Kansai-based helicopter operator Hiaratagakuen has received its second H145//BK117D-2, eight months after delivery of its first machine, in December 2017.
Kansai-based helicopter operator Hiratagakuen has received its second H145//BK117D-2, eight months after delivery of its first machine, in December 2017. The new helicopter will join Hiratagakuen’s growing fleet to support emergency medical service (EMS) missions, as well as providing passenger and material transport.
The first H145//BK117D-2 entered service in June 2018 for aeromedical operations at the Nagasaki Medical Centre in Nagasaki Prefecture. Hiratagakuen also operates 14 H135s.
In 2010, the Kansai government implemented region-wide EMS support network and Hiratagakuen became its main operator of these missions. Today, there are over 50 helicopters supporting emergency medical missions in 42 prefectures across Japan.
The H145//BK117D-2, developed in co-operation with Kawasaki Heavy Industries, differs from the C-2 and C-2e versions in being fitted with FADEC-equipped Arriel 2E engines, fenestron tail rotor and Helionix avionics suite.
The contract with Hiratagakuen, signed in October 2016, marked the first order for the H145//BK117D-2 in Japan.