Airbus: H225 could still have offshore role
Written by Oliver Johnson and retrieved from Vertical Magazine
The Super Puma largely exited the offshore industry following the crash of a CHC-operated H225 near Turoy, Norway, in 2016, which was caused by a main gearbox failure. At the same time, the oil-and-gas industry began a prolonged downturn that led to overcapacity of heavy-lift aircraft serving the market — and aircraft parked around the world.
Now, the offshore industry has returned to strength and that overcapacity has been absorbed. That, together, with the struggle some operators are having in supporting the Sikorsky S-92 — the other commercial heavy-lift transport helicopter in service — is leading to a boom in demand.
Speaking to journalists during a pre-Heli-Expo briefing at Airbus Helicopters’ headquarters in Marignane, France, Regis Magnac, head of the company’s energy segment, said super medium helicopters (the Airbus H175 and Leonardo AW189) have taken a chunk of this market — but that heavy-lift aircraft still present a unique capability.
“There are areas of the world where long, long distance flights — potentially with de-icing and [other capabilities] — are still needed, and there will be a need for replacement of the heavies flying there,” he said.
“This is where the 225 will come into play, because we believe that [with] its range capacities, de-icing capacity, [and] its cabin size can be a replacement for those needs — and can be the only replacement for those needs.”
Magnac said Airbus has been “in conversation with people who are interested in [the 225]” — and has even hosted delegations of unions from Norway. Much of the conversations are based around discussing the work that Airbus has been doing to further enhance the safety of the type beyond the solution that allowed it to return to service in 2016.
“We did not communicate to the oil-and-gas market for a long time, but now they are coming and asking questions,” said Michel Macia, head of the H225 program. “I think [it’s true] that, in particular in Norway, there is a lot of perception [about the H225’s safety] . . . but I think that perception is changing.”
Still, the company does not anticipate that potential interest resulting in new offshore orders in the near-term. Airbus’s five-year H225 delivery forecast doesn’t take into account deliveries into the offshore sector — the company believes its broader return to that work will likely be beyond 2028.
Instead, the figure represents a continuation of the same demand for Super Pumas from other sectors — military and parapublic/government support — that has seen Airbus deliver 100 of the type over the last five years.
Before 2016, 80 percent of Super Pumas around the world were working in the offshore sector. Today an estimated 20 of the global H225 fleet of 350 aircraft are still working in oil-and-gas — largely in China, but also in Brazil and Africa.
“In 2017, we disappeared completely from the oil-and-gas market — not only us, for heavy aircraft this market disappeared almost completely,” said Macia. “Nevertheless, we survived, because we delivered 100 aircraft for different markets, which mean that this particular product is really a multirole/mission [aircraft].”
The type has entered the utility market with great success, with a fleet of 50 aircraft working in this role in North America alone. Texas-based Air Center Helicopters has become perhaps the highest-profile customer for the type in the multimission role, using it for military support contracts and firefighting, among other tasks.
Macia said the H225’s ability to carry 4 tonnes of water — and then also be able to carry people (unlike non-commercially certified aircraft) — made it an ideal firefighting aircraft.
Airbus is aware that a key element of securing the type’s potential return to widescale offshore work is convincing potential customers that the H225 is a safe aircraft.
Last year, Airbus introduced an enhanced main gearbox (eMGB) for the H225. Standard on all new-build Super Pumas, it is also being retrofitted on the existing fleet as gearboxes come in for overhaul.
As well as simplifying maintenance, the eMGB further improves safety, Macia said.
“In 2016, we took lot of measures to make the aircraft fly again with a safe condition,” he explained. “What happened in 2016 is something we were not expecting … so what we thought at that time is we need to be robust also to any event we don’t [anticipate].”
The team looked at all the safety barriers in place to protect against various events — and has added additional safety barriers each time they felt further layers were required.
“When we viewed the complete main gearbox with each of the different functions . . . each time the level of risk was at the level where we think the safety barriers were not at the right level, we [have] enhanced the safety barriers,” said Macia.
Product support has also been a major investment, with the manufacturer working to simplify the aircraft’s maintenance plan — aiming to push most tasks beyond 1,000 flight hours — and reducing the amount of time required to complete it.
In consultation with operators, Airbus also identified 250 “critical tasks” in maintenance where operators believed there was a risk that task might not be completed correctly — whether due to the complexity of the task or external conditions. The company has been working through that list of tasks, addressing them through modifying documentation, digitalizing documentation, producing videos, adding warnings, producing new documentation, or redesigning parts. Macia said the company is now about 60 percent of the way through the list.
In the cockpit, new avionics provide enlarged displays with a simplified pilot interface, while a cockpit and tail boom camera will help provide enhanced situational awareness.
Future changes will include upgrades to the aircraft’s navigation and communications systems, Macia said, and a crash resistant fuel system is in development.
The company is also working to improve the industrial process to enable quicker reactivity for customers who need an aircraft with a short lead-time, or who have “complex, tailor-made” requirements.
A fully digitized version of the aircraft is speeding up the customization process, and the manufacturer has the ability to 3D print prototype parts to rapidly check the fit and any quality issues.
Despite a lack of any orders for the type in 2023, Airbus firmly believes the H225’s success as a multirole aircraft will ensure its future for decades to come.
“What we want is this aircraft to be in the fleet beyond 2040,” said Macia. “We are not investing for one year or 10 years, we’re investing for the next 30, 40 years. So, we believe in the market — and we believe in this market because this aircraft is sustainable.”
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