German air ambulance provider ADAC Luftrettung has taken delivery of two five-blade Airbus H145 light twin helicopters and announced plans to upgrade its current fleet of 14 four-blade H145s to the five-blade variant. ADAC Luftrettung operates more than 50 Airbus helicopters from its 37 bases throughout Germany. In June, an ADAC H145 was the first HEMS helicopter to fly with sustainable aviation fuel.
The H145 is powered by two Safran Arriel 2E engines with Fadec and the Helionix digital avionics suite with a four-axis autopilot. Of the 1,470 H145 family of helicopters in service, more than 470 are used for air ambulance and rescue missions worldwide. In total, the fleet has logged more than six million flight hours.
Airbus unveiled the five-blade H145 in 2019, featuring a new bearingless main rotor design reduces maintenance requirements and contributes to increased performance, yielding a 330-pound increase in useful load. The upgrade kit from the four- to five-blade model includes new composite main rotor blades; transmission kit consisting of rotor mast, swashplate, scissors, control rods with associated assembly, oil cooler, and rotor brake; additional electrical hydraulic pump; Helionix software; new forward cross-tube; and modification/tuning of the horizontal stabilizer.