Eurocopter H175

Eurocopter celebrates the maiden flight of its new EC175 helicopter

Marignane, December 17

EC175, the latest member of the Eurocopter range, today performed its official maiden flight in the skies above Marignane. At the controls were Alain Di Bianca, Eurocopter Experimental Test Pilot, as well as Michel Oswald and Patrick Bremont, Flight Test Engineers. Officials, industrial partners, launch customers and Eurocopter employees were all on hand for the event. This newest addition to the Eurocopter family in the 7-metric-ton class has been developed and manufactured in cooperation with the China Aeronautics Industries Group Corp. (AVIC), a longstanding Eurocopter partner.

"It's an immense pleasure to see the EC175 soaring through the skies," declared Eurocopter CEO Lutz Bertling. "This helicopter was developed in close cooperation with our customers to ensure it would be perfectly suited to their needs—particularly in terms of safety and comfort. This is the product everyone's been waiting for on the civil market. I would like to congratulate and thank our colleagues from China, all our personnel who invested so much time and effort in this project, and, of course, our industrial partners. Their combined efforts have made it possible for the EC175 to perform its maiden flight right on schedule, that’s to say exactly four years after the program was launched, which is a real technological wizardry. "

The new generation EC175 has a multirole design and can carry out a wide scope of civil missions. It slots perfectly into the Eurocopter range between the AS365 Dauphin (4/5 metric tons) and the AS332/EC225 Super Puma (9/11 metric tons) families. It benefits from a mix of proven and advanced technologies, making it a very performing and reliable helicopter. Depending on its configuration, it can hold up to 16 passengers. A total of 114 EC175s have already been ordered by 14 different customers. Certification of the EC175 by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is slated for 2011, and the first deliveries are scheduled to follow in 2012. Eurocopter expects to sell 800 EC175s over the next twenty years, creating nearly 2000 new direct and indirect jobs.

Cooperation
The EC175 program was launched on December 5, 2005. The helicopter was developed in cooperation with Chinese industry in just four years thanks to innovative new computing tools that offer major time savings. The work teams, separated by some 10,000 km, have been working together under the aegis of the French and Chinese governments. Their cooperation has been exemplary, and has benefitted from 30 years of close ties between the partners, first through the Dauphin and then through the EC120. During the development phase, an average of 50 Chinese employees joined their Eurocopter colleagues in France to define the helicopter's characteristics. Now it’s the turn of Eurocopter's employees to reciprocate, and a staff of 30 is currently on permanent assignment in China to assist the teams with design, quality, production and procurement work.

The development and industrialization work has been equally split between Eurocopter and AVIC according to the specialties of each company. Two different helicopters will result from the common platform: The EC175 manufactured, sold and maintained by Eurocopter in Marignane and the Z15, manufactured, sold and maintained by the AVIC Group.

Missions
The EC175 is a medium-lift twin-engine helicopter that can perform many different civil missions. Initially designed for the oil & gas industry to carry work teams to the platforms, it meets the strictest safety and availability requirements that have become a must for operators in the industry.

The helicopter is also being developed for missions such as search and rescue and emergency medical transport, and can also meet the needs of the commercial aviation industry for VIP and corporate transport.

Technical characteristics
The EC175 benefits from the most cutting-edge technology available. It is powered by twin Pratt & Whitney PT6C-67E engines with dual-channel new generation Full Authority Digital Engine Controls (FADEC). With its completely new avionics, the EC175 has an effective and easy-to-use man machine interface, which considerably reduces the pilot workload. Both the pilot and co-pilot can therefore concentrate more fully on their missions. The EC175 is indeed equipped with a full screen cockpit and a digital four-axis Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS) that outperforms any other automatic pilot system on the market. It also has a five-blade Spheriflex main rotor and an airframe that complies with the most stringent certification requirements.

The EC175 offers the widest cabin of any helicopter in its category, which provides an unmatched level of comfort. The aircraft can be boarded easily using the wide sliding doors on either side of the fuselage and the immense baggage compartment is also accessible from both sides of the helicopter. All very large windows offer a great visibility and can be jettisoned so that passengers and crew can quickly exit the helicopter in the event of an emergency.

The EC175 has also been designed to reduce vibration levels to a minimum; its blade design has taken forward the concepts that have proven so successful on the EC155 and EC225. Special care has been taken to reduce both internal and external noise levels to make the EC175 the quietest helicopter in its class, offering levels well below the limits recently established by the International Civil Aviation Organization.

Marché potentiel remarquable pour l'hélicoptère sino-français EC175—Z15



Selon le groupe AVIC (Groupe industriel chinois de l'aviation), le nouvel hélicoptère sino-français EC175—Z15 a fait l'objet de 120 commandes par une quinzaine de compagnies d'aviation.

