Dallas, 10 March 2022
– The Swiss Air-Rescue Service Rega has ordered nine five-bladed Airbus
H145s to replace its current four-bladed versions. Rega’s new H145s
will come equipped with a state-of-the-art navigation system that will
enhance the mission capabilities and the safety of operations.
“We
are very grateful to open another chapter in the relationship between
our two organisations with this order for our five-bladed H145,” says
Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters. “We are always looking at ways to
evolve our helicopters by taking into account the feedback of those who
operate them each and every day.”
“The
H145 has fully proven itself in our operations since entering into
service in 2018,” says Ernst Kohler, CEO of Rega. “We look forward to
operating the five-bladed version on our HEMS bases in Switzerland. The
helicopters will allow us to further boost our mission capabilities and
safety of our operations.”
The new integrated navigation
system will use new capabilities of the Flight Management System GTN750
Xi by Garmin. It will integrate and control a multi-sensor system that
provides highly accurate and reliable navigation capacities. Even in the
event of GPS signal loss, the helicopter will navigate safely thanks to
Thales’ inertial navigation system. This solution will further boost
the navigation performance in low IFR conditions and allows the
helicopter to be certified as navigation procedure RNP-AR 0.1, which is
the most accurate navigation procedure in the helicopter environment.
The configuration also includes a new hoist by Vincorion that is being
certified on the five-bladed H145.
Rega
operates 13 HEMS stations in Switzerland. In 2021, the helicopter crews
carried out 14,330 missions, including transporting 471 COVID patients.
Rega’s current fleet includes seven H145s and one H125 used for pilot
training.
The new version of Airbus’ best-selling H145 light twin-engine
helicopter adds a new, innovative five-bladed rotor to the multi-mission
aircraft, increasing the useful load of the helicopter by 150 kg. The
simplicity of the new bearingless main rotor design also eases
maintenance operations, further improving the benchmark serviceability
and reliability of the H145, while improving ride comfort for both
passengers and crew. The new H145 introduces on-board connectivity to
customers and operators through the integration of the next step of the
wireless Airborne Communication System (wACS), allowing seamless and
secure transmission of data generated by the helicopter.
In
total, there are more than 1,500 H145 family helicopters in service,
logging a total of more than six million flight hours. Powered by two
Safran Arriel 2E engines, the H145 is equipped with full authority
digital engine control (FADEC) and the Helionix digital avionics suite.
It includes a high performance 4-axis autopilot, increasing safety and
reducing pilot workload. Its particularly low acoustic footprint makes
the H145 the quietest helicopter in its class.