Airbus Launches Mercedes-edition ACH145 Helicopter

Airbus Corporate Helicopters and Mercedes-Benz recently launched the ACH145 Mercedes-Benz Edition in São Paulo. This move applies the automaker’s “sensual purity” design philosophy, as embodied in the G-Class off-road vehicle, to the cabin of the airframer’s best-selling twin-turbine helicopter.

The global launch customer in São Paulo will receive the first ACH145 M-B Edition after a party presenting the aircraft to 200 clients and potential clients. “Brazil is in our core strategy. It’s a major market,” said Frederic Lemos, head of Airbus Corporate Helicopters. “In the last five years, Brazil, the U.S., and Europe have accounted for 75% of the market.”

Besides enormous market potential for the H145 in such growing fields as EMS, Lemos sees increasing popularity for the corporate version ACH145 as a replacement for the aging existing fleet.

The off-road G-Class and the ACH145 share “the ability to go anywhere,” he said, noting that the ACH145 took off from the 22,858-foot peak of Aconcagua, the highest in the Americas. Lemos explained that both vehicles provide unmatched access from difficult places to out-of-this-world extremes, placing the vehicles on “moonscape” flooring.

This collaboration between the two firms dates to 2010, with 26 units of early editions delivered worldwide. The new version offers six different color families, including Atlas, Polaris, and Meteor, as well as nearly infinite custom possibilities such as seat stitching. The model displayed during the launch event holds seven passengers, but other configurations allow from four to nine.

Improvements also include improved thermal and acoustic insulation, sufficient to allow dispensing with headsets on short flights. When headphones are used, passengers can speak only to specific other passengers or to the pilots.

A non-removable wall completely isolates pilots and passengers in this edition, and optional maintenance access panels can be added in the cabin ceiling. The flooring is wood-based and has the appearance of natural wood, although with the necessary durability—another crossover from the G-Class.

While the design is Mercedes-Benz, the major weight of aeronautical tasks, such as certification, falls to Airbus. The new edition, launched at an event in late February, has already been certified by Brazil’s ANAC and EASA.

The Car Connection

The common dedication to quality craftsmanship and materials smooths the collaboration, but how well does the inspiration make the transition from car to helicopter? “It goes beyond the logo,” explained Ronald Koning, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Cars and Vans Brazil. “It’s a joint design philosophy, not just upholstery, including flooring and ceiling…I feel at home when sitting in the helicopter.”

While the car and helicopter displayed quiet, timeless luxury in matching midnight livery, the launch event promised a louder variety on the theme of “Constellations.” An enormous tent had been erected on an empty lot on one of the avenues bordering the Pinheiros River, where São Paulo’s newest office buildings can be found. Across the street was TV network Rede Globo’s São Paulo headquarters; behind the vehicles loomed the X-shaped tower and criss-crossed cables of the Octávio Frias de Oliveira Bridge.

Lemos said that of the 200 guests expected, “Most are already clients and have loyalty to the brand,” but the number includes owners of other brands who might be persuaded to buy, and people who might enter the market. With the ACH145 being the best seller in the segment and the country’s fleet aging, he hopes to find clients upgrading from older aircraft of ACH or other brands.

Lemos doesn’t recall a similar dedicated event, but expects more in the future. “We usually join industry events such as Catarina.” LABACE, in his view, “is becoming more general aviation and less business aviation,” and though it now takes place at Campo de Marte Airport, where Airbus’s Brazilian subsidiary Helibras is headquartered, he does not expect ACH to take part this year.

Ronald Koning of Mercedes, who was representing the German automaker's design team at the launch event, said he expects many of his car owners were present. The values of Mercedes-Benz and ACH overlap—and so does their customer base, he said.