At the recent
Helitech show in Amsterdam, Airbus Helicopters celebrated two decades of operations with the H135 light-twin multi-mission helicopter.
Today, more than 300 customers in 75 countries operate the H135 for a wide range of missions, including Emergency Medical Services (EMS), law enforcement, corporate transport, offshore wind-farm support and military flight training.
During a press event at Helitech, Steffen Lutz — CEO of German rescue organisation DRF Luftrettung — said: “As launch customer of the H135 in 1996, we can now look back on 20 years of rescue operations with this helicopter. The H135 has proven a safe and reliable workhorse and enabled us to save thousands of lives.
“We have had first-hand experience of the benefits brought by the performance and mission improvements introduced by Airbus Helicopters over the past two decades, and they have proved critical when we put them to use daily in our most demanding EMS missions.
“As a long-term operator of the H135 family, we are particularly looking forward to receiving the new Helionix-equipped version in 2017.”
The integration of Airbus Helicopter’s Helionix avionics suite will further reduce pilots’ workload and enhance safety. The H135 with Helionix will receive certification by the European Aviation Safety Agency in the coming weeks.