HAI Heli-Expo 2020. Anaheim, CA … Media info, images and Helicopter related NEWS
The annual HAI Heli-Expo 2020 Event is over …. lots of new Press Releases and new helicopters on display at Anaheim, CA.
Thanks to Oscar BERNARDI & Gianfilippo COLASANTO for their contribution in order to realize this exhaustive Photo Report Page with full coverage of the exposition … 225 images to enjoy.
PRESS RELEASE – 30 January 2020
Airbus Helicopters has announced a new Alternate GrossWeight (AGW) available on the latest version of the H135 family of helicopters. H135 helicopters with the new alternate gross weight benefit from a 120kg (265 lb) increased take-off weight and useful load. This increase can also be used to extend the range by up to 75nm or the endurance by up to 40 minutes under standard conditions.
The new AGW will becertified by EASA and FAA in 2020 and can be retrofitted on all H135s with Helionix. The best-in-class Direct Operational Cost (DOC) and Direct Maintenance Costs (DMC) of the H135 are maintained under the new AGW, with no reduction of part lifetimes or additional inspections. The new AGW will apply for visual and instrument flight rules (VFR and IFR).
To date, more than 1,300 helicopters of the H135 family are in operation around the globewith more than five million flight hours. More than 300 customers in 60 countries use helicopters from the H135 family for a wide range of missions including Emergency Medical Services (EMS), law enforcement, corporate transport, offshore wind and military training.
PRESS RELEASE – 28 January 2020
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has placed an order for three H135 helicopters, marking the first-ever partnership between the U.S. space program and Airbus Helicopters.
The order was announced today at the Airbusbooth at the Heli Expo Trade show in Anaheim, California. TheH135s will be operated out of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a variety of missions, including rocket launches, security, emergency medical services, and passenger transport.
Two of the helicopters are scheduled for delivery later this summer, with a third planned for early 2021. “NASA chose the H135 because Airbus was able to meet all the NASA mission requirements which include personnel movements, airborne law enforcement roles, aerial firefighting, weapons training, and overwater operations,”said Dave Ramsey, NASA’s Chief of Flight Operations at the Kennedy Space Center. “The H135 provides a modernized airframe that performs well in the Florida environment and will serve to protect NASA assets and personnel for years to come.”
As part of a fleet replacement initiative, NASA will acquire the aircraft through Davenport Aviation, an SBA-certified woman-owned small business and HUB Zone contractor specializing in the supply of aerospace equipment to federal, state and local government agencies. “These new helicopters will help support NASA and the men and women who advance space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research,” said Romain Trapp, President of Airbus Helicopters Inc. and Head of the North America region. “We look forward to partnering with NASA to provide them with the best products and services to complete their important mission.”
The H135 is the market leader among light twin-engine helicopters, known for its endurance, reliability and versatility. It boasts the Airbus-developed Helionix avionics suite designed by pilots specifically for helicopters. The H135’s advanced cockpit improves pilots’ situational awareness, and the high-set main rotor and Fenestron shrouded tail rotor enhance operational safety. Globally ,the H135 operates in more than 60 countries and has flown more than 5million flight hours.
PRESS RELEASE – 28 January 2020
Maverick Helicopters and Airbus Helicopters have announced they will partner to retrofit the tourism operator’s entire fleet of 34 EC130 B4 helicopters with the Airbus Helicopters Crash Resistant Fuel System (CRFS), which has just received EASA certification with FAA to follow shortly.
Maverick Helicopters, one of the largest aviation-based tourism companies in the world, carries morethan 250,000 passengers annually in Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, and Hawaii. It operates an exclusively Airbus fleet of nearly 50 helicopters, comprised of the H130 which has come standardwith a CRFS since its entry into service in 2012 and of its earlier variant the EC130 B4. Thecompany’s decision to ensure that its earlier models have the same CRFS as the rest of its fleet reinforces both Maverick’s and Airbus’s strong commitment to ensuring the highest levels of safety available in the industry. “We are glad that Airbus has been able to provide us with their own retrofit kit for our fleet of EC130B4s, as it’s important for us to bring our entire fleet up to the same high standards,” said Greg Rochna, CEO of Maverick Helicopters. “Retrofitting such a large fleet is not a small endeavor, and Airbus Helicopters has shown great support, and we expect this to continue as we work together moving forward.”
Airbus Helicopters has also announced that its CRFS was certified last month by EASA for operations with a cargo swing on H125, in full compliance with the 27.952 regulation, and that it is now also available for the AS350 B3 variant for retrofit. Furthermore, the Airbus Helicopters CRFS, which comes standard on all H125 aircraft coming from Airbus Helicopters’ Columbus, Miss. production facility will now come standard on all new-built H125s worldwide. Any Airbus H125 or H130 family helicopter in service today that does not have a CRFS can be equipped with one through either an Airbus Helicopters or third-party approved retrofit solution, based on the model. To encourage the implementation of this important safety feature industrywide, Airbus Helicopters has been offering its CRFS retrofit kits at the below-cost price of € 35000 or US$44,000 worldwide for the past year and has been providing incentives to its customers who choose to retrofit their fleet with a third-party solution.
