The first aircraft to be dubbed as an Airbus Helicopter, the hair-rising Airbus H160, has been recently unveiled at a industry event in Orlando as the French aircraft maker’s most technologically advanced helicopter. They’ve done impressive Eurocopters in the past, but the new generation is a lot better and it just had to enter the helicopter ‘territory’.
Previously known as the X4, this new helicopter comes with a cutting edge design, featuring a fully composite airframe which reduces weight without compromising strength. Thanks to this light body, the aircraft is really efficient and it resists a lot better to corrosion and wear, while requiring less maintenance.
The Airbus H160 features a unique double-canted tail which features the biggest Fenestron shrouded tail motor ever made, which enhances the helicopter’s aerodynamics and stability while keeping the noise and vibrations to a minimum.
Two new fuel-efficient Turbomeca Arrano turboshaft engines power this state of the art helicopter, which will apparently use up to 20% less fuel than other choppers of the same size. It could carry up to 12 passengers at cruising speeds of 185 mph for distances beyond 500 miles.
The Airbus H160 Helicopter also comes with an all new biplane stabilizer that makes it easier to handle at low speeds and while hovering and it also features Blue Edge main rotor blades that reduce exterior noise in half. We don’t know yet how much it’s going to cost but we know that the first deliveries are expected to start only in 2018.
[RobbReport]
