Summary

  • The first civil helicopter to be upgraded by Helibras in Brazil will be touring the country from August 31 to September 29.
LABACE 2016 marks start of demo tour for first H135 upgraded in Brazil

The first civil helicopter to be upgraded by Helibras in Brazil is being presented in an aircraft demonstration tour starting this week. Helibras announced the transformation of an EC135 P2 into the latest version of this model, the H135, during its participation in the LABACE 2016 civil aviation fair held in São Paulo from August 30 to September 1. The model will now embark on a demo tour of São Paulo, Curitiba, Florianopolis, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte from August 31 to September 29.

"The modernized H135 will be presented to our customers so that they can experience for themselves the performance improvements obtained with this upgrade. We expect this to be the first of many for the civilian market," said Dominique Andreani, vice president of business and services at Helibras.

The modernization of the helicopter provides a significant increase in aircraft performance thanks to the addition of a 20-cm in diameter main rotor and new blades. New FADEC software has also been installed, along with a number of new components and structural parts, extending the lifetime of the helicopter. The maximum takeoff weight has increased to 2980 kg, especially in hot environments. The modernization also offers a gain of 90 kg during takeoffs from high-altitude helipads.

"After the modernization, the test flights demonstrated a gain in performance for the aircraft, along with improvements in maximum speed with maximum continuous power," said Rogério Holzmann, a test pilot for Helibras.

In addition, the helicopter’s engine parameters monitoring system and flight management system have been upgraded, and fuel consumption has been reduced by 2.3%.