Selon Eurocopter, le partenaire européen du projet, les demandes pour l'EC175—Z15 s'élèveront à 800 appareils d'ici aux vingt prochaines années dans le monde entier. Ceci nécessitera la création de près de 2 000 nouveaux emplois.

Eurocopter a établi il y a quatre ans un contrat de coopération avec Hafei, le Groupe industriel d'aviation de Harbin, filiale du groupe AVIC, pour la fabrication d'un nouvel hélicoptère multifonctions. A partir d'un principe de parité d'investissement, des études, de la fabrication, des profits et du marché, les deux partenaires ont donc le même droit de classer le nouvel hélicoptère dans leurs propres séries de produits.

Ainsi, Hafei possèdera à 100% les droits de propriété intellectuelle de l'hélicoptère Z15 et demandera le certificat à l'Administration chinoise de l'aviation civile (CAAC), tandis qu'Eurocopter demandera le certificat des autorités européennes pour l'EC175. Une ligne d'assemblage sera montée en Chine et en France respectivement par chacun des deux partenaires, responsables par ailleurs du service après-vente chacun pour sa propre clientèle.

Selon des spécialistes, l'EC175-Z15 est un hélicoptère civil multifonctions à doubles réacteurs. Il pèse sept tonnes à vide et est capable de transporter seize passagers.

A la mi-décembre, il a réussi son vol d'essai à Marseille et a montré ses hautes capacités et sécurité de vol. Il peut donc être utilisé pour les secours d'urgence à longue distance, dans le contrôle de la sécurité territoriale, mais aussi se transformer en véhicule commercial ou de luxe.

Selon le plan de développement, la production en grande quantité des pièces débutera en 2010, et le certificat de navigabilité sera délivré en 2011 par l'EASA.

Safran motorisera le futur hélicoptère franco-chinois

Le motoriste Turbomeca, filiale de Safran, équipera la version chinoise du nouvel hélicoptère développé conjointement avec Eurocopter.

Malgré un contexte toujours morose, le Salon aéronautique de Singapour a bien commencé pour Safran. Sa filiale Turbomeca a été choisie par Pékin pour motoriser la version chinoise du nouvel hélicoptère civil EC175 développé conjointement avec Eurocopter, a indiqué hier Lutz Bertling, le PDG du fabricant d'hélicoptères européen. Une décision quelque peu surprenante, car l'EC175, qui a effectué son premier vol le mois dernier à Marseille, est pour l'heure équipé d'un moteur américain Pratt & Whitney, et que les doubles choix de moteurs sont choses rares sur les hélicoptères.
Sur le même sujet

Mais Pratt & Whitney n'aurait pas obtenu le feu vert des autorités américaines pour exporter en Chine certaines de ses technologies, a-t-on appris de source proche du dossier. Une partie du futur moteur Turbomeca sera, elle, fabriquée en Chine. Le mois dernier, Pékin avait déjà choisi le moteur CFM, développé conjointement par Safran et General Electric, pour équiper le futur avion moyen-courrier chinois C919.

The other Eurocopter effort to regain ground in the medium-twin segment is the EC175, being developed with Avic, and due for first customer deliveries this year.

Eurocopter today announced that the 7-metric-ton helo has demonstrated better than anticipated performance in flight trials. The revised performance give theEC175 an 135 naut. mi. radius-of-action with 16 passengers and 190 naut. mi. with 12 passengers, representing a 30% improvement over the initial baseline.

The helicopter maker also is working on an 18 passenger configuration, which would have a range of 100 naut. mi. radius-of-action.

After discussion with its potential customers, “we have incorporated certain adaptations that will further improve the helicopter’s operational capability, placing it ahead of the competition from its entry into service,” says Eurocopter CEO Lutz Bertling in announcing the changes.

Eurocopter
has released further details on the avionics issues that have caused a
six-month certification delay to its in-development EC175 medium twin.

Announced on 12 December, the deferral of the approval process until
mid-2013 means entry-into-service is now pegged for September next year.

The airframer says the certification process for the proprietary
Helionix avionics system to be deployed on the EC175 has been "far more
demanding and complex than for previous legacy avionics systems".
Although Eurocopter has tested the system on ground rigs and its two
flight-test aircraft, it has decided to expand its validation efforts.
"As a result of these tests it was decided to add two full software
versions to ensure system maturity at delivery, adding several
additional months to the certification schedule," it says.

"A detailed system-level design review was passed 'right first time'
in August 2012, confirming progress with the Helionix certification
effort."

Eurocopter says the avionics system on the EC175 is the first to be
used by a rotorcraft that will be certificated to standards previously
only seen on the Airbus A380.

The two flying prototypes have so far accumulated a total of 500h, and are now progressing with endurance trials.

