EC225 Canadian Sales Tour

[Savoia]

EC225 Canadian Sales Tour

An EC225 helicopter has been dismantled, shipped to Halifax, reassembled, then flown to St. John’s for a three-day sales pitch by Eurocopter Canada, targeting the offshore oil industry.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-x1zUdpFmSNE/UpdLl1p14bI/AAAAAAAAPj0/PsqpC_AR5lo/w715-h584-no/EC225+St+Johns.jpg
A Eurocopter EC225 helicopter, which is primarily used to transport personnel to offshore oil rigs, flies over an area of Torbay Road on the approach to St. John's International Airport Wednesday afternoon following a media tour and fly-over the capital city.

“We’re operating this aircraft right now in the North Sea, which is a similar type of operation as in Newfoundland and we’re working to introduce that aircraft in Newfoundland (for) a long time now,” said Guillaume LePrince, vice-president of Eurocopter Canada.

“We believe it was time for the (local) industry to discover that aircraft. That’s why we brought the aircraft here.”

He noted aircraft features such as large windows, staggered seating and a collection of pieces used to reduce in-flight vibration.

“The EC225 is a safe aircraft,” he said.

“We have a 30-minute run-dry which is certified by the authorities and we have even been able to prove the main gearbox can stay over 50 minutes working oil-free,” he said, as part of a list of safety features.

The run-dry time for the aircraft’s main gearbox is notable, given a detailed review of the crash of Cougar Helicopters Flight 491 — a Sikorsky S92 model — discovered the helicopter faced a massive loss of oil pressure within the main gearbox.

That helicopter was crippled by the lack of oil pressure, in 11 minutes.

The additional time with the helicopter running allows the pilots to decide on a course of action and, if necessary, prepare to ditch into the sea.

More ..

The friendly, but competitive, skies - Regional - The Gulf News (http://www.gulfnews.ca/News/Local/2013-11-28/article-3513108/The-friendly,-but-competitive,-skies/1)

[cyclic]

Looks like a CHC Scotia aircraft?

[Savoia]

Looks like a CHC Scotia aircraft?

Indeed.

The craft is G-OAGA; registered to CHCS on 22nd August.

[EESDL]

No mention of any fairly critical technical issues........
I thought EC was trying to distance the EC225 from the Sa Puma 'family'......

"Eurocopter Canada Ltd. is showcasing the EC225 helicopter in St. John’s this week to demonstrate the rotorcraft’s features and capabilities for the offshore oil and gas community in Canada’s Newfoundland and Labrador province.

The helicopter is in St. John’s for three days to highlight its ideal suitability for use as a crew transport aircraft, and in search and rescue missions for offshore operations. Flight opportunities will be provided for more than 30 representatives of the oil and gas sector, along with members of key industry associations.

The EC225 is the latest evolution of the company’s Super Puma rotorcraft family and benefits from the experience accumulated by almost 1,000 aircraft of this family delivered to some 100 operators. The EC225 came to Canada (Iqaluit) for extreme cold weather testing in winter 2004 and 2007.

The EC225 is a helicopter of choice for oil and gas operators due to its long-range performance, state-of-the-art equipment and system redundancy. More than 80 EC225s operate for the oil and gas sector in approximately 12 countries. With more than 300,000 flight hours logged by the global fleet, the EC225 had validated its capability of performing missions at all latitudes in a full range of conditions.

“Eurocopter Canada is very pleased to bring a member of the well-known Super Puma family to St. John’s, providing the oil and gas industry a first-hand look what the EC225 has to offer with its tremendous capabilities and special features,” said Guillaume Leprince, vice president of sales and marketing of Eurocopter Canada Limited, based in Fort Erie, ON.

In addition to an extended flight range of more than 200 naut. mi., the helicopter features a long list of safety features and enhancements for passenger comfort. It has a cabin free of fuel tanks, is equipped with a Sea State 6 emergency flotation device, full de-icing, a state-of-the-art avionics suite including autopilot, and is certified for night flying.

Of particular note is the aircraft’s main gearbox run-dry system, which is certified for 30 minutes –but has been demonstrated for more than 50 minutes. As a result, helicopter’s gearbox can run for 30-plus minutes without oil flow due to a special back-up cooling lubrication system.

For passengers, the EC225 offers improved seating with increased leg and shoulder room, large push-out windows for easier emergency exit and better visibility during flight, along with lower cabin noise and reduced vibration levels.

Highly versatile and designed to perform in all operating conditions, the EC225 flies in civil, military and parapublic operations worldwide ranging from offshore transportation and cargo airlift to search and rescue (SAR), in particular in very demanding environment."

[newfieboy]

Nice to see Puma gracing the skies of St Johns again. But F##k me boys, I'm on time off before one more shift before Xmas....go demo the ******* thing offshore, that's what you marketing yes....Quit the ******* circuits around town eh.....getting a tad annoying.....

[CG4A]

Flying 1.5 hours to an offshore platform ina straight line and then return is not the way to market a product to the senior mgt of oil and gas. The presentation was to show the capabilities of the machine and how it can fit into the market. The S-92 has a lot of capabilities, but believe me, the 225 will be a fine machine in the Atlantic Canada environs.....smooth, fast, quiet and a better anti-ice system.

However, to quote Dennis Miller, "that's my opinion, I could be wrong". But I don't think so.

[exlatccatsa]

I was wondering where GA had gone to.. It was only in Aberdeen 2 weeks:-)
I notice that GA doesn't have the long range tanks that GC seems to have.
Bristows have been using 225's with long range tanks out of Broome for a couple of years now. I wonder if the Canadians will need them as well?

[Savoia]

Another angle from the tour:

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2846/11120505943_a6542a9cf2_b.jpg
CHCS EC225 G-OAGA during demonstration flights in Canada in November 2013

[206Fan]

Cracking shot!

[cjbiz]

Sorry Newfieboy.....we couldn't get enough of the views of Signal Hill & Cape Spear!