Airbus Helicopters has delivered the first five-blade H145D3 to a customer for offshore wind turbine missions. Germany-based HTM Helicopters will operate the H145D3—which is equipped with a hoist, floatation equipment, and a cargo hook—from bases at Norden-Norddeich, Emden, Borkum, and Helgoland.
HTM provisions helicopters for civil and military customers, offshore operations, air ambulance and passenger flights, flight training, and missions in mountainous terrain. It is an EASA Part 145 and Part 21 G/J-approved organization.
“We already operate one four-blade H145 in the offshore wind segment, which has proven to be the perfect fit for our operations in often challenging environments,” said HTM pilot and managing director Bernd Brucherseifer. “The increased useful load, the smoother ride onboard, and the excellent OEI performance of the five-blade version will help us to further enhance our mission capabilities.”
The new H145D3 light twin features a five-bladed, bearingless main rotor system that increases useful load by 330 pounds over its four-blade predecessor. More than 1,515 H145 series helicopters are in service worldwide, and they have accumulated over six million flight hours. Airbus expects to sell more H145s into the offshore wind market, noting that the model can address more than 95 percent of the world's current and future offshore wind farms projects. The European Union has targeted the production of more than 60 gigawatts of electricity from offshore wind by 2030.