Certification of the new Helionix digital avionics suite for the Airbus Helicopters H135 is imminent, with European Aviation Safety Agency approval due no later than November.
Speaking at a Helitech event in Amsterdam to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the light twin, programme manager Axel Humpert said the enhanced flightdeck should gain approval “in the coming weeks”.
This would be in “October, or November at the latest”, he says.
The upgrade brings cockpit commonality with the larger H145 and H175 medium twins, and integrates a four-axis autopilot on to the H135.
First delivery into the civil market will be to Norwegian emergency medical services (EMS) operator Norsk Luftambulanse in early 2017.
Meanwhile the first military customer to receive a Helionix-equipped fleet is the Ascent joint venture which will use a fleet of 29 H135s for its Military Flight Training System contract with the UK Ministry of Defence.
Describing the type as “still young” Humpert says that “20 years is not much for a helicopter: past models have been in production for much longer. It is still within the first half of its life, there is clearly much to come in the future.”
Steffen Lutz, chief executive of original launch customer DRF Luftrettung, says the EC135, as it was originally designated, was a “huge step forward in technology” when first introduded.
The German EMS operator will be among the first to receive Helionix-equipped examples, with deliveries of its three H135s, all powered by Safran Helicopter Engines Arrius 2B2+ turboshafts, to begin early next year.
DRF operates an existing fleet of 18 Pratt & Whitney Canada PW206B-powered H135s.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
