Airbus Helicopters has used the British debut of the H160 mock-up at Helitech 2015, held on October 6-8 in London, UK, to provide an update on the program’s flight test campaign: the first prototype flights are progressing according to plan and the aircraft has already reached a maximum speed of 175 kts and an altitude of 10,000ft.
Meanwhile, the second prototype (PT2) is progressing as per plan since its power-on in June 2015. As 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 dedicated ‘Dynamic Helicopter Zero’ test bench before the PT2 performs its first flight by the end of this year.
“The flight envelope opening of the H160 is well paced, thanks to the relevance of our investments in new generation test benches,” said Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus Helicopters. “We are excited to present the H160 at Helitech and we are in a good position to begin its commercialization next year, with the end objective of having a fully mature product ready to be delivered in 2018.”
A new generation 5.5 to 6-metric ton twin-engine helicopter, the H160 will be tailored for a wide range of applications, including oil and gas operations, emergency medical services, public service and private and business aviation.
October 8, 2015
