Chinese version of the Airbus Helicopter H175 medium lift helicopter has completed maiden flight from Harbin, seven years after its Euro...
Chinese version of the Airbus Helicopter H175 medium lift helicopter has completed maiden flight from Harbin, seven years after its European version first took off.
The 7 ton AC352 is a twin-engined, multi-purpose rotorcraft jointly developed by Chinese Avicopter and Airbus Helicopters.
The AC352 is assembled and supported from China by Avicopter, mainly for the Chinese market; and the EC175, assembled and supported by Airbus Helicopters from Marignane, France, for the worldwide market.
AC352 was powered by the Chinese WZ16 turboshaft engine, which is based on the Saftran Ardiden 3C, jointly developed by Safran Helicopter Engines, CAPI and Dongan, part of the new Aero Engine Corporation of China (AECC) consortium, in a partnership for both development and production.
WZ16 will be the first helicopter engine to be certified in parallel, both in China by CAAC (Civil Aviation Administration of China) and in Europe under Ardiden 3C designation, by EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) under the Ardiden 3C designation.
The EASA certification for the Ardiden 3C is expected by end of 2017, and the CAAC certification for the WZ16 in 2018.
In 2014, China and France had signed a joint agreement for the production of 1,000 EC175/AC352 helicopters. The H175 began commercial operation in 2014.
