Airbus Helicopters H160

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Airbus Helicopters H160
Airbus Helicopters H160.jpg
Airbus Helicopters H160
Type: Medium multipurpose helicopter
Design country:

FranceFrance France Germany
GermanyGermany 

Manufacturer:

Airbus Helicopters

First flight:

June 12, 2015

Commissioning:

In development

Number of pieces:

3 prototypes

The multi - purpose helicopter H160 is a model under development by the Franco-German company Airbus Helicopters . The machine completed its maiden flight on June 12, 2015. It was positioned as a slightly enlarged successor to the Airbus Helicopters H155 . The delivery of the first machine to customers is planned for 2020.

A military version, the Airbus Helicopters H160M Guépard , is being developed for the French armed forces. The H160M is due to expire in 2028 and replace a number of different types of all three armed forces in up to 169 units. For the time being, the naval aviators already ordered four H160s for the SAR service in 2020 .

history

Development of the H160 began under the designation X4. Originally, two different versions were planned for the H160. Initially, a version with a state-of-the-art cockpit was to come onto the market, followed a few years later by another with a visionary cockpit. However, this plan was later discarded. In the meantime only one variant with the company's own Helionix avionics suite is planned. The helicopter's electrical systems were commissioned for the first time in December 2014. Initially, engines from Pratt & Whitney Canada were considered, but ultimately a model from Safran was chosen. In March 2015, the new model was finally presented to the public at the HAI Heli-Expo in Orlando . The exterior design was done by the Peugeot Design Lab. The first flight took place on June 12, 2015 at the company's Marignane location . The second of three planned prototypes started on January 27, 2016. The helicopter with registration F-WWPL is equipped with the Safran Arrano engines intended for the series . In tests at the beginning of 2016, the H160 reached a top speed of 337 km / h. The development target was a speed of 315 km / h.

In March 2017, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced that France would purchase 160 to 190 militarized H160s from 2024 to replace a number of light helicopter types used by the French armed forces as part of the Helicoptère Interarmées Léger (HIL) program.

In October 2017, the first flight of the third prototype PT3 with near-series cabin equipment took place, which is to be used for demonstration flights from 2018. In December 2018 the first flight of the first series aircraft took place. After more than 1500 flight hours, this helicopter received type approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in mid-2020 . The FAA approval is expected shortly before delivery to the first US customer in the further course of 2020.

technology

Fenestron , biplane and blade tip of the Blue Edge main rotor

The H160 is positioned as the successor to the H155 ( EC155 ), between the H145 (EC145) and the H175 (EC175) of the manufacturer. It is powered by two Arrano 1A shaft turbines from Safran Helicopter Engines , each delivering 738 kW. The five-blade rotor is equipped with new, multi-bent rotor blades (Blue Edge), which are intended to reduce the noise generated in forward flight. In addition, the Fenestron is inclined by 12 °, which should lead to a reduction in the power requirement when hovering. What is unusual about the design is the horizontal stabilizer called Biplane , which consists of two surfaces arranged one above the other.

The H160 is the world's first civilian helicopter which made entirely of composite materials ( English composites ) is manufactured.

Technical specifications

Parameter Data
crew 1-2
Passengers 12
Payload including fuel 1760 kg
Empty mass 4240 kg
Max. Takeoff mass 6000 kg
Cruising speed 160  kn (296  km / h )
Top speed 182 kn (337 km / h)
Max. Range 450 NM (833 km)
Operation radius (12 passengers) 120 NM (222 km)
Engine 2 × saffron arrano 1A
Shaft power 738 kW each (permanent)

