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A dummy is lowered on a hoist from the H160. A hoisting capability will be required for aircraft delivered to Babcock, who will fly them in a search-and-rescue configuration on behalf of the French Navy. Airbus Photo

Airbus targets summer for FAA H160 approval

By Oliver Johnson | February 18, 2022

Estimated reading time 9 minutes, 55 seconds.

Airbus is confident of finally securing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval of its H160 this summer — almost two years later than it had originally hoped — paving the way for the type to begin an offshore route-proving program in partnership with PHI and Shell.

A dummy is lowered on a hoist from the H160. A hoisting capability will be required for aircraft delivered to Babcock, who will fly them in a search-and-rescue configuration on behalf of the French Navy. Airbus Photo
A dummy is lowered on a hoist from the H160. A hoisting capability will be required for aircraft delivered to Babcock, who will fly them in a search-and-rescue configuration on behalf of the French Navy. Airbus Photo

The new medium-lift aircraft was certified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on July 1, 2020, and the manufacturer had anticipated FAA approval to follow soon afterwards, paving the way for first deliveries later in the year to launch customers in the U.S.

“[There was] an assumption, based on all of the history we have with the authorities, that when you’ve certified with EASA, the additional work to certify with the FAA is some clarification and relatively minor gaps to be explored with that authority,” Gilles Armstrong, head of the H160 program, told journalists attending a media event at Airbus. “It turns out in this particular instance that the FAA has opened up a lot more topics than what was expected — and those topics are sometimes quite complex.”

He said the process of reopening those topics, discussing them, and closing them has been “very severely hampered” by the Covid-enforced necessity to do it remotely.

“To reach understanding — despite having very frequent video calls etc. with the FAA — has been a relatively painful process,” said Armstrong.

The topics are being closed in a “painstaking line-by-line process,” he added, with only “a few” left open.

He admitted the delay had forced back the type’s entry into service, as the first H160s had been destined for operation in the U.S. Instead, Japan’s All Nippon Helicopter received the world’s first H160, celebrating the landmark delivery on Dec. 10, 2021. Training on the aircraft has been completed, said Armstrong, and it is now being outfitted with the various cameras and video processing equipment needed for its electronic newsgathering mission.

PHI’s first H160 will appear in the company’s livery next month at this year’s edition of Helicopter Association International Heli-Expo, in Dallas, Texas. After the show, the aircraft will join the FAA’s Flight Standardization Board, which will evaluate the type’s training systems. Once that’s complete, it will finally enter service in the U.S., joining PHI on its route-proving program.

The landmark will be one of many for the H160 this year, along with expected entry-into-service in the U.K., France, Japan and Brazil. The Japanese and Brazilian regulators have already approved the type’s certification. Approval from regulators in China and Russia is the next target.

The H160 final assembly line is increasing its speed, with a stated aim of being able to produce up to 35 aircraft a year. Airbus Photo
The H160 final assembly line is increasing its speed, with a stated aim of being able to produce up to 35 aircraft a year. Airbus Photo

Armstrong said the program was now entering a new phase, coming out of a development cycle and moving into entry-into-service with an industrial ramp-up.

The final assembly line (FAL) was performing “remarkably well,” he added. There are currently eight H160s on the FAL, with another seven on the flight line. The FAL is not yet running at full speed — it hopes to hit that mark in the middle of next year. At that point, Airbus will be able to produce 35 H160s per year, with each aircraft taking just 40 days to complete its journey through the FAL.

A multi-mission machine

Airbus claims the H160 is suited to every operating sector — and it has a pretty balanced orderbook for the type. VIP and oil-and-gas customers dominate orders from the U.S., French customers are largely in public services, and VIP customers make up the majority of the remainder.

“I think for the VIP sector, it has incredible looks, it has incredible flyability, there’s a lot of safety features. . . . [so] if you’re going to be able to buy anything you like, this is really what you want to be buying,” said Armstrong. He said the H160 was available at an “absolutely competitive” cost — both in terms of upfront and lifecycle costs.

“It’s slightly smaller, slightly cheaper than the [AW]139,” he said. “But it’s capable to do almost everything the 139 does. And so for the large majority of customers, this is going to be a more fuel efficient, better targeted answer to their mission.”

An H160 with a French Navy livery. Babcock will operate eight of the type for the navy until the French Armed forces take delivery of the H160M Guepard. Airbus Photo
An H160 with a French Navy livery. Babcock will operate eight of the type for the navy until the French Armed forces take delivery of the H160M Guepard. Airbus Photo

Meanwhile, Airbus is continuing the development of optional equipment and capabilities, such as hoisting, carrying sling loads, and operation in sandy environments. The former will be required for six hoist-equipped H160s ordered by Babcock, which will be operating them in a search-and-rescue configuration on behalf of the French Navy.

Armstrong said hoist certification was imminent. “We’re in the final phases . . . very close to the point where those will be ready,” he said.

The H160 orderbook — roughly 90 aircraft — has been swollen by a major contract with the French Armament General Directorate (DGA) for 10 of the type for the Gendarmerie Nationale. The contract, signed in January 2020, saw France become the first H160 law enforcement customer.

The H160 lifts a sling load as it works towards certification of the capability. Airbus Photo
The H160 lifts a sling load as it works towards certification of the capability. Airbus Photo

“[There is] a very specific focus to have those aircraft ready before the [Paris 2024] Olympic Games,” said Armstrong. “We’re already in the phases where we’re starting the structural assembly of those aircraft. . . . Next year will be a year of testing, certifying and delivering ready for being operational before the Olympics.”

Work also continues on the H160M Guepard — the militarized version of the type — following the DGA’s landmark order for a first batch of 30 in the frame of the Light Joint Helicopter program (HIL) on Dec. 22, 2021. The French Ministry plans to order up to 169 H160Ms, with deliveries due to begin in 2027.

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