Many recent reports suggest that the offshore helicopter market is finally starting to recover after a sustained downturn that started when oil prices plummeted in 2014. This sector has traditionally driven growth in the overall rotorcraft industry, though oversupply means that any recovery is expected to be gradual.
Against this backdrop Airbus Helicopters displayed its H175 at Helitech in its offshore configuration, even though 2018 has seen the aircraft achieve its first deliveries in a new public service configuration, while sales have also been achieved in VIP fit.
The aircraft on show at Helitech came from Heli Holland, which uses it for offshore oil-and-gas support missions, as did its previous operator—Mexico’s Transportes Aereos Pegaso—which sold the aircraft to its new Dutch owner in August 2017.
Headquartered at Emmer-Compascuum’s regional airport, Heli Holland flies people, equipment, and supplies from heliports in Amsterdam and Den Helder to oil platforms, light beacons, seismic vessels, and other installations.
Some 29 H175s are now in service, and this fleet has accumulated 40,000 flying hours.
Airbus highlighted the passenger appeal of the H175, with what it calls the longest air-conditioned cabin and the most space and window surface per passenger of all helicopters in this class, together with very low vibration and sound levels and a smooth ride.
For operators the H175 offers the best payload range-per-passenger/radius-of-action (RoA) figure of any helicopter in the medium-class helicopter category. The aircraft enjoys generous power reserves, which translate into efficiency and safety during take-off and landing, rig approach, hovering and hoisting.
In a typical oil-and-gas configuration, carrying 16 passengers, the H175 has a radius of action of 162 nautical miles, or 218 nautical miles when carrying 12 passengers, with no auxiliary fuel tanks. In an optional high-density configuration, the H175 can carry 18 passengers over a radius of 130 nautical miles.
Marc Allongue, head of the H175 program, said at Helitech that the company is having what he called “internal discussions” about potential enhancements, perhaps with greater engine power and rotor diameter to increase maximum takeoff weight. He is, however, mindful of the need to keep the aircraft in the super-medium category.
The company is reportedly planning to introduce an 18-passenger version of the H175 by year-end.
Airbus Helicopters delivered eleven H175s in 2017, and took orders for 19 aircraft, accounting for 86 percent of orders for super medium aircraft in 2017. The company claims an order backlog of about 80 aircraft, most of them in the oil-and-gas configuration.
Airbus has been looking at increasing the annual production rate at Marignane to about 30 aircraft a year, while AVIC in China will eventually achieve an annual production rate of 20 license-built AC352s.