FARNBOROUGH, England, 07 July 2012. Eurocopter will be highlighting its growing helicopter family with the new EC175 at the Farnborough Airshow. The EC175 is to be exhibited on the static display at Farnborough Airport starting on July 9, and will join daily flying presentations throughout the week. Designed to offer versatility, the twin-engine EC175 sets is a medium-class helicopter that is designed for offshore oil and gas operations, search and rescue, VIP/corporate airlift and other missions. Deliveries will start following the certification planned at the end of this year with the EC175 in the oil and gas configuration. The EC175’s baseline payload/radius-of-action capacity with 16 passengers at 155 miles for offshore oil and gas missions out-performs any medium-lift helicopter on the market in terms of competitiveness. For longer-range missions, the EC175 can transport 12 passengers to a radius-of-action of 218 miles. Eurocopter has also launched an 18-passenger configuration option with a 115 mile radius-of-action. For search and rescue applications, EC175 operators have a range of electronic equipment at this disposal, including an integrated mission system that provides crew members with high-resolution sensor images at a cabin-installed mission console display and on a central instrument panel mission display in the cockpit. The EC175’s search and rescue configuration features an electro-optic sensor turret with a large sensor ball installed under the helicopter’s streamlined nose. The weather/search radar is located in the nose, and a side-mounted searchlight, complemented by under-fuselage lights, provides illumination of the search area.
For rescue missions, the EC175 has a dual high-speed hoist installation at the right-hand sliding door. The helicopter’s flat-floored cabin offers a space for equipment and personnel. Sized at more than 3.8 meters long and 2.1 meters wide, it is designed to accommodate a comprehensive medical installation, the operator console, crew and passenger seats – all while preserving room to maneuver stretchers from the hoist through the large sliding doors.
The EC175 also features a 4-axis, dual-duplex digital automatic flight control system (DAFCS), derived from the Eurocopter EC225. The DAFCS provides pilots with stabilization, precision, assistance and flight envelope protection in search and rescue situations. Fully integrated into the helicopter’s avionics systems, the DAFCS controls ground speed down to zero knots and offers SAR upper modes, including search patterns and hoistman hovering authority.
Eurocopter will offer on-board maintainability- and reliability-enhancing features as a monitoring system with an on-ground maintenance reporting capability to facilitate troubleshooting, health and usage monitoring systems, along with 3D technical publications, full-flight simulators, optimized scheduled maintenance through MSG-3, and a continuous maintenance review board process.
Eurocopter’s exhibit presence at the 2012 Farnborough International Airshow will include a display of 1/5 scale models of the EC175 and X3 hybrid aircraft, the latter of which is currently undertaking a U.S. demonstration tour for military, parapublic and civilian operators.
