No. 102 - NOVEMBER 2015 © Eric Raz SERVICES LIFE OF THE RANGE AROUND THE WORLD Technical Focus Thailand: Support is being on the H225 all arrows revamped and the H225M pointing up Featured articles Flight safety comes fi rst CONTENTS FEATURED 08 ARTICLES FlightFlight ssafetyafety cocomes fi rst © Anthony Pecchi © Anthony No. 102 - NOVEMBER 2015 © Eric Raz SERVICES LIFE OF THE RANGE AROUND THE WORLD Technical Focus Thailand: Support is being on the H225 all arrows revamped and the H225M pointing up IN THE SPOTLIGHT IN ACTION 4/The interior of the H145 22/The H135 at work saving lives 360° SERVICES Featured articles Flight safety 5/Overview of 24/Technical Support comes first Airbus Helicopters events is being revamped Communication Director: Yves Barillé (Publication Director), Editorial ENCOUNTER BEHIND THE SCENES Director: Pascale Fleury, Editor in Chief: Belén Morant (contact.rotor- 16/Interview with pilot 26/A strategically [email protected]), Director of photography: Jérôme Deulin, Translation: Burton, Van Iersel & Whitney, Munich; Euroscript. Published Jürgen Ackermann important partnership by: , Printed by: SPI, N° ISSN 1169-9515 (Copyright Airbus Helicopters 2015, all rights reserved). A-Star, Alouette, Arms, AS332, AS350, AS355, AS365, AS532, AS550, AS555, AS565, Bluecopter, UP ABOVE AROUND THE WORLD Blue Edge, Blue Pulse, BK117, B0105, Cigalhe, Colibri, Cougar, 18/The H225’s high-altitude 28/Thailand: all arrows pointing up Dauphin, Djinn, Dolphin, H120, H130, H135, H145, H155, H175, H225, H135M, H145M, H225M, H160, Eco-Star, Ecureuil, E-Techpub, aerial work in the Alps Eurocoat, Fenestron, Fennec, Frelon, Gazelle, Horizon, Indoc, OFF THE BEATEN TRACK Keycopter, Lama, M’arms, Miniarms, Minihums, Panther, Puma, LIFE OF THE RANGE Sarib, Sirina, Spherifl ex, Starfl ex, Steadycontrol, Stylence, Super Puma, 30/In Darwin’s footsteps Thinking without limits, Tiger, Tigre, Twin-Star, 20/The H225 and H225M Vemd, Vertivision, VSR700 are trademarks of Airbus Helicopters. Magazine printed on Triple Star, paper originating from sustainable forests. For more information Follow us on Join us on Follow us on www.airbushelicopters.com twitter/AirbusHC facebook/AirbusHelicopters youtube/AirbusHelicopters 2 / ROTOR - No. 102 - NOVEMBER 2015 EDITORIAL © Lorette Fabre © Lorette Two years after its introduction, the Airbus “ At Airbus conditions are in constant fl ux. The Oil & Gas Helicopters transformation plan continues to Helicopters, sector in particular has had a trying year. make strides—and you’re beginning to notice We’re developing our products to help you its impact. Our external reviews and customer safety is our meet these challenges. An excellent example is satisfaction survey are also telling us we’re on number one the H175, a fantastic product that has already the right track and showing us the road that priority.” reached the 1,000 fl ight hour mark with NHV. lies ahead. We’ve also just signed the fi rst contract for the Guillaume Faury You know our priorities: customer satisfaction, H175 in its SAR version. The H160 is moving quality, safety and competitiveness. This issue ahead as well, right on schedule. We’ve opened of Rotor focuses primarily on safety, which is the flight envelope and the results are very our number one priority. We’ve introduced a encouraging. cooperative approach with our employees—and We’ll continue to work closely with operators, with you—so that we can further improve fl ight manufacturers and aviation authorities, sharing safety while working towards a common goal: best practices in order to make our goal a reality. achieving zero accidents. As the end of the year draws near, I’d like to It’s with this objective in mind that we’re preparing take this opportunity to offer my best wishes for the future, fully aware that the current eco- to you and your families, and wish you a very nomic climate is diffi cult for all of us and business successful 2016. ROTOR - No. 102 - NOVEMBER 2015 / 3 IN THE SPOTLIGHT Helitech, October 6-8 The interior of the H145, fi tted out by UNITED KINGDOM the Mercedes-Benz design studio 4 / ROTOR - No. 102 - NOVEMBER 2015 360° © Charles Abarr © Airbus Helicopters © Eric Raz MONACAIR ACQUIRES BLUECOPTER: SIX H130s THE ECOLOGICAL FRANCE Monacair signed an order ENERGY OF THE for six H130s to set up an EUROPE FUTURE improved service of regular With the fi rst fl ight of the scheduled fl ights linking Bluecopter demonstrator this Monaco Heliport to Nice © Heliblue summer, Airbus Helicopters International Airport. The fi rst has taken a giant step in commercial fl ight is planned SUCCESS IN CHINA THE FOUNDATION eco-environmental research. for January 2016 with a fl ight A technological laboratory, the every 15 minutes. STEPS IN On September 9, China demonstrator proved quieter Based in Monaco, the CHINA Minshend International In August, the Airbus than its predecessors, while operator, specialized in VIP Financial Leasing Corp., Ltd. Helicopters Foundation achieving higher speeds and