PRESS RELEASE – Anaheim, 30 January 2020
The simulator’s visual system provides 3D vision with unprecedented resolution. “This will allow our discerning pilots to effectively train for difficult scenarios on mountain landing sites, with bright sunshine and under various snow conditions such as white-outs,” says Air Zermatt CEO Gerold Biner.
The simulator can also be used for other scenarios, such as external load training (HESLO), autorotationand vortex recovery, using a validated flight data model. The small environmental footprint and the cost-effective price were important criteria for Air Zermatt when it selected VRM Switzerland’s simulator. In the long run, it will enable Air Zermatt to conduct morein-house training, allowing it to reduce the travel costs and time involved in traveling to other training centers. All this while doing something good for the environment in Zermatt.
“We have not found anything on the market that comes close to the solution that VRM Switzerland is offering in terms of quality and technology,” says Biner. “And I would like to mention the ultimate key to a successful partnership. We here at Air Zermatt are very passionate about what we do. So it was great to find in VRM Switzerland a team that is equally passionate about what they do: Offering the demanding pilot the best simulator experience.”
PRESS RELEASE – Anaheim, 29 January 2020
ANAHEIM, CA, January 29, 2020 – OMNI Táxi Aéreo has selected SKYTRAC to provide both Real-Time Health and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS) and Satellite Push-to-Talk (PTT) solutions on nine AW139s currently engaged in services contracts with PETROBRAS, the largest multinational Brazilian producer of oil and gas, to become the country’s first AW139s equipped with the industry-leading technology.
“SKYTRAC has an excellent reputation as a leading enterprise data solution provider, and we are looking forward to rolling out upgrades with them in the coming months,” said Roberto Coimbra, CEO at OMNI. “Equipping both Satellite Push-to-Talk and Real-Time HUMS on our AW139s will drive safety and improve operational efficiencies for our customers.”
A vital safety program that can help catch, communicate, and resolve emerging safety issues as they are detected, the onboard system monitors the HUMS parameters in flight and alerts ground crews in real-time when exceedances are captured. The solution also streamlines the transfer of HUMS and flight data monitoring files postflight to ground stations, eliminating the need for technicians to board the aircraft and manually download files.
OMNI will also equip SKYTRAC’s PTT solution, a satellite-based 256-bit encrypted radio system which allows the operations control center to efficiently communicate with the aircraft while in flight. The system can hold up to 15 talkgroups per device with crystal clear sound, opposed to traditional HF radio commonly known for distortion and static, cost-prohibitive equipment, and unruly radio tower agreements.
Utilizing the Iridium network for true pole-to-pole coverage, and the ISAT-200A to enable functionality, PTT-enabled assets can communicate freely with less than half a second audio delay from speech on one end to audio playback at the other. PTT also eliminates the reliance of ground or offshore radio towers, and can be even more important when engaged to support emergency situations, a critical feature for offshore oil & gas operators.
PRESS RELEASE – Portland, 28 January 2020
Erickson’s recent aircraft orders and deliveries have signaled a demand for the S-64 as a firefighting platform of the future. We will transition to new production aircraft with the future introduction of the S-64F+.
The future S-64F+ will include the following innovations and enhancements:
Erickson has identified the investment in product, plant, and equipment (PP&E) required to support our customers and these initiatives. Erickson is scheduling meetings with prospective buyers for the S-64F+ with our aviation sales experts.
PRESS RELEASE – Anaheim, 30 January 2020
German air rescue and ambulance provider DRF Luftrettung placed an order for 15 H145s, making them the largest operator of the H145.
Show highlights included the increased power of the H125 that will enable operators to lift up to an additional 190 kg (419 lbs), Shell Aircraft confirming their interest in using the H160 for offshore transportation missions, and Metro Aviation ordering an additional 12 new EC145e helicopters.
Customs and Border Protection will add 16 new H125 helicopters to their fleet, with deliveries beginning later this year from Airbus’ production facility in Columbus, Miss. Another H125 order was signed with Ascent Helicopters in Western Canada.
“At Airbus Helicopters, we are constantly focused on finding ways to help our customers better execute their missions,” said Bruno Even, Airbus Helicopters CEO. “We are honoured by the trust that our first-time and returning customers place in our aircraft and support solutions, which has been confirmed once again at this year’s Heli-Expo.”
Airbus received an order for three new H135s from NASA, marking the first-time partnership between the U.S. space program and Airbus Helicopters. The agency will use the aircraft for a variety of missions, including missile launch security at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, emergency medical services and qualified personnel transport.
