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ADAC Leftrettung takes delivery of five-bladed H145s

August 17, 2021  By Naomi Szeben



Airbus delivered the first two five-bladed H145 helicopters to ADAC Luftrettung, which plans to upgrade its current fleet of 14 four-bladed H145s to the five-bladed rotor system to focus on search-and-rescue missions.

The new version of Airbus’ H145 light twin-engine helicopter was unveiled at Heli-Expo 2019 in Atlanta. This upgrade adds a five-bladed rotor to the multi-mission H145, increasing the useful load of the helicopter by 150 kg. The simplicity of the new bearingless main rotor design will also ease maintenance operations, further improving the benchmark serviceability and reliability of the H145, while improving ride comfort for both passengers and crew. The helicopter’s high-mounted tail boom and wide opening clam-shell doors facilitate access to the H145’s spacious cabin.

Powered by two Safran Arriel 2E engines, the H145 is equipped with full authority digital engine control (FADEC) and the Helionix digital avionics suite. It includes a high performance 4-axis autopilot, increasing safety and reducing pilot workload. Its particularly low acoustic footprint makes the H145 the quietest helicopter in its class, according to Airbus.

ADAC Luftrettung operates more than 50 Airbus helicopters from their 37 stations throughout Germany. In June, an ADAC H145 was the first HEMS helicopter to fly with sustainable aviation fuel.

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Today, Airbus has more than 1,470 H145 family helicopters in service around the world, logging a total of more than six million flight hours. For HEMS alone, there are more than 470 helicopters of the H145 family conducting air rescue missions worldwide.

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