Airbus Helicopters is planning to acquire 15 helicopters this year to disassemble for parts and harvest for spares as the airframer continues to fix supply chain issues.
The first serial production-representative AW09 single-engine light rotorcraft, codenamed S6, took to the air on Aug. 8 from Leonardo’s Vergiate manufacturing facility near Milan.
Airbus Helicopters has begun exploring whether an electrical backup system to assist a pilot in autorotation could be certified and made cost-effective.
Fleets are set to grow in all sectors except military and year-over-year growth is projected to be highest for the commercial and business aviation aftermarket.
On the last day of EBACE, Airbus secured a firm order from Italian company Air Corporate for more than 40 helicopters, including three premium ACH160s.