Flying: feeling the thrill of letting yourself go, even just for a moment, into the arms of the unknown. For a moment everything becomes lighter, the sky is next to you and the world is underneath. All this became concrete yesterday, during the presentation of the new H160, at the Airbus Helicopters base in Trento. An experience that allowed us to fully understand what it means to travel on such a vehicle. The buyer of the vehicle is Air Corporate and this is the first of five H160 helicopters sold this year, part of an order of 43 Airbus vehicles announced during the 2023 edition of EBACE.
«We are very proud of the latest model in our fleet», explains Alexander Ceccacci, who has been part of Helicopters Italia for 27 years, of which he is now general director. The vehicle features 68 patents, aimed at improving economic competitiveness and low environmental impact. The vehicle can be used for a wide variety of missions and is characterized by lightness and soundproofing. All this is possible thanks to its Blue Edge blades, which have reduced perceived noise by 50%. An aspect to take into consideration is that of fuel, which in the “lounge” configuration guarantees lower consumption and is potentially designed for greater value retention thanks to the ease of reuse. The Trento center has been prepared for all maintenance and repair activities for this specific model. The Trento MRO, in fact, is the only maintenance center in Italy, and one of three in Europe, qualified to operate on Safran engines. The development process is based on two integration benches called «System Helicopter Zero» and Dynaminc Helicopter Zero, as well as three prototypes. The helicopter is assembled in Marignane with a total industrial delivery time of 24 weeks.
The H160 accommodates six to eight passengers inside, there is in fact the model with two armchairs and a bench seat for four and the one with two bench seats. The windows are extremely large and allow a complete view of the splendid panorama. The vehicle is equipped with large spaces and cutting-edge technology that is unmatched in the sector.
The first presentation of the prototype took place in Bresso in 2021, to date the H160 has been ordered in more than 100 examples and is present in many countries around the world. The French government will order ten of them to carry out police duties. The company’s customers to date are approximately ninety, making up a fleet of approximately 250 service units.
