Types of helicopters ������

Types of Luxury helicopters 

What is a helicopter? 

It is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally-spinning rotors, guided by a pilot, moving the rotorcraft to different areas. Igor Sikorsky from the United States invented the first most world widely used helicopter on September 14, 1939. 

There are different types of uses of helicopters such as the Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne used as an attack helicopter, Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk used as a utility helicopter and Sikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk used as a Combat Search and Rescue helicopter. 

Helicopters have different years of introduction and different number builds. Today, we are going to learn about some of the types of luxury helicopters including the following:

1.Augusta Westland AW119 Ke Koala

2.Eurocopter Hermès EC 135

3.Augusta Westland AW109 Grand Versace VIP

4.Eurocopter Mercedes-Benz EC 145

5.Eurocopter EC 175

6.Eurocopter EC 155

7.Sikorsky S-76C

8.Augusta Westland AW139

9.Bell 525 Relentless

10.Sikorsky S-92 VIP Configuration

1.Augusta Westland AW119 Ke Koala

It was produced by Leonardo since 2016. It is an eight-seat utility helicopter powered by a single turboshaft engine produced for civil market. It is targeted at buyers favoring lower running costs of a single-engine aircraft over redundancy of a twin. It costs around 3.2 million US dollars. 

Other specs include:

Manufacturer: Leonardo, previously Finmeccanica, AgustaWestland, Agusta

First flight: February 1995

Introduction: 2000

Status: Active in production

Number built: ~300 (2018)

Top speed: 267 km/h

Range: 1,013 km

Weight: 1,430 kg

Engine type: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6

2.Eurocopter Hermès EC 135:

The Eurocopter Hermès EC135 now labeled as  Airbus Hermes Helicopters  H135 is a twin-engine civil light utility helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters. It is mainly used for helicopter emergency medical services then for corporate transport, law enforcement, offshore wind and military flight training. It costs around 6.75 million dollars by the French fashion house Hermes.

Other specs include:

Manufacturer: Eurocopter Airbus Helicopters

First flight: 15 February 1994

Introduction: 1996

Status: In service

Produced: 1995–present

Number built: 1300 (Jan. 2018)

Developed from: MBB Bo 105

Variants: Eurocopter EC635

3. Augusta Westland AW109 Grand Versace VIP: 

AugustaWestland teamed up with the Italian fashion house to create a super luxe interior for this fancier version of the AW109. It is a lightweight, twin-engine, eight-seat multi-purpose helicopter built by the Italian manufacturer Leonardo S.p.A. It was the first all-Italian helicopter to be mass-produced.

It is hybrid by Versace and costs around 6.3 million US dollars. The cabin AW109 Grand is longer than the regular AW109, though the specs are about the same: it still have a top speed of about 177 mph and a range of 599 miles. 

Other specs include:

Manufacturer: Agusta AgustaWestland Leonardo S.p.A.

First flight: 4 August 1971

Introduction: 1976

Status: Active service, in production 

Produced: 1971–present

Variants: AgustaWestland AW109S Grand

Range: 932 km

Top speed: 285 km/h

Weight: 1,590 kg

Length: 13 m

Engine type: Turbomeca Arrius

4.Eurocopter Mercedes-Benz EC 145: 

The Eurocopter Mercedes-Benz EC145 (now Airbus Mercedes-Benz Helicopters H145) is a twin-engine light utility helicopter developed and manufactured by Eurocopter.  It features an easily transformable interior and is tailored for high-end corporate, executive and private operations. It available for European customers at 5,755,000 Euros. 

