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Eurocopter EC 135
The EC 135 is a twin-engine civil helicopter produced by Eurocopter, widely used amongst police and ambulance services, and for executive transport. It is capable of flight under instrument flight rules (IFR).
Contents
History
The EC 135 can trace its history back to before the formation of Eurocopter. It was started as the Bo 108 by MBB in the mid-eighties. A technology demonstrator flew for the first time on 15 October 1988, powered by two Allison 205-C20R engines. A second Bo 108 followed on 5th June 1991, this time with two turboméca TM319-1b Arrius engines. Both these machines had a conventional tail rotor.
In late 1992, the design was revised with the introduction of the Fenestron tail rotor system. In contrast to other helicopters, the tail rotor blades have been integrated into the tailboom and as they are framed by the tailboom, the risk of an accident has been significantly reduced, especially during the difficult flight conditions encountered during aeromedical flight service. This revolutionary tail rotor system, combined with the fuselage's dimensions, means that the EC-135 aircraft has become hugely popular with aeromedical helicopter operators.
Two pre-production prototypes were built. They flew on 15 February and 16 April 1994, testing the Arrius 2B and Pratt & Whitney Canada PW206B engines. A third helicopter followed on 28 November 1994.
The EC 135 made its US debut at the Heli Expo in January 1995 at Las Vegas. After over 1600 flight hours, European JAA certification was achieved on 16. June 1996, with FAA approval following on 31. July. Deliveries started on 1st August, when two helicopers (0005 and 0006) were handed over to Deutsche Rettungsflugwacht.
The 100th EC 135 was handed over to the Bavarian police force in June 1999. By that time the worldwide fleet had clocked up around 30000 flight hours.
Single pilot IFR certification was granted by the German LBA on December 2, 1999. Deliveries to the German Heeresflieger began on 13 September 2000 at the Waffenschule at Achum (Bückeburg).
In December 2000, the EC 135 won its single-pilot IFR certification from the UK CAA, essential for Bond Helicopters to operate the 15 airframes they had ordered in that same year.
In the autumn of 2000, Eurocopter announced the start of certification work for the Pratt & Whitney PW206B2, a version of the PW207 which offers improved single-engine performance and 30 second emergency power. The LBA certification was achieved with some delay on 10 July 2001, and the first EC 135 with the new engines was handed over to the Swedish National Police on 10 August 2001.
The current world fleet leader in aircraft hours for this type is G-NESV (s/n 0067). This aircraft was delivered to the North East Air Support Unit in April 1999 and has around 8900hrs on the airframe as of February 2007.
Specifications (EC 135)
General characteristics
- Crew: one pilot
- Capacity: up to seven passengers
- Length: 12.16 m (39 ft 11 in)
- Main rotor diameter: 10.20 m (33 ft 6 in)
- Height: 3.62 m (11 ft 11 in)
- Main rotor area: 81.7 m² (880 ft²)
- Empty: 1,465 kg (3,230 lb)
- Loaded: 2835 kg ( lb)
- Maximum takeoff: 2,835 kg (5,997 lb)
- Powerplant: 2x Turboméca Arrius 2B turboshafts, 435 kW (583 shp) each or 2x Pratt & Whitney 206B turboshafts.
Performance
- Maximum speed: 259 km/h (162 mph)
- Range: 595 km (372 miles)
- Service ceiling: 3,045 m (10,000 ft)
- Rate of climb: 457 m/min (1,500 ft/min)
- Main rotor loading: kg/m² ( lb/ft²)
- Power/Mass: kW/kg ( hp/lb)
External links
Related content
Related development: MBB Bo 108
Comparable aircraft: Bell 427/429 - MD Helicopters MD Explorer
Designation sequence:
- Eurocopter BK-117 (with Kawasaki Heavy Industries)
- Eurocopter EC-135
- Eurocopter EC-145
- Eurocopter EC-155
- Eurocopter Colibri (EC 120 B)
- Eurocopter Cougar
- Eurocopter Dauphin
- Eurocopter Ecureuil
- Eurocopter Fennec
- Eurocopter Panther
- Eurocopter Super Puma
- Eurocopter Tiger
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