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Eurocopter EC 145 (BK 117B2)

Type
Light twin-turbine multi-purpose helicopter (leichter zweimotoriger Mehrzweckhubschrauber)

Country (Land)
Germany/Japan (Deutschland/Japan)

Manufacturer (Hersteller)
Eurocopter Deutschland
Postfach 801140
81663 München
Germany

Phone: 0049-89/6000-0
Fax: 0049-89/6000-9033
Internet: www.eurocopter.com

Kawasaki is a programme partner, as it was on earlier variants of the BK 117.

General (Allgemeine Angaben)
Crew (Besatzung): 1 – 2
Passengers (Passagiere): 6 to 9 depending on arrangements, or two litters plus three medical crew
External load capacity (Außenlast): 1500 kg

Power plant (Antrieb): 2 x Turboméca Arriel 1E2
Power (Leistung): 2 x 550 kW (750 shp) for take-off or 574 kW (780 shp) in an emergency (2.5 min), or 516 kW (692 shp) max. continuous.
Transmission (Getriebe): 551 kW in an emergency (2.5 min), 404 kW max. continuous on one engine or 632 maximum continuous on both engines
Fuel consumption (Kraftstoffverbrauch): 254 kg/h at recommended cruise speed

Dimensions (Abmessungen)
Fuselage length (Rumpfänge): 10,19 m
Total length, rotors turning (Länge über alles): 13,03 m
Fuselage width (Rumpfbreite): 1,85 m
Width (Breite): 3,12 m over tail
Height (Höhe): 3,96 over turning rotors
Rotor diameter (Hauptrotordurchmesser): 11,0 m
Tail rotor diameter (Heckrotordurchmesser): 1,96 m

Cabin length (Kabinenlänge): 3,45 m, excluding cockpit, 4,64 m total
Cabin width (Kabinenbreite): 1,72 m maximum, 1,40 m in the rear
Cabin height (Kabinenhöhe): 1,27 m maximum, 0,95 m in the rear
Floor area (Kabinenfläche): 4,72 sq m in cabin and baggage compartment plus 0,72 sq m for the pilot
Cabin volume (Kabinenvolumen): 6,04 cu m in cabin and baggage compartment

Weights (Massen)
Standard empty weight (Leermasse mit Standardausrüstung): 1792 kg
Max. usable fuel (max. nutzbarer Kraftstoff): 867 litres (694 kg)
Max. load (max. Zuladung): 1666 to 1713 kg, depending on equipment fit
Sling load (Außenlast): 1500 kg
Max. take-off weight (Max. Startmasse): 3585 kg

Performance (Flugleistungen)
Max. speed (Vne) (max. zulässige Geschwindigkeit): 268 km/h at 3585 kg or 278 km/h at 2700 kg
Max. cruise speed (max. Reisegeschwindigkeit): 246 km/h or 252 km/h at 3000 kg
Recommended cruise speed (empfohlene Reisegeschw.): 243 km/h or 235 km/h at 2200 kg
Max. rate of climb (max. Steigrate): 8,1 m/s or 11,2 m/s at 3000 kg
Service ceiling (Dienstgipfelhöhe): 5240 m or 5485 m at 3000 kg
Hover ceiling (Schwebeflughöhe):
   - in ground effect (im Bodeneffekt): 2925 m or 5120 m at 2700 kg
   - out of ground effect (ohne Bodeneffekt): 770 m or 4345 m at 3000 kg
Range (Reichweite):
   - 680 km with max. fuel at economic cruise speed
   - 855 km with long range tanks of 869 kg fuel
Endurance (Einsatzdauer): 3 h 35 min with max. fuel, no reserve at 65 KIAS, or 4 h 30 min with additional fuel

Costs (Preise)
The 32 machines for the French Sécurité Civile are valued at over one billion Francs (152 Mio. Euros), which equates to 4,75 million Euros per helicopter. Kawasaki claimed a flyaway cost of 4,9 million US-Dollars at the end of 1999. The EC 145 for the Polizeihubschrauberstaffel Hesse was quoted as 5,9 million Euro on handover, apparently including various special equipment.

Customers (Kunden)
By the beginning of 2006, more than 80 EC145s had been delivered worldwide to law enforcement, paramilitary and security agencies, emergency medical service providers, offshore operators and corporations.
Orders stood at 85 helicopters by September 2005, of which 18 had been booked during the year. By the end of 2002, Eurocopter had orders for 52 helicopters. Customers include:

ADAC: 2. Ordered at the Paris Air Show in June 2001. Delivery was planned for 2002 but took place on 5 June 2003.
Aeropersonal (Mexicc): 1, delivered in August 2005 for VIP use
Air Methods (USA): 3. Operates EMS helicopters for Vanderbuilt LifeFlight (3) of Nashville, Tennessee, Air Life of Oregon, and University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center
CJ Systems Aviation Group (USA) Operates in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania
Deutsche Rettungsflugwacht (DRF): 1. Operated by HDM Flugservice at the rescue center in Munich-Großhadern since November 2003.
Gendarmerie: 8. This was the second French customer. It took its first delivery in November 2002. All were handed over by September 2003.
Lee County EMS: 1. Ordered in September 2002 for medical services on the Florida west coast.
NHV (Noordzee Helicopters Vlaanderen): 1. First operator in Belgium. Took delivery early in 2006 for air ambulance work in the south of the country.
Norsk Luftambulanse: 1. Delivered in November 2005.
Polizeihubschrauberstaffel Hessen: 1. Received its helicopter on 17. April 2002.
REGA: 5. Memorandum of Understanding for four signed at the Paris Air Show in June 2001 for delivery from December 2002 (handover at Donauwörth was on the 12 th). All five were handed over by September 2003.
Sécurité Civile: 32. The EC 145 was launched as the BK 117C-2 with an order from the French Sécurité Civile. Official handover of first helicopter in April 2002. The last delivery was on 19 May 2005.
SOS Helicopter Gotland (Sweden): 1. Contract signed on 1 February 2005 for delivery before the end of the year.
STAT MedEvac (USA): 4. Operates in Pittsburgh
Transportes Aéreos Pegaso (Mexico)
True North Helicopters (Australia) : 1, handed over on 18 March 2005.

