 2018 25 YEARS OF PARTS-BY-THE-HOUR WITH DRF LUFTRETTUNG This year, Airbus celebrates a quarter century in support of DRF Luftrettung activities. DRF Luftrettung operates over 50 Airbus GERMANY helicopters for emergency operations, at 31 bases in Germany and Austria. Each year, the crews take off to perform more than 38,000 emergency medical services. The prerequisite for this high level of activity is a helicopter fl eet at maximum readiness. Thanks to the Parts By the Hour contract included in the HCare Smart range of services, Airbus support and services made – and continue to make – a signifi cant contribution to the operational readiness of DRF Luftrettung’s rescue helicopters.