175 vs 189
 

Also worth bearing in mind 2 things:

1. 189 is selling like hot cakes because so much of the tech from the 139 is coming with it therefore the ac is very similar to own and operate, thus fleet compatibility is similar and therefore cheaper. Despite being new, it is not seen as new owing to tech crossover.

2. 175 is brand new and no one likes to buy the first ones. Being second to market has absolutely not helped either.

IMHO, the 175s cavernous windows will be a hit with the increasingly generous offshore workers but will not be the commercial hit the 189 is destined to be. If AW can retrofit larger windows (I know they are not bad already) then one of the main selling points (of the 175) goes away.

.
Airbus Helicopters delivers the first new-generation EC175 rotorcraft :


"A double-handover ceremony today marked Airbus Helicopters’ first deliveries of its new-generation EC175, with two of these 7-metric-ton category rotorcraft provided to NHV for oil and gas missions in the North Sea."


Helicopter manufacturer, aircraft helicopter military, colibri helicopter - Airbus Helicopters

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Henri,

Still no news on PT2 having flown in China? Airbus certainly took the hard road in certifying with only two prototypes, vs. five for the AW189/AW149.

Amusing to see an unnamed 'Airbus Helicopters official' break rank recently and express frustration with the Chinese partner: I/C

.

Hello I/C,

Well, As you know, AH doesn't have to worry about his Chinese partner, China will buy 1000 EC175 (Airbus Helicopters and China’s Avicopter the helicopters business unit of AVIC, today signed a joint agreement for the production of 1,000 new generation EC175/AC352 rotorcraft / Paris, France, March 26, 2014). :rolleyes:

Who can believe that ?! :ugh:

.

Isn't the SOP to 'borrow' one aircraft for a couple of weeks, return it (with all the tolerances mysteriously altered) and then proceed to build a local knock-off? :E

http://i.imgur.com/mVmDjtQ.jpg

I remember Bell Helicopter pulled no punches back in 2007 when it described its fury at having been used by its one-time 430 fuselage supplier Hafei Aviation (now part of Avicopter) as an unpaid training college. Something along the lines of the Bell CEO noticing that there was a completely different group of technicians working on the fuselages each time he visited the Chinese plant...

I/C

Bristow more than triples H175 orders (to 17 aircraft)

I/C

Hong Kong Government Flying Service picks H175
 

Airbus Helicopters

Cheers

Is there any info anywhere on how many 175's are actually in service?

Usually on the end of order announcements and OEM will tack on a paragraph about how great their machine is and how many orders there are, but AH seems to have left that out of their 175 announcements.

Airbus states on their website:
18 on final assembly line
69 orders
If you look at Helicopter History Site you see only 4 production serials.
Of which 2 demonstrators and 2 NHV.
Last update of this list March 2015.
I do not know if helis.com is accurate but i cannot Google any other deliveries.
Something amiss??

SLB

2 are with NHV in Den Helder and the 2 "demonstrators" also belong to NHV.
I am visiting the production line tomorrow and looking forward to flying it.

Gezza,

Enjoy your flight.
Will you be flying it as a job later on as well?

As i am just a SLF i have enjoyed being a passenger in PH-NHV lately.
Quite comfortable.
I saw that the pilots had some small screen error in the moving map feature.
(Something with re scaling the icons when changing radar distance)
I am sure it will be sorted out.

I did see that the demonstrator which went to Brazil and Mexico is in NHV livery
(Serial 5003 F-HCEI)
I did not know that the demonstrator 5001 is also destined for NHV.

Is the pause in deliveries since May a planned non-event or a production problem?
I have read that Airbus aims at 23 aircraft a year.
With stated 18 current on the line the output would have to run up to 1 in 3 weeks very soon?

Does somebody have an order list with serials assigned to clients likewise i can find on the web for the AW139?

SLB

Here they come!

HeliHub H175 to start UK-based offshore operations

Even though the company who might have lost the contract is keeping it's mouth shut, it sure looks like NHV has won it.

RP

Does this aircraft have any icing clearance whatsoever yet?

Judging by the way NHV are operating the EC175 out of Aberdeen this week it hasn't. With a cloud base of about 900 feet and marginal vis they have been departing and arriving special VFR. That was until last night when they were refused a special VFR clearance into the zone. A climb into icing conditions for an ILS must have felt very uncomfortable for the crew.

Let's hope they don't have an accident due to commercial "enthusiasm" to keep their new customer happy.

Limited icing clearance reportedly expected this year, following trials in the Alps last spring, with full icing clearance following in 2018 or 2019. So based on the delays traditionally associated with de-icing systems, more likely 2019...

I/C

Surely no one would start an offshore contract 1 Jan in Scotland without at least limited icing clearance?

The S76 operated for many years out of Aberdeen on long range flights very successfully without any icing clearance.

They will probably have to come up with some new low level arrival and departure routes though.

Hugh,

Indeed the S76 did. I can remember a particularly cold day when based in Sumburgh, with all the BIH S61s not flying as there was no way to comply with the limited icing requirements to the ESB i.e. very low cloudbase and no positive band of air.

You can imagine the head scratching that took place when an Aberdeen based Bond S76 fuel stopped to/from the Heather :ugh:

Perhaps that pilot now works for NHV?? ;)

anyone know something about NHV's 175 stuck offshore in the dutch sector?

Rumour has it, that the a/c is stuck offshore since last friday afternoon with MGB chip warning. Following, Airbus is not allowing to ferry the a/c back to maintenace facility on NTO/without passengers since "large particals" where found on the detector. Airbus wants to fly in inspector(?) or a/c has to be lifted/brought back by boat to the beach.

Anyhow glad that crew took proper action and safety measurments where in place to detect failure in time.