Eurocopter has again delayed certification of its developmental EC175 super medium helicopter as it looks to ensure maturity of the type before it enters service.
The EC175 will now be approved by EASA in "early 2014", slipping from the third quarter of 2013, said the airframer's chief technology officer Jean-Brice Dumont at a [url=http://www.flightglobal.com/landingpage/Paris Charles de Gaulle.html]Paris[/url] media briefing on Tuesday.

“We are proud to be the EC175’s first operator, continuing a long partnership with Airbus Helicopters that began in 1997 with a Dauphin rotorcraft, and which now includes Super Puma AS332 L2, EC155 B1 and EC145 helicopters,” explained Eric Van Hal, the CEO of NHV. “Our EC175s are joining an industry-leading fleet of Airbus Helicopters rotorcraft that was expanded through the announcement of our merger this year with Blueway.”

The EC175 is certified to the latest airworthiness standards, covering both the helicopter and its new Helionix® avionics suite – providing increased safety through reduced pilot workload, enhanced situational awareness, improved flight envelope protection and system redundancy.

Powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada’s latest PT6 turboshaft engine version – the PT6-C67E, which was developed specifically for this helicopter – the EC175 has become the industry’s benchmark medium-sized twin-engine rotorcraft across a full range of missions, including airlift duties in oil and gas operators, search and rescue, emergency medical services, public services, VIP and executive transport.

Contributing to the EC175’s competitive edge is its recommended cruise speed of 150 kts., while the maximum cruise speed exceeds 165 kts. – all achieved at extremely low vibration levels.

Excellent power performance for the EC175 includes hover out of ground effect (HOGE) with a maximum 7.5-metric-ton take-off weight at 5,800 ft. at ISA+20°C conditions; one engine inoperative (OEI) hover performance, which ensures safety during hoisting for search and rescue missions; and extensive power reserve ensuring heli-deck performance (PC1) at maximum take-off weight in ISA+20°C conditions.

The helicopter’s radius-of-action in an oil and gas mission configuration enables 16 passengers to be transported to offshore rigs at distances of 140 nautical miles (NM.) on crew change flights, extending to nearly 200 NM. when 12 passengers are carried. Further certification of the EC175 at an increased maximum take-off weight of 7,800 kg. will offer operators the ability to further expand the radius-of-action by 40 NM., or to carry 300 kg. of additional payload.

High levels of mission flexibility are ensured with the Helionix® avionics, which extends the undisputed superiority of in-flight envelope protection, pilot assistance and situational awareness that have been proven on Airbus Helicopters’ EC225 rotorcraft. In addition, the Rig ’N Fly GPS-navigation-assisted software will be incorporated in the EC175’s avionics suite to make approaches to, and take-offs from, platform-based helipads safer and simpler.

Airbus Helicopters’ EC175 delivery start-up is backed by the company’s commitment to provide a mature helicopter with a dedicated task force and tools that include validated support and services deliverables, as well as established training capabilities. The support and services offer already has been validated – including in operational conditions with Airbus Helicopters’ EC175 prototype – through a dedicated test campaign to accelerate aircraft maturity.

As part of its investment in support and services resources, Airbus Helicopters installed and certified an EC175 Level D full-flight simulator at its Marignane, France headquarters, which enabled pilot training to begin prior to the start-up of EC175 deliveries. Another EC175 Level D full-flight simulator will be located in the United States, serving oil and gas operators in the Gulf of Mexico.

GFS’s H175s will be fitted with an in-built electro-optical system for observation and tracking, along with an enhanced digital map display, both managed from an operator’s console in the cabin. Other mission equipment include dual hoists, loudspeakers, a searchlight, and steerable external lighting

Unveiled in May 2014, the enhancement grows MTOW by 300kg (661lb) to 7.8t and will not require any changes to the helicopter’s hardware, says the manufacturer, simply a modification of its Helionix avionics system and flight manual.

European Aviation Safety Agency certification is expected “before the end of the year”, says Airbus Helicopters, and the upgrade will be available to both new and in-service examples.

Les essais en vol de la version service public reprendront en décembre, avec deux appareils supplémentaires dans le but de soutenir le processus de certification, avant l'entrée en service qui se fera à la fin 2017.

Cette version de la machine commandée par GFS sera équipée entre autres d'un système optronique d'observation commandé depuis la console d'un opérateur en cabine. Les autres équipements de missions comprennent un treuil d'une capacité de levage de 270 kg, des haut-parleurs et un phare de recherche orientable.

L'appareil pourra effectuer des missions de SAR (recherche et sauvetage), d'EMS (évacuation sanitaire), de lutte anti-feu, de police et de patrouilles maritimes et terrestres. Enfin le pilote automatique du H175 incorporera des modes avancés qui permettront de réduire la charge de travail du pilote, au cours des opérations de recherche et de sauvetage complexes.