Airbus Helicopters has fitted the first pre-serial H160 helicopter with its rear fuselage at its factory in Marignane, France. Pre-assembled in Albacante, Spain, leveraging the company’s site-specialization strategy, the component joined the main fuselage, which arrived from the company’s facilities in Donauworth, Germany, earlier this year.
The company plans to assemble 10 pre-serial aircraft in a progressive fashion that fine-tunes its industrial process. As the process matures, Airbus expects assembly lead times to decrease to 40 days at the full production rate.
According to Airbus, first delivery of the H160 will occur next year. Entry into service was originally scheduled for the end of this year, but this was pushed out "due to problems encountered on some mechanical parts that had to be redesigned," according to Bernard Fujarski, the head of the H160 program. Simultaneous European EASA and U.S. FAA certification is anticipated later this year.
This twin-turbine helicopter has a maximum takeoff weight of 5.67 metric tons (12,566 pounds) and 850-km (450-nautical-mile) range. Positioned in the "medium" segment, the H160 was unveiled at the U.S. Heli-Expo show in March 2015. It will offer a fuel burn 15 percent lower than that of the Dolphin H155 family, the model that the H160 replaces.
Airbus Helicopters has fitted the first pre-serial H160 medium twin with the rear fuselage at the company’s facility in Marignane, France. That component assembly was pre-assembled in Albacete, Spain, according to the site specialization strategy implemented by Airbus. The main fuselage of the first pre-serial aircraft arrived from the company’s facilities in Donauwörth, Germany, earlier in the year. A total of 10 pre-serial aircraft will be progressively assembled as the company fine-tunes its industrial process with the eventual goal of decreasing assembly lead times to 40 days at the full production rate.
The new H160 final assembly line at Marignane will integrate five major component assemblies that will be completed and tested before they reach the line. The flow will be automated and move down two production lines, each with several workstations capable of assembling the various H160 configurations. Airbus said it has the capacity to ramp production up to 50 helicopters per year after the H160 is certified in 2019. The first delivered H160 will be configured for commercial passenger transport for oil and gas, followed by an emergency medical services (EMS) version.
The H160 features the Helionix avionics suite, an all-composite airframe, flat-floor cabin, oversize cabin windows, and a baggage compartment that can hold 661 pounds. Its cabin can be configured to seat four or eight passengers in executive/VIP layouts, or 12 in a utility configuration. The H160 also incorporates a variety of new technologies, among them Blue Edge active tracking main rotor blades in a five-blade system with a double-sweep design that reduces noise and contributes to a smoother ride, and new Safran Arrano engines that yield 10 to 15 percent better fuel consumption than the AS365/H155 family it replaces.