Other specs include:

Role: Light utility helicopter

National origin: German 

First flight: 12 June 1999

Introduction: 2002

Status: In service

Produced: 1999–present

Developed from: MBB/Kawasaki BK 117

Variants: Eurocopter UH-72 Lakota

Number built: over 1,500

5.Eurocopter EC 175: It is a 7-ton class medium utility helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters. It costs around 7.9 million us dollars. It carries 2 crew pilots and over 16 passengers. It was put to service since 2014. The development of EC175 was implemented through a 50/50 joint venture, with separate assembly lines in France and China. It costs around 600 million US dollars

Other specs include:

Manufacturer: Eurocopter Airbus Helicopters

Aviation Industry Corporation of China

Role: Medium utility helicopter

National origin: Multinational 

First flight:

H175: 17 December 2009

AC352: 20 December 2016

Origin: France and China

Introduction: H175 : December 2014

Status: In service

Produced: 2009-present

Range: 1,204 km

Top speed: 296 km/h

Wingspan: 15 m

Weight: 4,603 kg

Engine type: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6

6.Eurocopter EC 155: 

Now label led as Airbus Helicopters H155, It is a long-range medium-lift passenger transport helicopter developed by Eurocopter for civil aviation use. It is a twin-engined aircraft and can carry up to 13 passengers along with 1 or 2 crew, depending on customer configuration. The helicopter is marketed for passenger transport, offshore support, VIP corporate transport and casualty transport duties. It costs around 10 us million dollars

Other specs include: 

Manufacturer: Eurocopter Airbus Helicopters

Role: Passenger transport helicopter

National origin: Multinational 

First flight: 17 June 1997

Introduction: March 1999

Status: Active

Produced: 1997-present

Developed from: Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin

Developed into: Eurocopter X³

Top speed: 324 km/h

Range: 857 km

Wingspan: 13 m

Cruise speed: 280 km/h

Engine type: Turbomeca Arriel

7.Sikorsky S-76C:

It is an American medium-size commercial utility helicopter, manufactured by the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation. The S-76 features twin turboshaft engines, four-bladed main and tail rotors, and retractable landing gear. It costs around 15 million US dollars. 

Other specs include:

Manufacturer: Sikorsky Aircraft

Role: Utility helicopter

National origin: United States

First flight: March 13, 1977

Status: In service

Produced: 1977–present

Variants: Sikorsky S-75

Top speed: 287 km/h

Range: 760 km

Cruise speed: 287 km/h

Weight: 3,177 kg

8.Augusta Westland AW139: It is a 15-seat medium-sized twin-engined helicopter developed and built by AgustaWestland, now called Leonardo. It is marketed at several different roles, including VIP/corporate transport, offshore transport, fire fighting, law enforcement, search and rescue, emergency medical service, disaster relief, and maritime patrol. It costs around 12 million US dollars

Other specs include:

Role: Medium-lift SAR/utility helicopter 

First flight: 3 February 2001

Introduction: 2003

Status: In production

Produced: 2001–present

Developed into: AgustaWestland AW149

Range: 1,250 km

Top speed: 310 km/h

Wingspan: 14 m

Weight: 3,622 kg

Cruise speed: 306 km/h

Engine type: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6

9.Bell 525 Relentless: 

It is an American medium-lift helicopter, under development by Bell Textron. The Bell 525 was unveiled at the 2012 Heli-Expo in Dallas, Texas in February 2012. The helicopter first flew on 1 July 2015. It is designed to transport up to 19 passengers. 

Other specs include:

Role: Medium-lift utility helicopter

National origin: United States 

First flight: 1 July 2015

Status: Under development

Produced: 2015–present

Top speed: 306 km/h

Range: 1,074 km

Cruise speed: 287 km/h

Engine type: General Electric T700

10.Sikorsky S-92 VIP Configuration:

It is world-renowned for revolutionary aviation models and versatile helicopters; the Sikorsky S-92 VIP Configuration is designed as a multi-mission aircraft, the S-92 can be configured as pleased with seat customisation, toilet and even shower possibilities. It is an American twin-engine medium-lift helicopter built by Sikorsky Aircraft for the civil and military helicopter markets. The S-92 was developed from the Sikorsky S-70 helicopter and has similar parts such as flight control and rotor systems. 

Other specs include:

Manufacturer: Sikorsky Aircraft

Role: Medium-lift transport/utility helicopter

National origin: United States

First flight: December 23, 1998

Introduction: 2004

Status: In service

Produced: 1998–present

Number built: at least 300

Developed from: Sikorsky S-70

Variants: Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone

Sikorsky VH-92