Web links

Commons : Airbus Helicopters H160  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ FlightGlobal: PARIS: Airbus Helicopters confirms show launch for X6. Retrieved June 16, 2015 .
  2. ↑ Third H160 prototype starts flight tests. FlugRevue.de , October 13, 2017, accessed on October 13, 2017 .
  3. ↑ a b Dominic Perry: Airbus Helicopters targets AW139 with new H160. In: Flightglobal . March 3, 2015, accessed April 26, 2015 .
  4. ↑ a b Tony Osborne: Airbus Helicopters reveals X4 progress. In: Aviation Week . February 26, 2014, accessed April 26, 2015 .
  5. ↑ a b Dominic Perry: Airbus Helicopters boss confirms X4 'power on'. In: Flightglobal . December 19, 2014, accessed April 26, 2015 .
  6. ↑ Gerhard Hegmann, Gesche Wüpper: The special thing about the new Airbus helicopter is the rotor. In: The world . March 4, 2015, accessed April 26, 2015 .
  7. ↑ Airbus Helicopters completes cold tests of the H160. Retrieved November 18, 2019 .
  8. ^ Dominic Perry: France to buy more Rafales, A330 tankers under new spending plan. In: flightglobal.com. February 9, 2018, accessed February 15, 2020 .
  9. ↑ French Navy orders interim H160 SAR helos, Janes , February 10, 2020
  10. ↑ Thierry Dubois: Airbus Helicopters Reins In Innovation. In: Aviation International News . September 3, 2014, accessed April 26, 2015 .
  11. ↑ Dominic Perry: Airbus Helicopters drops PW210 engine on 'repositioned' X4. In: Flightglobal . February 18, 2015, accessed April 26, 2015 .
  12. ↑ PEUGEOT design for the new Airbus Helicopter H160. In: www.ots.at. Retrieved February 15, 2020 .
  13. ↑ AviationWeek: Airbus Flies New H160. Retrieved June 16, 2015 .
  14. ↑ Second H160 prototype is flying. In: Flugrevue.de. January 27, 2016, accessed January 28, 2016 .
  15. ↑ Airbus Helicopters begins H160 commercialization - Vertical Magazine . In: Vertical Magazine . ( verticalmag.com [accessed March 3, 2017]).
  16. ^ Defense minister at Airbus Helicopters: H160 for the French military . In: FLIGHT REVIEW . ( Flugrevue.de ).
  17. ^ Charles Forrester, Gareth Jennings: France announces H160 for HIL programs. (No longer available online.) In: Janes.com. March 3, 2017, archived from the original on March 8, 2017 ; accessed on March 7, 2017 .
  18. ↑ Third H160 prototype starts flight tests. In: Flugrevue.de. October 13, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017 .
  19. ↑ helicopters.airbus.com: The first H160 from series production takes off Machine in a symbolic look celebrates the successes from 2018 , accessed on January 4, 2019
  20. ↑ Volker K. Thomalla: Airbus Helicopters H160 is now EASA-approved. In: aerobuzz.de. July 1, 2020, accessed July 1, 2020 .
  21. ^ Karl Schwarz: Approval for H160. In: aerokurier.de. July 1, 2020, accessed July 2, 2020 .
  22. ↑ EASA TCDS
  23. ↑ Eurocopter Blue Edge rotor blade noise reduction. (Video, 33s) In: YouTube. February 22, 2010, accessed on April 26, 2015 (uploader “theworacle” does not seem to have any particular connection with Airbus Helicopters, but the video is said to come from the company).
  24. ↑ Dominic Perry: ANALYSIS: Dauphin's demise spurs X4 development at Airbus Helicopters. In: Flightglobal . February 24, 2015, accessed April 26, 2015 .
  25. ↑ VertiFlite: Airbus says hello to H160 . In: VertiFlite . , Pp. 8, 9.
  26. ^ Civil helicopters: helicopter H160 - Airbus Helicopters. Retrieved June 20, 2017 (English).
List of helicopter types made by Airbus Helicopters


Civil series:

H120 • H125 • H130 • H135 • H145 • H155 • H160 • H175 • H225 • AS 332 Super Puma • AS 350 / AS 355 Écureuil • SA 360 / AS 365 Dauphin • Vahana

Military series:

AS 532 Cougar • AS 550 / AS 555 Fennec • AS 565 Panther • H135M • H145M • H225M Caracal • H665 Tiger • NH90 • UH-72 Lakota • VSR700

Experimental helicopter:

X3 • X6 • X9