Airbus Helicopters H145 Tours Brazil, Malaysian Joint Simulation Venture Begins

Airbus Helicopters has initiated a month-long customer tour in Brazil of its H145. During visits to the cities of Sao Paulo, Curitiba, Brasilia, Belo Horizonte and Rio de Janeiro, the H145 will be presented to civilian and offshore operators, along with governmental and military agencies.

Photo by Jay Miller, courtesy of Airbus Helicopters

The H145 – previously known as the EC145 T2 – has been upgraded to improve performance in hot and high conditions, augment its flight characteristics, provide lower noise levels, reduce pilot workload and further enhance operational safety. Features include the incorporation of Airbus Helicopters’ signature Fenestron® shrouded tail rotor, application of the company-developed Helionix™ avionics suite, and the use of new Turbomeca Arriel 2 E engines with dual-channel FADEC digital controls.

Demotour Dates:

• March 18-24, Sao Paulo
• March 25-27, Curitiba
• March 30-31, Brasilia
• April 1-2, Belo Horizonte
• April 6-7, Rio de Janeiro
• April 8-9, Sao Pedro d’Aldeia
• April 10-17, Rio de Janeir

Airbus Helicopters has also initiated an agreement with Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation Berhad (BHIC), with the latter to acquire a 30 percent share in the Airbus Helicopters Simulation Center in Malaysia.

This joint venture agreement was signed by BHIC Chairman YBhg Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin and Philippe Monteux, Airbus Helicopters Senior Vice President for South East Asia & Pacific region, in the presence of Malaysian Defense Minister Y.B. Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.

Photo courtesy of Airbus Helicopters Malaysia

The simulation facility – operated by Airbus Helicopters Malaysia since January 2013, and located at the Malaysia International Aerospace Center – houses a full-flight simulator for the H225 and H225M helicopter types. The facility was set up as part of Airbus Helicopters’ contract to provide 12 H225M (formerly known as the EC725) airframes to the Royal Malaysian Air Force.

Additionally, the simulation center offers training to H225/H225M pilots and crews from customers in the military, paramilitary and civil sectors throughout the Asia/Pacific region, and has received trainees from such countries as Australia, South Korea, Taiwan, Oman, Japan and Thailand during the past two years.

In its first year of operation, the center successfully trained some 200 pilots and logged 1,940 hours with the full-flight simulator. This activity increased by over 40 percent in 2014 to deliver 2,782 simulator hours, training approximately 300 pilots.