Airbus H175 Helicopter

The H175 is a super-medium-lift, twin-engine helicopter introduced by Airbus Helicopters. It is designed to meet the demanding requirements of the oil and gas industry, search-and-rescue (SAR) and emergency medical services. The helicopter entered service in December 2014.

The H175 helicopter was exhibited at Cabo Frio and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 2015. It complies with the CS29 airworthiness standards, as well as the safety standards set by the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP).

H175 helicopter orders and deliveries

The launch customer, Noordzee Helikopters Vlaanderen (NHV) received the first H175 helicopter in December 2014. Bristow Group ordered 17 H175 helicopters in March 2015. The helicopters will be deployed in oil and gas airlift duties. Deliveries are expected to begin in October 2016.

Milestone Aviation Group, a GE Capital Aviation Services company, committed orders and options for a total of 28 H175 helicopters in June 2015.

Design and features in the H175 helicopter

The H175 helicopter is the redesignated and improved version of the EC175 helicopter produced by Eurocopter Group. The helicopter is a complement to the heavy-lift, Airbus H225 helicopter, which is used to perform offshore operations. It is suitable for oil and gas operations, search-and-rescue and emergency medical and public services.

The H175 features a state-of-the-art design incorporating crashworthy airframe and energy-absorbing landing gear, seats, structure and fuel tanks. It includes an emergency flotation system certified to endure at Sea State 6 conditions.

The helicopter has a high-set tail rotor with a ground clearance of 2.3m to enable movement near the rotorcraft during operations on landing pads. The H175 also completed a 30min dry run for the main gear box certification test. It comes with extra-large, push-out windows for quick and easy egress.

The rotorcraft has a length of 18.06m and height of 5.34m. The diameters of the main rotor disc and tail rotor disc are 14.8m and 3.2m, respectively.

The H175 helicopter cockpit and avionics

The H175’s cockpit is equipped with a Helionix® avionics suite integrated with a dual-duplex, four-axis, automatic flight control system (AFCS) for precision and stability. It incorporates four 6inx8in multi-function displays, an extensive self-monitoring system, and explicit alerting system.

The avionics suite includes an intuitive human machine interface (HMI) that can reduce pilot workload. It features unique flight envelope protection and all engines are operating (AEO)/one engine inoperative (OEI) and hands-off, one-engine failure management systems.

The cockpit comes with traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) II autopilot coupling, allowing automatic collision avoidance. It also includes automatic takeoff and go-around procedure at maximum power, enhanced situational awareness with integrated digital map and a dual flight management (DFM) system.

The cockpit crew actions can be recorded by a camera, which can be used for training and procedure improvement purposes.

The H175 helicopter features a spacious cabin offering a total volume of 12m³, and a surface area of 8m². The cabin is 4.1m-long, 2.13m-wide and 1.4m-high. The luggage hold offers a total volume of 2.3m³.

In oil and gas mission configuration, the helicopter can carry 16 passengers to offshore rigs at distances up to 140nm and 18-passengers to a range of 105nm.

H175 helicopter engine and performance details

The helicopter is powered by two Pratt & Whitney PT6C-67E turbo-shaft engines equipped with dual-channel, full-authority, digital engine control (FADEC) system. The standard fuel tank has a maximum capacity of 2,066kg. It allows the helicopter to attain a range of more than 600nm and endurance of six hours.

The H175 has a recommended cruise speed of 150k and a maximum cruise speed of 165k. It has an empty weight of 4,603kg and can carry up to 7,500kg of weight.