read more read more read more Featured articles Martin Schneider has been the head of Airbus’ H135 programme for more than four years. He talks to Rotor about the evolution of the helicopter, the most recent improvements and what Airbus does to make the H135 more eco-friendly. “The big success of the H135 is the consistent improvements” “We have consistentlyinvested to improve the power, the payload, the mission capabilities and most importantly, the safety.” Martin Schneider, Programme Director for Airbus “We have consistently invested to improve the power, the payload, the mission capabilities andmost importantly, the safety.” Martin Schneider, Programme Director for Airbus Twenty-five years ago, the H135 entered into service – why do you think the helicopter is still successful on the market and valued by operators? Martin Schneider: Yes, it is true; the first helicopter of the H135 family entered into service 25 years ago, in summer 1996. Our launch customer back then was the German HEMS operator DRF Luftrettung, who also operates the most recent H135 version. Since then, we’ve delivered more than 1,400 helicopters and the H135 flies on all continents for many different missions, while having clocked close to six million flight hours. I think the big success of the H135 is the consistent improvements we have brought to the helicopter. It is true that from the outside it looks like the H135 has not changed that much, but we have consistently invested to improve the power, the payload, the mission capabilities and most importantly, the safety. One example: the maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of the first H135 helicopter was 2,630 kg. For the most recent version, with alternate gross weight the MTOW stands at 3,100 kg. Even more important, the useful load is approximately 50% of the MTOW. What are the most recent improvements? M.S.: One important step was the introduction of Helionix to the H135 helicopter family. It has been available since 2016 and is an important upgrade to the H135’s mission capabilities and safety. The innovative cockpit layout and the 4-axis autopilot help pilots to reduce the workload onboard, increasing situational awareness and safety. A comment we often hear from pilots flying the H135 is that Helionix provides you with the right data in the right place, when you need it. There are already 150 H135s operating with Helionix. Last year we introduced a new alternate gross weight to the H135, further increasing the take-off weight and useful load for many different missions by up to 120 kg (264 lbs). In addition, we just certified a new single pilot Helionix cockpit for flights in instrument flight rules, enhancing the mission capabilities for operations with one pilot. Moreover, there are plenty of small improvements, like a new external camera installed in the tail boom, providing the pilot with another perspective for hoist/sling missions. And don’t forget we are keeping our avionics system permanently up to date with the introduction of the new Garmin GTN750Xi. What are you doing to make the H135 more eco-friendly? M.S.: Many factors contribute to an eco-friendly helicopter. For me, the two most important are sound and CO2 emissions. When it comes to sound, the H135 is the quietest twin-engine helicopter available on the market, far below the ICAO limits. The H135 is also the helicopter with the smallest CO2 footprint in the twin-engine class, emitting approximately 10% less CO2 than products of our direct competitors. We have also started to use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for flight-testing our helicopters. At the end of last July, one of our company H135s flew for the first time with SAF, using a 40% kerosene blend. All Airbus helicopters, including the H135, are already certified to fly with as much as a 50% blend. We have also started a SAF user group, where we together with the rotary-wing community are working towards implementing 100% SAF flights for future fleets.