Eurocopter said in mid 2001 that it hopes to sell 350 machines within ten years.

Competitors (Konkurrenz)
Bell 430

Remarks (Bemerkungen)
The EC 145 - alias BK 117C-2 - is a new version on the MBB/Kawasaki design, introducing technolgies and components from the EC 135. Main differences are:

a new main rotor with blades featuring optimised profiles and a tapered planform. It gives more lift and produces less noise
a longer (0,2 m) and wider (0,18 m) cabin, with the so called “center post” eliminated
systems like electrics and heating based on EC 135 experience
new avionics with colour displays, based on the EC 135

The EC 145 can be fitted with a hoist of 270 kg capacity. Also, loudspeakers and an emergency flotation system are possible.

History (Geschichte)
After an international competition, in which it for example faced the Agusta A 109K2, the BK 117C-2 was selected in December 1997 by France for the Securité Civile. It was officially ordered on 23 July 1998, with the price of 32 stated as one billion Francs and first deliveries predicted for the spring of 2000.
Eurocopter had initiated the certification process on 2 October 1997. Four helicopters were involved in the flight test programme:

with about six months delay, the first BK 117C-2 made its maiden flight at Donauwörth on 12 June 1999. It lasted around 1 hour 30 minutes. By the end of the year, around 150 hours had been completed. It was used for cold weather trials in Alaska at the beginning of 2001.
a second machine (s/n 9001) followed on 15 March 2000 at the Gifu plant of Japanese partner Kawasaki. It will be used for hot and high trials in the US in the summer of 2001.
the third EC 145 was airborne for the first time on 14. April 2000 at Donauwörth. It is now used for IFR and autopilot certification work at Marignane.<
the fourth EC 145 took off on 27 October 2000 at Donauwörth. It is mainly involved in autopilot trials.

A first presentation of the EC 145 was expected in January 2000 at the Heli-Expo in Las Vegas, but this did not materialise. The reason given by Eurocopter was that due to the French commitments, delivery positions are not available much before 2002.
Roumours have it that the flight tests encountered various problems, including with the new avionic, rotor blade vibrations and insufficient power at high altitudes. It thus took until 20 December 2000 for the German LBA and the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau to grant a basic type certificate for the EC 145. By that time around 700 flight hours had been performed.
Transfer of serial numbers 9004 and 9005 to the Sécutité Civile at Nimes took place in May 2001, instead of the end of 2000 or the spring of 2000 as the first plans were. This allowed pilot training to begin, before the two machines were returned to Donauwörth for final outfitting.
IFR approval fpor single- and two-pilot operation followed in October 2001, a necessary feature before the French customers were ready to accept the machines for service use.
Official market introduction of the EC 145 was at the Paris Air Show in June 2001. At that event, ADAC and REGA (two of the leading European EMS service providers) signed up for the helicopter.
FAA certification was granted on 14. February 2002. At the Heli-Expo in Orlando that month, the EC 145 was introduced to the US market, although only a mock-up was shown.
The first EC 145 was officially delivered on 17. April 2002 to the police helicopter squadron of Hessen at Egelsbach. This machine was fitted with searchlight, loudspeaker, cargo hook and roping equipment.
After long delays, Eurocopter President Jean-Francois Bigay finally handed the keys of the first fully conformal EC 145 (No 9006) of the Sécurité Civile to Michel Sapin on 24. April 2002 in Nimes. Three were in service by December 2002, used for training, and were still experiencing minor problems with some of the equipment.
The first US customer was Lee County EMS, a medical operator at the Florida west coast who signed up in September 2002.
The French Gendarmerie took delivery of its first EC 145 on 6 November 2002 at Villacoublay. An official ceremony took place on 10 December. All eight should now be in service by mid-2003.
German air rescue service ADAC-Luftrettung took delivery of two EC 145s on 5 June 2003. They will be stationed at Senftenberg (“Christoph 71”) and Mainz (“Christoph 77”). Among the equipment is a sophisitcaed medical system called “Amicus” and a liquid oxygen system with enlarged capacity.
By the end of 2004, some 62 EC 145s were in service throughout the world and had completed 39000 flight hours.
The French Sécuité Civile took delivery of its final of 32 Eurocopter EC 145s on 19 May 2005. Since hand-over of the first aircraft in April 2002, it had chalked up approximately 23000 flight hours.
On 25 August 2005, EADS North America and its American Eurocopter business unit announced that they will offer the UH-145 (EC 145) for the U.S. Army's Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) mission. The UH-145 was promoted as “best value” solution for the Army, providing a U.S.-built helicopter that meets or exceeds all speed, range, endurance and performance requirements. It was said that production of the UH-145 will be performed in the U.S. by American Eurocopter.
On 3 October 2005, EADS North America announced the expansion of its industrial team for its UH-145 with the addition of Sikorsky Aircraft, which will provide its expertise in contractor logistics support (CLS) for the U.S. Army's Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) mission. Also joining the UH-145 team were WestWind Technologies, specializing in fast-reaction helicopter systems integration, engineering support, and program management support, and CAE, specializing in simulation and training.
The EC145 fleet had accumulated more than 39,000 flight hours at the end of 2005.

Civil | Military | Helicopters | History | Spaceflight

Last updated 9 February 2006

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