Eurocopter has secured new orders from China and plans to open its first simulator training centre in the country.

The Shanghai Police Force has ordered two Eurocopter EC135s and one EC155; while the Guangdong Police Force has ordered one EC225, says Eurocopter senior VP Norbert Ducrot.

He also says another organisation in Guangdong has ordered the Eurocopter AS-350B3 and will be using it to inspect power lines.

This flurry of orders comes after Eurocopter recently secured an order for 10 EC155B1s from China’s Citic Offshore Helicopter (COHC).

Ducrot says Eurocopter recently increased its shareholding in COHC’s helicopter maintenance business to 34%. It was previously 21%.

He also says one of the major obstacles constraining the use of helicopters in China is a shortage of pilots.

“Eurocopter has 13 training centres in the world and wants to establish one in China,” he says.

“We want at least three simulators before the end of 2011” and the first three simulators that Eurocopter plans to install will be for the EC225, EC135 and EC155, he adds.

Ducrot says today there are fewer than 200 helicopters in China compared to 12,000 in the USA but he predicts that sometime around 2015, China will become a more important sales market than the USA.

But it depends on the opening of air space in China to helicopters, he adds, referring to how the authorities today greatly restrict the amount of low altitude air space that can be used by helicopters.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has stated publicly its intention to open more air space to general aviation including helicopters but details on the time-frame remain sketchy and the CAAC needs the support of the Chinese military which controls the airspace.

Source: Flight International

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