David MacNeil, founder and CEO of Illinois-based WeatherTech and Pet Comfort, has become the first business and private aviation customer in North America to choose the new five-bladed H145. The new version of the Airbus H145 increases the useful load of the helicopter by 150 kg while delivering new levels of comfort, simplicity and connectivity.

“As an avid aviation enthusiast, I am always looking to stay up to date with the latest innovations and I'm very happy that Airbus offers me the possibility to include such technologies on my current fleet,” says MacNeil. “Adding this increased performance and comfort to my H145 will be a real asset for my business and I look forward to being one of the first to take advantage of this opportunity.”

MacNeil has been an Airbus Helicopters customer since 2013 and currently operates three aircraft; one H145 and two H125s.

The H145's new five-bladed rotor brings a significant increase in overall performance and the new bearingless main rotor design will also ease maintenance operations. The reduced rotor diameter will enable the H145 to operate in more confined areas and the integration of the wireless Airborne Communication System (wACS) will allow seamless and secure transmission of data generated by the helicopter in real-time, including in-flight.

“The H145 is a fantastic aircraft for corporate missions and we look forward to supporting David and his teams as they retrofit their H145 aircraft with this exciting new innovation,” adds Airbus Helicopters president and head of North America region Chris Emerson.

At the same time, North Carolina air medical operator Dare County MedFlight will retrofit its own H145. “We are excited about the opportunity to include this new product enhancement in our aircraft, where increased performance and a smoother ride for patient and care providers are critical components to our mission success,” says director of operations/chief pilot Chad Jones. “We were the launch customer in North America for the H145 in 2012 and are pleased to have the opportunity to incorporate this latest innovation.”

“Airbus continues to implement enhancements on its product lines as our customers' missions and everyday operating environments grow and evolve,” adds Emerson. “Dare County is yet again launching innovations on the H145 and we are proud to work with it on the first implementation in the North American market of the newest H145 evolution.”

Based in the Outer Banks region of North Carolina, Dare County has been an Airbus customer for more than 30 years and began flying Airbus products with the BK117 for air medical missions.

Certification of the five-bladed H145 is planned for 2020. The light twin-engine helicopter incorporates Airbus Helicopters' advanced cockpit design and Helionix avionics suite.