transport, manages a fl eet of DOMINICA (CMIFL) announced the order worked with the operator lower fuel consumption. From 20 helicopters, half of which of 100 Ecureuils over fi ve years, Héliblue Helicoptère, based the blade-tips to the skid are Airbus Helicopters. Thanks including an initial order of ten in Martinique, France, to fl y fairings, the Bluecopter off ers to the purchase of these aircraft that will be delivered teams from the Red Cross new characteristics that will six H130 light helicopters, in 2016. This new acquisition in H120s, in a rescue eff ort have a defi nite impact on the Monacair will now operate makes CMIFL the fi rst and tasked with identifying areas development of future Airbus its own helicopter fl eet. largest helicopter leasing rendered inaccessible by Helicopters products. company in China. land following the passage Meanwhile, the Chinese MIT of tropical storm Erika, and group has fi nalized its order to provide assistance to the for seven H130s for emergency most isolated populations. medical service missions in The fl ights have enabled the Shandong province. teams to identify the hardest In parallel, Beijing Capital hit villages, where nearly Helicopter (BCH), a subsidiary 8,000 people still had no of Hainan Airlines, has been access to water a week after designated as an Airbus the storm’s passage. Helicopters services center in China. In this context, BCH will provide maintenance, repair and overhaul services (MRO) for H125 and H135 helicopters. ROTOR - No. 102 - NOVEMBER 2015 / 5 360° © Courtesy of Italian Army of © Courtesy DELIVERY OF THE 250TH NH90 © Anthony Pecchi © Anthony ITALY The NH90 program passed a signifi cant H175: A NEW PUBLIC milestone last October with the delivery of SERVICES CONFIGURATION its 250th aircraft to the Italian army, with a total of over 500 units on order. Operating at Hong Kong-based Government Flying Services full capacity with nearly 100,000 fl ight hours, (GFS) ordered seven Airbus Helicopters H175s, aircraft in the NH90 fl eet have been deployed becoming the world’s launch customer for this in various theaters of operation all around HONG KONG rotorcraft in its public services confi guration. the globe (Mali, Afghanistan, Somalia), for a GFS is a department of the Hong Kong Special variety of missions. This delivery confi rms the Administrative Region, with the responsibility clear success of the NH90: since 2006, every of providing 24-hour emergency support client placing orders has received at least one services. With its new H175s, GFS can perform helicopter. Furthermore, complete delivery SAR operations, emergency medical services, of series aircraft was fi nalized this year for the fi re fi ghting, law enforcement and land/ company’s Belgian and Finnish clients. maritime border security patrols. Deliveries will begin towards the end of 2017 with the fi rst batch of three aircraft, followed by the remaining four in 2018. NEW SITE FOR EXCELLENCE IN BLADES In the coming months, the transfer starts FRANCE for Airbus Helicopters’ new site of blades manufacturing, from La Courneuve to a new and modern site at Dugny, in the Paris region. The goal for the transfer is a demanding one: to assure that personnel (around 730 people) as well as industrial resources make the move under the best circumstances, without impacting the schedule of deliveries. The new site, named Paris Le Bourget, covers 180,000 m2 with 60,000 m2 worth of modular buildings, which will allow for shortened distribution channels and streamlined manufacturing. © Patrick Penna © Patrick 6 / ROTOR - No. 102 - NOVEMBER 2015 360° THE COAST GUARD RECEIVES ITS FIRST H225 Airbus Helicopters offi cially handed over an H225 helicopter to the ARGENTINA Argentine Coast Guard, following an acquisition contract signed in H160 PROGRAM November 2014. This new helicopter, IN FULL SWING which will be based in the city of Mar del Plata and used for search and The fi rst prototype fl ights are UPDATE rescue missions in the Argentinian progressing according to plan sea, marks the start of the renewal and the aircraft has already reached program for the Coast Guard’s fl eet a maximum speed of 175 kts and of SA330 Puma helicopters. an altitude of 10,000 feet. As the The Argentine Coast Guard will be validation of technical parameters the fi rst customer operating H225 is followed closely, the fl ight tests in the Southern Cone. The aircraft is also provide a perfect opportunity equipped with searchlights, a winch for the fully integrated ground and a rescue basket, although it can support teams to optimize also be rapidly reconfi gured to carry maintenance activities. out other missions such as coastal The second prototype (PT2) surveillance, port security or aid is progressing as per plan since missions for coastal communities. its power-on in June. Since one of the key priorities of the H160’s development program is maturity at entry into service, the Turbomeca Arrano engines will be installed and tested on the Dynamic Helicopter Zero.