Falcon Aviation has signed a new MoU at the show expanding its commitment to the Airbus Helicopters H160 through the addition of a further three helicopters following a flight demonstration to evaluate the H160 passenger experience.
Falcon Aviation has signed a new MoU at the show expanding its commitment to the Airbus Helicopters H160 through the addition of a further three helicopters to the original Letter Of Intent (LOI) signed in May 2016.
Capt. Raman Oberoi, COO of Abu Dhabi-based Falcon Aviation, says the decision was made following a flight demonstration to evaluate the H160 passenger experience.
Airbus Helicopters reports that the H160, with three prototypes now in flight testing, is currently preparing certification and entry into service in 2019. The helicopter’s final assembly line in Marignane, France is also in the final stages of preparation and will be ready to start series production shortly.
Customer support activities are being developed in parallel thanks to the extensive involvement of maintenance teams, through the operator zero campaign, using the prototypes and test means to check and improve the maintenance plan, digital work cards and technical documentation, and tooling etc. ahead of actual operations.
The manufacturer says that the first version to enter service in 2019 will be the passenger transport variant (commercial air transport or Oil and Gas), followed by the emergency medical services (EMS) version, with the VIP version scheduled for 2021.