Safran Helicopter Engines inked a maintenance contract this week at Heli-Expo with CHC Helicopter for maintenance support of Turbomeca Arriel turboshaft engines on CHC’s Sikorsky S-76 and Airbus Helicopters AS365 fleets and, separately, announced CAAC validation of type certification (VTC) for the Arriel 2H turboshaft engine that powers the Avicopter AC312E.
The four-year maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) contract covers some 70 engines, including support for Arriel 1S, 2S1, and 2S2 engines on CHC's S-76s and Arriel 2C on its Dauphins. “Our partnership will allow us to best support the global overhaul, repair, and support needs of our operation with on-site support,” said CHC senior v-p of engineering and operations Dave Balevic. “The contract builds on our existing relationship with Safran and the extension of our license for the Makila engine from our Heli-One branch in Stavanger, Norway.”
The contract will be managed by the corporate support department of Safran Helicopter Engines’ worldwide support model. CHC engines will be repaired at centers in Tarnos, France; Grand Prairie, Texas; and Xerem, Brazil.
Regarding the CAAC validation of the Arriel 2H engine, Nicolas Billecocq, v-p of Safran Light Helicopter Engines, said, “This Chinese certification is an important milestone for the Arriel engine program. It emphasizes our ability to support new Chinese helicopter entry-into-service.” Safran has produced more than 12,000 Arriels in the past 40 years. The engines have logged more than 50 million flight hours.