Global EC135 fleet to benefit from EC135T3/EC135P3 evolution

Global EC135 fleet to benefit from EC135T3/EC135P3 evolution

7-Mar-2013 Source: Eurocopter

Performance benefits for Eurocopter’s newly-evolved EC135 P3/T3 helicopter versions – which were unveiled at Heli-Expo 2013 – will be available for retrofit on previously-built EC135s, bringing the operational advantages of this latest product line enhancement to in-service rotorcraft.

Changes in the new-production EC135 T3/P3 versions that are offered in the retrofit package include a 10-cm. length increase for the main rotor blades, new and optimized software in the FADEC (Full Authority Digital Engine Controls), along with lateral air intakes that accommodate optional inlet barrier filters for additional engine protection from sand, dust and foreign object damage.

As part of the EC135 T3/P3’s official launch at Heli-Expo, Eurocopter also began offering its package of changes as a retrofit on in-service EC135s – of which more than 1,000 have been produced to date, with the fleet having logged more than 2.6 million total flight hours.

Roman Seidel, Eurocopter’s program vice president for the EC135 and its EC635 military counterpart, said the retrofit kit will be available from the fourth quarter of 2014 – only months after the first new-production EC135 P3/T3 comes off the production line.

“The EC135 T3/P3 enhancement provides a huge improvement in hot/high performance, along with an increased maximum takeoff weight, better rate of climb and a higher service ceiling,” he explained.  “This will result in significant operational improvements for current EC135 and EC635 operators, and opens new markets in both civilian and military applications.”

Eurocopter will provide retrofit kits for the EC135 T3/P3 upgrade, which can be company-installed or handled by service centers.

The EC135 T3/P3 represent the latest examples of Eurocopter’s commitment to continually evolve its product line.  The improvements for in-service rotorcraft can be applied to helicopters equipped with the two available engine versions: Turbomeca’s Arrius 2B2 and the Pratt & Whitney Canada PWC 206B2.

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