Country of origin:

France

Description:

Military training helicopter

Power Plant:

Two 452 kw (606 shp) Pratt & Whitney PW206B2 or Turbomeca Arrius 2B2 turboshafts

Specifications:

History:

The prototype of the EC-135 series (D-HECX) made its first flight at Ottobrunn, Germany on 5 February 1995, this being the first definitive aircraft following the completion of a test flying programme with two BO-108 technology demonstrators. The aircraft was designed essentially to fill a requirement in the market for a twin-engine helicopter which could be used for EMS, Police, VIP and general passenger transport roles. By late 1997, 24 examples had been delivered, and production capacity was increased so that 51 were expected to be built during 1998.

From early in the programme Eurocopter decided to offer the type with either the Pratt & Whitney PW206B, or the Turbomeca Arrius 2B engine. Certification of equipment included items such as cargo hook, sand filters, forward looking infra-red, 1,600 watt searchlight, stability augmentation, etc. Initial production aircraft had analogue flight instrumentation but Sextant Avionique developed a glass cockpit, and this later became available on production machines.

In the design seating was provided for a pilot and six or seven passengers. An eleven-blade fenestron-shrouded tail rotor was installed in place of the conventional tail rotor. The main rotor was a four-blade rotor head/mast with composite blades. The rear fuselage had clamshell doors for handling bulky items. The EMS variant could carry one or two pilots with up to two stretcher cases, and up to three seated medical staff. The military variant was known as the EC-635, the first customer being the German Air Force, which ordered 15 to replace Alouettes in the training role.

On 31 October 2014 Boeing Defence Australia (BDA) and Airbus Helicopters signed a contract for Airbus to provide 15 examples of the EC- 135T2+ helicopter to meet the Australian Defence Force’s AIR 9000 Phase 7 Helicopter Aircrew Training System, this model being similar in configuration to the machine delivered to the German Air Force. A contract was signed between the Commonwealth of Australia, and Boeing & Thales Australia for full-motion EC-135 flight simulators. The contract was for the first of the new machines to be delivered in 2016, painted in a high-visibility black and yellow scheme, receiving serials in the N52-001 to N52-015 series on the tail boom, and Squadron marking in the 840 series.

Boeing Defence Australia had been selected to train RAN and Army helicopter pilots for a period of 25 years. This project was part of the Helicopter Aircrew Training System (HATS) and was put forward by Boeing Defence, Thales Australia, Airbus Helicopters, and Turbomeca. It was designed to operate the military training variant of what was the Eurocopter [now Airbus] EC-135 series. Part of the contract was for full motion flight simulators and a new flight-deck-equipped sea-going training vessel.

The machines were equipped with a rescue hoist, weather radar, wire strike protection kit and pop-out floats. First deliveries to RAN Station HMAS Albatross at Nowra, NSW took place in 2016. The first Australian machine flew at Donauworth, Germany on 16 January 2015 as D-HECG (c/n 1179), its RAN serial N52-001 and Code 841 being covered over for early test flying. This aircraft arrived in Australia in early 2016 and on 31 March 2016, after assembly, was flown from the Airbus facility at Bankstown, NSW to HMAS Albatross, Nowra, carrying the markings N52-001 / VH-AQG / Code 841 and subsequently entering service.

The final six of the 15 machines on order received factory acceptance on 22 November 2016 at the Airbus Helicopter’s Donauworth facility in Germany before their shipment to take up duties at HMAS Albatross at Nowra, NSW.