Helicopters ADAC takes delivery of its first five-bladed H145s

From its facility at Donauwörth in Germany, Airbus Helicopters has delivered the first two five-bladed H145 helicopters to German operator ADAC Luftrettung. The operator is one of Europe´s largest Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) provider.

In 2019, Airbus initially announced the new version of its popular H145 model at Heli-Expo at Atlanta. With the largest upgrade being the five-bladed rotor, the aircraft is capable of increasing the useful load of the helicopter by 150kg. ADAC will also upgrade its current fleet of four-bladed H145s.

Frédéric Bruder, Managing Director of ADAC Luftrettung GmbH, said: "By investing in new aircraft alongside the upgrade of our existing H145 fleet, we are focusing on state-of-the-art flight technology for rescue missions. This benefits people in need and our crews alike and improves our emergency medical care in the air for the long term. In this way, we will continue to ensure patient and flight safety, which are our top priorities, at the very highest level in the future."

Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters, commented on the long-standing partnership between the manufacturer and the operator: "We are delighted that ADAC Luftrettung has opted for the new five-bladed H145. This opens a new chapter in the cooperation between our two organizations that dates back more than 50 years."

ADAC Luftrettung is performing HEMS services from its nearly 40 stations across Germany. Currently, the operator is using a fleet of more than 50 Airbus helicopters and these two delivered H145s are the latest addition to the fleet.

Airbus´ H145 is also capable of flying on Sustainable Aviation Fuel, with ADAC being the first HEMS operator to operate on the alternative fuel in June this year. This is of special importance, as alternative solutions for tomorrow´s aviation are becoming more and more popular.

Regarding the H145, Airbus wrote: “Powered by two Safran Arriel 2E engines, the H145 is equipped with full authority digital engine control (FADEC) and the Helionix digital avionics suite. It includes a high performance 4-axis autopilot, increasing safety and reducing pilot workload. Its particularly low acoustic footprint makes the H145 the quietest helicopter in its class.“

To date, Airbus Helicopters has nearly 1500 H145 family helicopters in service with operators around the world. In total, the global fleet has logged more than six million flight hours. More than 470 helicopters of the H145 family are used for HEMS operations alone.