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The Airbus Helicopters H175, also known as the Avicopter AC352 and formerly as the Eurocopter EC175 and the Avicopter Z-15, is a 7-ton class medium utility helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters (formerly Eurocopter Group) and the Harbin Aircraft Industry Group of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). Formally launched at Heli-Expo in Houston on 24 February 2008, it was predicted by Airbus Helicopters that approximately 800 to 1,000 EC175s would be sold over an initial 20-year period.〔Airbus Helicopters Rotor News 75. ("EC175, a star is born" )〕〔Warwick, Graham. ("Heli-Expo 2008: Eurocopter unveils EC175, names launch customers." ) ''Flight Global''. Flightglobal.com. Accessed 28 February 2008.〕 It entered service in December 2014; in 2015, the EC175 was formally renamed to the H175, in line with Eurocopter's corporate rebranding as Airbus Helicopters.〔("VIDEO: Meet the H Generation." ) ''Airbus Helicopters'', 3 March 2015.〕 ==Development== In February 2005, Eurocopter president Fabrice Brégier revealed that in-depth discussions were being held between Eurocopter and China Aviation Industry Corporation II (AVIC II) on the topic of the co-development of a new medium-heavy twin-engine helicopter, tentatively designated as the EC175.〔("Heli-Expo - Eurocopter talks to China on development of heavy twin." ) ''Flight International'', 15 February 2005.〕 In October 2005, AgustaWestland acknowledged that it had also been approached by AVIC II, and that the firm was interested in participating if Eurocopter failed to secure the co-development contract.〔Sobie, Brendan. ("AgustaWestland steps up Chinese campaign." ) ''Flight International'', 4 October 2005.〕 On 5 December 2005, the signing of a development contract for the EC175 was announced by Eurocopter and AVIC-II's subsidiary Harbin Aircraft Industry Group (HAIG).〔Massy-Beresford, Helen. and Murdo Morrison. ("EADS aims to crack China." ) ''Flight International'', 13 December 2005.〕 Early development work on the project proceeded as per schedule: On 5 December 2006, the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) was completed; the Critical Design Review (CDR) was completed on 5 December 2007, at which point the design of the aircraft and all its sub-systems was frozen. In 2008, it was expected that development of the EC175 would cost €600 million.〔 The EC175 was developed through close cooperation with existing operators via a customer advisory team (CAT) approach.〔Eurocopter Rotor News 76. ("The EC175 arrives on the scene" )〕 During the EC175's formal unveiling at Heli-Expo 2008, Eurocopter booked a total of 111 purchase options from 13 customers, including launch customers Bristow Helicopters and the VIH Aviation Group.〔Airbus Helicopters Press Release. ("Major success for Eurocopter at Heli-Expo 2008: 111 signatures for its brand new EC175, 120 orders for its current range" )〕 During the Zhuhai Airshow in November 2008, a letter of intent for 5 Z-15s was signed between HAIG and Chinese domestic general-purpose aviation company Longken General Aviation Cooperation.〔Rotorhub. ("First EC175 airframe delivered to Eurocopter in China" )〕 As defined in 2008, the commercial marketing of the EC175 as follows: HAIG is responsible for selling the type within China and neighboring nations, Airbus Helicopters is responsible for sales to the rest of the world.〔 Having made its first flight on 4 December 2009,〔 the EC175 prototype performed its official maiden flight on 17 December 2009 in Marignane, France.〔("Avicopter ponders alternative engine following EC175 first flight." ) ''Flight International'', 17 December 2009.〕 A two-year delivery delay was encountered, partly due to certification issues with the rotorcraft's Helinix avionics suite.〔Lert, Frederic. ("Airbus Helicopters Delivers First Two EC175s to NHV." ) ''AIN Online'', 12 December 2014.〕 The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) were originally expected to issue type certification for the EC175 sometime in 2013; this was formally received in January 2014.〔"(EASA Type-certificate data sheet No. EASA.R.150 for EC175 )" ''European Aviation Safety Agency'', 5 February 2014. Retrieved: 12 March 2015.〕 In September 2015, Avicopter publically revealed their first AC352 prototype.〔Thierry, Dubois. ("Avicopter Unveils AC352 Prototype at China Helo Expo." ) ''AIN Online'', 14 September 2015.〕 An initial assembly line for the EC175 was established at Airbus Helicopters' Marignane facility; in 2008, it was reported that a second assembly line for the type was intended to follow within five years.〔Thomson Financial News. ("Eurocopter CEO defends buy of German company, Romania outsourcing" ) ''Forbes'' 30 June 2008.〕 In April 2014, an agreement between Airbus Helicopters and Avicopter was made for the production of 1,000 EC175; lasting for 20 years, manufacturing is split half-and-half between separate assembly lines operated by the two firms.〔Padfield, R. Randall. ("Avicopter and Airbus Launch Joint Helicopter Production." ) ''AIN Online'', 10 April 2014.〕〔Spruce, Terry. ("Airbus Helicopters and Avicopter sign 20 year production agreement." ) ''Corporate Jet Investor'', 27 March 2014.〕 As of June 2014, the EC175 had the distinction of holding both the 3 km〔"(E-1g (Helicopters: take off weight 6000 to 10000 kg) – Time to climb to a height of 3 000 m )". ''Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI)''. Retrieved: 17 June 2014.〕 and 6 km〔"(E-1g (Helicopters: take off weight 6000 to 10000 kg) – Time to climb to a height of 6 000 m )". ''Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI)''. Retrieved: 17 June 2014.〕 time-to-climb records for its class, ratified by FAI, at about a minute per kilometre. In May 2015, a H175 was used as a demonstrator for Airbus Helicopter's low-noise helicopter instrument approach project, a world-first achieved via satellite-augmented navigation to optimise rotorcraft noise levels.〔Turner, Aimee. ("Airbus launches world-first green IFR procedures for helicopters." ) ''Air Traffic Management.net'', 12 MAy 2015.〕 By May 2015, the H175 had been certified for single-pilot operations under visual flight rules (VFR); Airbus Helicopters is studying single-pilot operations under instrument flight rules, but this is not considered to be a priority due to low demand for this functionality.〔Huber, Mark. ("Soft Launch for Airbus H175 ." ) ''AIN Online'', 25 May 2015.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Airbus Helicopters H175」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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