Airbus Modifies EC135 as Environmental Tech Testbed

A German photographer spotted a modified EC135 at Airbus Helicopters’ development facility in Donauwörth, Germany. Most striking is the light twin’s new horizontal empennage, moved to the top of the vertical fin.

The bottom of the vertical empennage also has a different design and the tailboom now appears to have a circular cross-section. In addition, the helicopter sports five main rotor blades–instead of four on the stock EC135–with swept tips. The landing skids also have been redesigned.

Asked whether the helicopter is the prototype of a new EC135 variant, Airbus Helicopters answered that it is “testing environmentally friendly technologies on a demonstrator aircraft.” While the EC135 is being used as a testbed, Airbus said the technologies should be seen as “transversal,” meaning not specifically intended for any one particular helicopter model.

Meanwhile, the manufacturer is gearing up for the first delivery of the latest EC135 version, the EC135 T3/P3, which was previously delayed to the fourth quarter. Announced at Heli-Expo 2013, the new model offers several improvements over the current EC135 T2i/P2i, yielding a 66-pound mtow increase and improved hot/high performance.