Airbus Helicopters are celebrating a massive contract from GDAT, for up to 20 H175 helicopters - this is for ten firm orders and ten options. GD Helicopter Finance (GDHF), a start-up helicopter leasing and finance company based in Dublin, Ireland, will be marketing these H175 helicopters to customers in the energy, SAR, EMS and parapublic market segments worldwide.
“GDHF is very pleased to announce the availability of 50 H160 and 20 Airbus H175 super medium helicopters to the worldwide market. This new H175 order, along with the existing 50 Airbus H160 medium helicopters already on the GDAT orderbook, will be available to GDHF. This deal will further enhance GDHF’s ability to offer our customers near term availability of efficient, cost-effective, multi-mission helicopters of the very latest technology. GDHF will build a strong relationship with Airbus to deliver high value solutions for our customers,” said Michael York, CEO of GDHF.
“The creation of GDHF and this follow-on GDAT contract underlines the versatility and competitiveness of the H175 and the H160. We look forward to a long-standing partnership with GDHF as they put these multi-mission helicopters into service with their customers around the globe,” said Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters.
In service since 2015, Airbus' H175 belongs to the super-medium class of helicopters, combining long-range and payload with smooth flight qualities, making it the optimal solution for a wide range of onshore and offshore mission profiles, including disaster relief, search & rescue and other public services, as well as crew change and private and business aviation. The 55 H175s currently in service have accumulated more than 210,000 flight hours, of which 184,000 in the energy sector.
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In service since 2015, Airbus’ H175 belongs to the super-medium class of helicopters – combining long range with smooth flight qualities. It takes customers to the next level in terms of comfort, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness.
The H175 addresses several missions, including:
Offshore crew changeLaw enforcementSearch and rescue (SAR)Helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS)Private and business aviationGovernment VVIP
Airbus’ H175 combines high speed (above 155 kts) with smooth flight qualities, excellent payload and cabin comfort.
The H175’s extended, air-conditioned cabin provides the most volume and window surface per passenger in its class. A maximum of four passengers can be seated per row. Vibration and sound levels are low, even at high cruise speeds, contributing to a smooth flight.
Contributing to the H175’s competitive edge is its capacity to perform long-range missions at a fast cruise speed of 155 kts while maintaining a large payload. With a standard fuel tank capacity of over 2 tonnes, the H175 offers flexibility to operators for range and endurance. The H175 also excels in hot climates with an extensive power reserve and heli-deck performance (PC1) at maximum takeoff weight in ISA+20°C conditions.
Powered by two PT6C 67E versions of Pratt & Whitney Canada’s highly reliable turboshaft PT6 engines, the H175 benefits from excellent performance – even in one engine inoperative (OEI) scenarios – and large power reserves, which support efficiency and safety during takeoff and landing, rig approach, hovering and hoisting.
The H175's Helionix® avionics suite and integrated 4-axis autopilot – improved from Airbus’ H225 helicopter – provide the highest levels of safety and mission flexibility.
Meeting the latest international standards, Helionix® reduces pilot workload through unrivalled situational awareness, improved flight envelope protection and system redundancy.
The dual-duplex 4-axis automatic flight control system (AFCS) ensures precision and stability during flight, and reliability even in the harshest weather conditions. Its functions include new automatic modes such as automatic recovery in the event of pilot disorientation, easier final approaches (particularly at low heights, providing prevention against terrain collision), a hands-off one-engine failure management mode, and a Rig N’ Fly mode for approaches to gas/oil rigs. The TCAS II function for automatic collision avoidance also supports the helicopter’s overall flight safety.
An intuitive human-machine interface further reduces pilot workload and has an innovative self-monitoring and alerting system, backed by audio warnings.
Cockpit commonality offers multi-platform customers with training credits. The Airbus-designed Helionix avionics system also is incorporated on the company’ bs H135 and H145 helicopters, as well as the H160.
