18 Facts About Eurocopter EC135

Eurocopter EC135 is a twin-engine civil light utility helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters.

The H135M, certified under the name Eurocopter EC635, is a military variant.

In January 1995, the Eurocopter EC135 made its first public appearance at the Heli-Expo convention at Las Vegas, at which prospective buyers were reportedly impressed with its appearance and performance figures.

On 2 December 1999, the Eurocopter EC135 was granted single-pilot IFR certification by Germany's Luftfahrt-Bundesamt.

At the NBAA in March 2007 in Atlanta, Eurocopter unveiled 'L'Helicoptere par Hermes, a special-edition VIP model designed by Hermes International, S A ; it features a customized luxury four-place main cabin, a sliding glass partition, a corporate baggage hold, redesigned skid landing gear and other external changes.

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In 2011, Eurocopter formalised a license manufacturing agreement with Zhong-Ou International Group to produce the EC135 luxury helicopter in Zhejiang Province, China.

The Eurocopter EC135 holds the distinction of being the quietest helicopter in its class, featuring an anti-resonance isolation system to dampen vibration from the main rotor.

Eurocopter EC135 can be equipped with either a conventional flight deck or the Avionique Novelle glass cockpit – the latter allows for single pilot instrument flight rules operation.

The main avionics suite is supplied by Thales Group; the Eurocopter EC135 can be outfitted with various avionics suites from manufacturers such as Russian firm Transas Aviation and British firm Britannia 2000.

Various cabin and cockpit configurations are available for the Eurocopter EC135, depending on the role performed and the operator's preferences.

The main cabin of the Eurocopter EC135 is accessed either by large doors on either side of the cabin or by clamshell doors located at the rear of the cabin, directly underneath the aircraft's tail boom; the clamshell doors are particularly attractive to emergency medical services and cargo operators.

The 100th Eurocopter EC135 was handed over to the Bavarian police force in June 1999; by which point the worldwide fleet had accumulated approximately 30,000 flight hours.

In September 2003, the 300th Eurocopter EC135 was handed over to UK-based McAlpine Helicopters; at this point, the Eurocopter EC135 was the best selling new light twin-engine helicopter in the UK market.

In 2011, Eurocopter announced that the 1,000th EC135 to be produced had been delivered to German operator ADAC, roughly 15 years following the start of production.

In 2012, Flying magazine recognised the Eurocopter EC135 as being "the industry's best selling twin-engine helicopter".

In 2009, the Eurocopter EC135 was the first aircraft selected for offshore wind support in the UK after the Civil Aviation Authority approved helicopter operations to the Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm.

The Eurocopter EC135 has been used in Denmark to support the Horns Rev offshore wind farm, by 2013, over 10,000 successful personnel transfers have taken place using the type.

In October 2014, the Australian Department of Defence announced that the Eurocopter EC135 would be procured as the primary training platform for both the Australian Army and Royal Australian Navy.