The Norwegian air ambulance operator Norsk Luftambulanse AS (NOLAS) is the first civil customer to receive an H135 equipped with Helionix. Six additional H135s with Helionix will be delivered to NOLAS in 2017 and 2018. In December 2016, the UK MoD was the first military customer to receive the new H135 with Helionix. NOLAS won a national HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Services) tender in Norway in 2016, and a total of 12 bases and 17 new helicopters will be operated from June 1, 2018. All helicopters are equipped for 24/7 operations with state-of-the-art configuration for Single Pilot IFR/Night Vision Imaging System (NVIS) operation, Aerolite interiors and the latest medical equipment.
The H135 obtained EASA certification for the Helionix avionics suite in November 2016. The Helionix avionics system designed by Airbus offers operators with increased mission flexibility and safety. On top of the four-axis autopilot, Helionix offers an innovative cockpit layout which helps to increase situational awareness.
The cockpit, which includes three large electronic displays on the H135, is night vision goggle-compatible. As NOLAS CEO Rune Midtgaard explained, “The H135 with Helionix reduces the pilot workload, increases the safety of the operation and in the end the ability to reach the patients in need of the advanced medical support the service can offer.”
By Frédéric Vergnères
©photo: Helicopter Industry
