Under the overcast skies at Subang, the rain threatened to wreak havoc on a day when the EC175 is set to show its might to experienced offshore pilots, many of whom arrived from all over Asia to attend the 2-day Oil & Gas Symposium organized by Eurocopter, in addition to the demo flights.

Fortunately for the passengers who have been eagerly awaiting this day, the heavy clouds held off and the demo flights took off as planned. The EC175 pilot brought them on a scenic flight across the Kuala Lumpur city centre, with the iconic Petronas Twin Towers and the world’s tallest golden statue of a Hindu deity at the Batu Caves as the backdrop.

Coming from as far as Japan, China and even Angola, many of these pilots have been at the controls of the EC225 and can testify to the superiority of this workhorse helicopter in offshore operations. After a series of 5 demo flights in the EC175 that took these pilots and other executives from offshore operators including MHS Aviation, Awan Inspirasi, SonAir and Citic Offshore Helicopter Co. (COHC) across the capital city, the EC175 has clearly emerged a winner in these veteran pilots’ eyes.

DCA Malaysia’s Director of Flight Operations, Capt. Dato’ Yahaya, as well as the pilots from Japan and China had similar sentiments about their flight experience: silent, smooth, powerful, easy to control, spacious and comfortable.

CEO of MHS, IR. Ma’som Mahadi, expressed his appreciation for Eurocopter’s efforts to gather feedback and opinions from oil & gas operators like himself in order to develop the ultimate machine that meets all their operational needs.

After the flight, he was convinced that the feedback had clearly been taken into account and contributed to a great end product which has incorporated all the requested features, and sees great potential for this aircraft in the oil & gas sector.

[HeliHub.com editor note – MHS currently flies Eurocopter AS332, AS355, AS365, EC225 and Sikorsky S76 types]