The Eurocopter 135 or Ec135 helicopter is one of the most widely used and popular helicopters in Europe along with the Robinson helicopters we have known for a long time. Unlike Robinson, which is often used as a training, personal transport or less often for commercial flights, the Eurocopter 135, thanks to its technical features and qualities, has received wider application in European countries. Let’s find out how many years ago the history of this amazing machine actually began. We will talk about this in our short article.
First, a little history. The helicopter has been in development since 1980. It took the developers 8 years for the first prototype to fly and 6 years for the pre-production model to take to the skies in 1994. After all the necessary tests, the helicopter entered serial production in 1996 and more than 700 machines have been produced to date. The base model for the 135th was the MBB Bo 108 helicopter, the silhouette of which clearly shows the features of the 135th machine and replaced the outdated BO 105.
Let’s pay attention to the main technical characteristics of the helicopter. First of all, the engine. What distinguishes our model from, for example, a helicopter of a similar class, the Bell 505 JRX, is that the Eurocopter 135 helicopter is equipped with two engines, which gives it many advantages in speed, range, power, rate of climb, etc. The helicopter is produced with two versions of engines: 2 × turboshaft Turbomeca Arrius 2B2 with a capacity of 606 horsepower and 2 × turboshaft Pratt & Whitney Canada PW206B2 with a capacity of 621 horsepower, which is an average of 1200 forces against 504 for Bell 505. The rate of climb, thanks to the power plant, is 7.6 meters per second.
The helicopter develops a cruising speed of 240 km / h, in the basic version it can cover up to 650 km and can stay in the air for up to 3.5 hours.
The cabin modification is designed for 1-2 pilots and 5-6 passenger seats. The helicopter can be easily converted into a sanitary (medical) helicopter, it is equipped with a rear hatch, which makes it possible to easily and freely convert it into a carrier. Four bearing blades and a system of acoustic vibrations from a small propeller ARIS (anti-resonance isolation system) allow the helicopter to find wider application for medical flights. The helicopter is equipped with a fenestron, which allows it not to violate noise standards and thus gives the maximum opportunity to be used in cities at different times of the day.
The helicopter is widely used at ski resorts, in all kinds of rescue units, in the police, it is used for work on offshore gas and oil platforms, for ship transport aviation. Having a powerful engine and the ability to quickly gain altitude, the helicopter has been widely used and in demand in difficult climatic, adverse conditions, in conditions of tough operation and hard-to-reach places for flights. The helicopter is equipped with a laser obstacle warning system Hellas, which allows maneuvering in a limited space and in conditions of poor visibility.
The hydraulic system and electrical system have dual redundancy, which makes the helicopter virtually fail-safe. The helicopter can fly IFR thanks to the flight and navigation equipment and the ability to use a meteorological radar, which is extremely important in extreme conditions when the impact of weather conditions must be minimized. All these qualities make the helicopter as safe as possible.
In 2014, Eurocopter was renamed to Airbus Group, in other words, Eurocopter helicopters are now called Airbus. These changes affected our helicopter as well, during the rebranding it was named H135. Since then, the helicopter has found its application in business aviation, in the Airbus corporate helicopter division, as a corporate helicopter for business aviation in the world. Due to its characteristics, it has become in demand for commercial flights, for personal use, as a business class helicopter. Airbus H135 is used for VIP charter flights, equipped with a designer cabin and leather ventilated seats, tinted glass for passenger doors, air conditioning.
Every day, the helicopter faces new challenges and obstacles, it has to cover distances, take off and land, be useful and fly to help every minute.
11 AUGUST 2020