Airbus told about preparing for serial producing H160

Helicopter unit Airbus completes assembly of the fuselage for the first serial mid-range twin-engine helicopter H160 at the plant in Donauwerth (Germany). At the beginning of next year, this element will be transferred to Marignane, where next year the line of the final assembly of H160 will open. Now the manufacturer is working on preparing for its launch. "The first production helicopter will be delivered in about two years," said the head of the program Bernard Fujarski . Production on the line of the final assembly will be organized by analogy with the automotive industry: the helicopter will move for completion from stage to stage, and each of the stages of the final assembly will take eight days. "The assembly system of this helicopter is modular, that is, first its components are assembled, which are then tested, then installed on the main structure of the helicopter on the final assembly line, which allows to shorten the production cycle to 40 days," Fujzharskiy said. Screw blades will be produced in Le Bourget, tail boom - in Albacete (Spain), and dynamic components - in Marignane. The full production cycle will be 24 weeks, according to Airbus Helicopters. The delivery of the car is scheduled for 2019. Six prototypes are involved in the tests. Four prototypes are designed for flight tests. To date, the air rises three cars, the last of which joined the air tests in October. It already flew 20 hours. Only three prototypes flew 555 h (before certification and putting the H160 into operation, it is planned to fly 1000 hours). As for the fourth car, it will be a sample of serial assembly. The aircraft will have to be tested for operation in high temperature conditions. As Fujarski said, the tests will be conducted in the south of France, as well as in the US. As a result, the helicopter can be operated at temperatures up to +45 degrees Celsius. Previously, the aircraft was tested for suitability for operation at temperatures down to -45 ° C. Two more prototypes are used for ground tests. Note that the manufacturer first began using prototypes for ground tests precisely in the framework of work on the H160. This, among other things, will solve all possible problems before the machine is put into operation. Particular attention is paid to IT-technologies, which are used not only at the design stage, but also in production and customer service. Next year, it is planned to switch to paperless work technologies. Earlier, in December of this year, work on the first manual on the operation of the new machine will be completed. In addition, now the manufacturer is working on creating a full-flight simulator (FFS), which will be put into operation before the helicopter itself. By the end of next year in Europe and the United States certified engines Safran Helicopter Engines Arrano 1A capacity of 1200 liters. from. for H160.

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