Reinforcing their commitment to ensuring the highest level of safety available, tourism operator Maverick Helicopters announced it will retrofit its entire fleet of 34 EC130 B4 helicopters with the Airbus Crash Resistant Fuel System.
On the support and services side, Airbus secured numerous global support contracts, including Papillon, Heliportugal, and DRF Luftrettung who extended its HCare Smart contract for another eight years. These plans enable customers to increase availability and mission success, optimize their costs, lower the maintenance burden, enhance safety and sustain the value of their assets. Airbus also unveiled its new collaborative AirbusWorld customer portal and an online Marketplace making e-commerce practices from the consumer world available to Airbus customers. Additionally, the company has nearly doubled the number of helicopters now sharing flight and maintenance data with the company in just one year.
Also announced at the show, Airbus’ global helicopter fleet reached 100 million flight hours. To all the pilots, operators, engineers, technicians, mechanics, ground crew, and passengers who helped make this milestone possible, #thanks100million.
PRESS RELEASE – Anaheim – 28 January 2020
“Shell seeks opportunity for early introduction to service of the H160. Having worked closely with Airbus over the last year to understand the design and manufacturing philosophy behind the H160, Shell Aircraft believes this innovative helicopter offers a potential step change in safety and operational capability. To benefit from those new capabilities at the earliest opportunity, we are remaining fully engaged with Airbus through its final certification stages and looking for opportunities to achieve an accelerated introduction to offshore service,” said Tony Cramp, VP Aircraft, Shell.
“We are honoured that Shell Aircraft wants to be the first to introduce the H160 into service for offshore transportation,” said Bruno Even, Airbus Helicopters CEO. “The H160 integrates Airbus Helicopters’ latest technological innovations that introduce breakthrough safety features with Helionix’s accrued pilot assistance and automated features as well as flight envelop protection. The aircraft’s compact size will be an added advantage to landing on oil platforms,” he added.
H160 was not just designed with passengers and pilots in mind. Operators will appreciate its competiveness thanks to its increased fuel efficiency and customer-centric simplified maintenance eco-system: equipment accessibility has been facilitated by the helicopter’s optimised architecture, the maintenance plan was thoroughly verified during the Operator Zero campaigns, and it is delivered with intuitive 3D maintenance documentation. The H160 is due to enter into service in 2020.
PRESS RELEASE – Anaheim, 28 January 2020
Airbus Helicopters has announced a major performance increase on the H125 by making full use of the available power of Safran Helicopter Engines’ Arriel 2D.
The aircraft’s external and internal load lifting capabilities will increase by up to +140 kg, with a large part of it already available at low altitude and low external temperatures, while the hover ceiling OGE will be improved by more than 1,500 ft (up to 12,600 ft). These figures will be further increased when the H125 is equipped with the BLR Fast Fin® tail rotor enhancement and stability system, resulting in a total additional gain of up to +190 kg of external and internal load lifting capabilities and the hover ceiling OGE being improved by +2,300 ft (up to 13,400 ft) compared to the current H125 performance.
This extra power is expected to be certified this summer and will be included as a standard feature on all new-built H125s at no price increase. A retrofit solution will be available for all VEMD- equipped H125s (AS350 B3e) by the end of this year and will only consist of a simple VEMD software upgrade.
The H125 will also provide increased operational simplicity thanks to new options aiming to improve visibility and pilot awareness. All of them are to be showcased on the H125 at Airbus Helicopter’s booth: a more compact and simplified instrument panel that reduces its surface area by 40% and incorporates a Garmin G500H TXI touch screen; a remote FLI solution developed by California-based AKV Inc. which will allow to display the main VEMD engine parameters on a smartphone or a tablet via a Bluetooth connection, while keeping external loads in sight, and two additional upper windows greatly improving upward visibility. Show-goers will also see how the Maximum Pilot View Kit, provided by Swiss Rotors Services, boosts the precision and safety of aerial work operations by considerably increasing the field of view of pilots.
“I am very happy to be presenting these new H125 features, which are the result of a continuous dialogue with our customers” declared Axel Aloccio, Head of the Intermediate Single Programme. “The extra power offered by the H125 raises the bar within the single engine helicopter market to reach levels never attained up to now by such platforms and confirms the superiority of the H125 in terms of payload and value for money. And our new options for the aerial work market segment will not only simplify our customer’s daily missions, but more importantly, will further increase the safety of these very demanding operations”.
With more than 4,000 helicopters in service with about 1,500 global customers, the H125 keeps leading the single engine helicopter market thanks to its high performance and multi-mission capacity. In the last 10 years 630 H125s have been delivered for aerial work, resulting in 74% market share. There are currently about 1,600 H125/AS350 helicopters dedicated to aerial work operations, having accumulated more than 10,6 Million flight hours.
