Tag: heavy (Page 4 of 4)

China’s First Airbus H215 Helicopter Delivered to SGGAC

April 25, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Beijing – China’s State Grid General Aviation Company (SGGAC) has taken delivery of one heavy twin-engine Airbus H215 helicopter – a member of the mission-proven Super Puma family – becoming the launch customer for the H215 in China.

A subsidiary of the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), the world’s largest utility company, SGGAC performs aerial construction and maintenance work along China’s network of high and very-high voltage power lines.

The H215 will join the company’s existing fleet of 15 Airbus helicopters, comprised of H125s, an H120 and an H225. This addition will enable SGGAC to perform new missions such as cable repair, cable laying, cargo transportation, and power line pylons constructions in difficult-to-reach areas.

The helicopter comes equipped with a 4.5-ton cargo sling, hoists, weather radar, and a wire-strike protection system. The configuration features 17 comfortable seats equipped with oxygen jackets for high altitude missions.

“Our cooperation with Airbus Helicopters since 2012 has been a true success. Thanks to the H215’s outstanding performance in high and hot conditions coupled with strong support and services from Airbus Helicopters, we are confident that we will continue to develop our capabilities performing new utility missions,” said Wu Jielong, Chairman of SGGAC.

“It’s an honour to see SGGAC becoming the first operator of the H215 in China”, said Marie-Agnes Veve, General Manager of Airbus Helicopters China. “This achievement reinforces the long-term and strategic cooperation we have developed with the company, which also became a certified Airbus Helicopters’ maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) centre in China in 2018.”

The H215 combines advanced avionics and a reliable platform for rugged multi-mission capabilities in the world’s harshest environments. Its baseline configuration offers extremely competitive direct operating and maintenance costs. Standard features include proven Makila 1A1 engines, the latest generation flight management system, and the most modern technologies, which includes a glass cockpit avionics system and the renowned 4-axis autopilot from Airbus Helicopters’ advanced H225.

The introduction of this H215 increases China’s Super Puma fleet to nearly 40 aircraft, performing a wide range of missions from oil & gas to aerial work to VIP transportation. The fleet is supported by Airbus Helicopters’ China technical team, its approved helicopter MRO centre in Shenzhen, and an H225 full flight simulator located in Beijing.

About Airbus
Airbus is a global leader in aeronautics, space and related services. In 2018 it generated revenues of € 64 billion and employed a workforce of around 134,000. Airbus offers the most comprehensive range of passenger airliners. Airbus is also a European leader providing tanker, combat, transport and mission aircraft, as well as one of the world’s leading space companies. In helicopters, Airbus provides the most efficient civil and military rotorcraft solutions worldwide.

Icelandic Coast Guard Upgrades to Airbus Rescue Helicopters

April 4, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Reykjavik, Airbus Helicopters is supporting the Icelandic Coast Guard (ICG) with the entry into service of two Airbus H225 heavy search and rescue (SAR) helicopters as the first step in a renewal of the agency’s helicopter fleet.

The aircraft are replacing two of the ICG’s three existing Airbus AS332L1 Super Pumas, the first of which entered service in 1995. They are being leased from Norwegian helicopter lessor Knut Axel Ugland Holding AS and will both be in service by the end of April 2019. The ICG plans to purchase permanent replacements for all three aircraft in its fleet by 2022.

Airbus Helicopters is providing pilot and technician training on key features of the H225 and ongoing maintenance and support under an HCare Smart Parts By the Hour contract.

The 11-tonne category, twin-engine H225 is the latest member of Airbus Helicopters’ Super Puma family with more powerful engines providing a smoother ride and enhanced performance compared to the AS332L1.

Equipped with state-of-the-art electronic instruments and a 4-axis autopilot system, the H225 offers outstanding endurance and fast cruise speed, and can be fitted with a wide range of SAR equipment. Operated by two pilots, it can be configured with up to 18 seats or six stretchers.

The H225 and military H225M are benchmarks in SAR and combat SAR and are operated by 20 nations worldwide.

Commander S.G. Sindri Steingrimsson, Director Flight Operations at the ICG said: “The experience with our current fleet of Super Pumas has been excellent through the years. Overall they have done a fantastic job for us here at the Icelandic Coast Guard, in some of the most challenging conditions for aircraft SAR operations in the world. We fully expect that the new Super Pumas will add great value to the safety and security of our operations, increasing capability and reliability while at the same time modernising our technological standards to meet current needs.”

The attached photo shows one of the new leased aircraft.

Southwest CEO Says Mechanics Deserve New Contract

February 23, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Southwest Airlines Co’s mechanics, who have been in labor contract talks for more than six years, deserve a new deal that makes them among the best paid in the airline industry, but the low-cost U.S. carrier needs “more supplier flexibility” in return, the company’s chief executive said.

The labor dispute, one of the biggest to hit a top-four U.S. airline in more than a decade, has escalated with Southwest’s daily out-of-service aircraft doubling, forcing the carrier to cancel hundreds of flights since Feb. 15.

Southwest CEO Gary Kelly in an email to the company’s employees acknowledged the company was “in a period of tension and turmoil” regarding the out-of-service aircraft. Reuters obtained a copy of the email late Friday.

Kelly said the mechanics deserve a new contract and pointed out that the deal the mechanics voted down last year would have made those workers the highest paid in the industry. He said current talks offer the opportunity to offer even higher pay with no impact on job security “in exchange for more supplier flexibility.”

Southwest already outsources the majority of heavy maintenance work, such as scheduled engine repairs, to external suppliers, but wants the option to send more scheduled maintenance abroad in order to fund compensation increases. The change would not affect the kind of work currently handled by its mechanics, a Southwest spokesman said.

Officials with the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA), which represents about 2,400 Southwest mechanics and has been in contract talks with management since 2012, could not immediately be reached to comment on Saturday.

The union has disputed the notion that the maintenance issues are driven by the labor dispute, pointing out the company has the lowest mechanic-to-aircraft ratio of any major carrier.

In a Friday email to its members, the union rejected the company’s assertion that the maintenance issues were a job action and said mechanics should not allow themselves to be pressured to ignore safety or mechanical issues with a plane.

“If you feel you are being pressured to disregard aircraft damage or shortcut the manuals, then let your airline representative know of such threats,” union national director Bret Oestreich said in the email. “But do not get baited into acts of defiance that will be characterized as insubordination.”

Flights by Southwest accounted for more than a third of 777 U.S. cancellations between Friday and Saturday, according to FlightAware.com.

(Reporting by Tracy Rucinski in Chicago, Additional reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket launches into space

February 7, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

Though the Falcon Heavy’s outer cores successfully landed after launch this afternoon, the middle core of SpaceX’s huge rocket missed the drone ship where it was supposed to land, a source tells The Verge. SpaceX later confirmed The Verge’s reporting in a press conference.

Click the link below for the full story and launch video!

SpaceX Heavy Falcon Launch

China’s First Airbus H215 Helicopter Delivered to SGGAC

Icelandic Coast Guard Upgrades to Airbus Rescue Helicopters

Southwest CEO Says Mechanics Deserve New Contract

SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket launches into space

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