EMDEN, Germany - The first Airbus Helicopters H135 configured for offshore hoisting duties has been delivered to HTM Helicopter Travel Munich GmbH. HTM intends to operate the H135 from its bases at Emden, Norden, Borkum, and Helgoland, serving offshore windfarms in the German Bight.
HTM has contracted to serve 10 windfarms and customers such as ADWEN, DOTI, EON, EWE, and Siemens.
The H135 joins HTM's inventory of Airbus Helicopters rotorcraft, which includes five EC 135P2i models already based along the North Sea coastline. The EC 135P2i is an earlier version of the H135. Plans call for the HTM fleet to grow to as many as 11 H135 family rotorcraft by early 2016.
The H135 is equipped with a rescue hoist, an external life raft system, Helicopter Emergency Egress Lighting, an Automatically Deployable Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT), a three-axis autopilot, a weather radar, an underwater locator beacon, and an emergency flotation system certified for Sea State 6.
Two FADEC-equipped engine options are available on the helicopter: Turbomeca’s Arrius 2B2PLUS, rated 492 kW (660 shp) each for takeoff, and and Pratt & Whitney Canada’s PW206BB, 528 kW (708 shp) each for takeoff.
"We look forward to the H135 joining our inventory. With its increased OEI performance and the additional equipment features offered, it is the perfect complement to our existing fleet complying already with future offshore requirements. The EC 135 fleet has proven its reliability and safety with a perfect availability static in offshore operation since 2009, having flown more than 6,000 hours with more than 25,000 hoist cycles," said Bernd Brucherseifer, HTM Managing Director.
"As wind turbines gain an increasingly important role in renewable energy, the new H135 is ready to support highly cost-effective and efficient implementation, development, and maintenance of offshore windfarms," said Axel Humpert, head of the H135 program at Airbus Helicopters. "It is ready to join other rotorcraft in our product lines that are proving their capabilities every day in flights for the offshore oil and gas industry around the world."
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