South African rotary operator Aerios Global Aviation (AGA) has ordered the first five-bladed H145 in Africa, which will be used in various mission segments. The aircraft will be operated from Aerios Global Aviation's base in Cape Town. The multirole H145 will be utilised for missions such as VIP flights, maritime crew changes, including passenger transport to and from wind farms and hoisting technicians to the wind-turbines, and mountain search and rescue, cargo sling operations, offshore salvage operations and helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) locally in South Africa as well as internationally. All operations will be conducted with a two pilot crew, comply with International oil and gas industry standards, and are night vision goggle capable.

“The latest multirole version of the H145 was the move we had wanted to make since it was first announced. We already operate two H145 helicopters. The latest H145 is perfect for our current and future operations. We are paving the way by pioneering such an acquisition in our country and region,” says Malcolm Pitcher, CEO of AGA.

“We are very proud to deliver the first five bladed H145 helicopter in Africa to Aerios Global Aviation (AGA). The H145 is perfectly suited for the African market; it is versatile and has outstanding performance. We are happy to be expanding our partnership with AGA,” says Sebastien Bully, regional sales manager at Airbus Helicopters in South Africa.

The new version of Airbus' best-selling H145 light twin-engine helicopter was unveiled at Heli Expo 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. This latest upgrade adds a new, innovative 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.

There are more than 1,500 H145 family helicopters in service around the world, logging a total of more than six million flight hours. 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 four-axis autopilot, increasing safety and reducing pilot workload. Its particularly low acoustic footprint makes the H145 the quietest helicopter in its class.

The H145 will be delivered early 2023.

Aerios Global Aviation (Pty) Ltd offers a wide range of aviation related services, specialising in offshore helicopter operations and VIP helicopter transportation services for more than 11 years.