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The H140 has a five-blade main rotor and a sleek, swept vertical and T-tail horizontal stabilizer for improved aerodynamics.
Airbus Helicopters has adopted a low-risk approach to expanding its light twin-engine rotorcraft offerings in a market that it already largely dominates.
The company’s new H140—unveiled at the Vertical Aviation International Verticon industry gathering in Dallas on March 11—is a growth variant of its popular H135. Airbus hopes that the H140 will have greater appeal to operators because it features an enlarged cabin, a higher cruise speed and smoother flight characteristics as well as operating costs comparable with its slightly smaller siblings. As Airbus Helicopters’ first entirely new product to be launched under CEO Bruno Even’s tenure, the aircraft builds on the recent sales success of the updated H145 and on technologies the company tested on the Blue-copter technology demonstrator nearly a decade ago (AW&ST July 20-Aug. 2, 2015). The H140 also addresses some customer feedback, notably from emergency medical service providers, which are expected to be early adopters.
- Light twin developed around air ambulance industry needs
- H140 will use Safran’s new Arrius 2E turboshaft
- Compact footprint and larger cabin are key features
“The H140 is designed by our customers, for our customers . . . addressing new market expectations, raising the bar and bringing more value, performance and comfort,” Even told journalists ahead of the unveiling in Dallas.
Since the rotorcraft market is growing again post-pandemic, Even has deemed the sector ready for something new. The H140 will allow Airbus to reach the market with three products, while its competitors can offer only one or two alternatives.
Internally designated the H135T4 to reflect its H135 heritage, the H140 will not replace but complement that type, explains Dirk Petry, head of the H135 and H140 programs. Petry says the H140 will appeal primarily to commercial and parapublic users, whereas the H135 will continue to be the airframer’s “value proposition for military training.”
Externally sleeker than its H135 counterpart, the H140 features a newly designed tail boom and vertical stabilizer; a T-tail replaces the horizontal stabilizer slotted through the tail boom. Moving the horizontal stabilizer to the top of the fin adds an extra 80 kg (176 lb.) of payload capacity because of download from the main rotor, while its swept design reduces drag. The tail boom also is raised slightly higher to give better and safer access to the rear clamshell doors. A new bearingless five-blade main rotor, similar to the one adopted on the H145, improves ride quality, while a 10-blade fenestron shrouded antitorque system enhances yaw performance and reduces noise.
A key priority for engineers was to maintain a compact footprint. The aircraft is just 1 m (3 ft.) longer when measured from the tip of the main rotor blade to the tip of the tail rotor.
Unlike the H135, which has two engine options, Airbus is offering just one for the H140: a new version of Safran’s Arrius turboshaft. Airbus says the 700-shp Arrius 2E delivers lower operating costs than earlier versions of the powerplant and improves high-altitude and single-engine-inoperative performance. The Arrius 2E won its way onto the H140 after a competitive tender, Petry explains.
“By offering a single engine to our customers, we can propose the best solution in terms of economics, . . . but if you need to offer two engine options, it comes with a cost,” he says.
Internally, cabin volume has increased by 20% to 6.1 m3 thanks to a 20-cm (8-in.) plug that lengthens the fuselage, and width has increased by 10 cm. Airbus has removed a column behind the pilots that contained the control lines, which have been rerouted up through the center of the windshield. The changes allow six passengers to sit comfortably, while wider doors improve access to the cabin for stretchers. Larger windows also enhance visibility and act as emergency exits in the event of a ditching.
Airbus says it is developing an optimized maintenance plan that will harmonize airframe and engine maintenance schedules and allow longer intervals between inspections, reducing operating and maintenance costs. The company is also adopting the Helionix avionics suite used across its rotorcraft range.
The H140’s maximum takeoff weight is 3,175 kg, up from the H135’s 2,980 kg, very close to the 7,000-lb. certification weight limit for the FAA’s Part 27 and European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) CS-27 standards for normal-category rotorcraft. Airbus is eager not to make the mistake Bell made in pushing its twin-engine 429 into a different certification category. Some countries approved the Bell 429 weight increase with an exemption, but the FAA and EASA did not, preventing an option with increased gross weight from serving the light twin-engine market.
Although the H140’s empty weight has not been disclosed, Petry says Airbus Helicopters is working in a “conscious way” on weight optimization, expanding use of composites in what he calls a hybrid composite and metal structure. Among the weight-saving features planned for serial production is a one-piece composite tail boom.
“The H135 pilot will feel familiar and at home in this aircraft, but it flies a little bit better; the controls are more harmonized and feel better than the H135,” says Volker Bau, Airbus Helicopters’ chief test pilot in Germany.
Development of the H140 began in 2021, based on design goals set by customer feedback, Petry says. The rotorcraft’s first flight was in June 2023. Three more prototypes are planned to undergo flight testing in support of EASA certification and service entry in 2028. A second prototype is expected to follow in the latter half of 2025, and the remaining two prototypes, including a production-standard conforming fourth prototype, are slated to emerge in 2026. Market entry is expected first in the emergency medical services sector, while a corporate VIP version, to be marketed by Airbus Corporate Helicopters, should be available by decade-end.
Final assembly of the H140 will be carried out alongside the H135 and H145 at the company’s facilities in Donauworth, Germany, marking the first time that Airbus has manufactured more than two commercial products in the country.
Development of the H140 raises the question of whether Airbus will look at other market niches. Arguably the biggest gap in its product line is between the 3.8-metric-ton H145 and the 6-metric-ton H160. After all, the company has never truly replaced its 4.3-metric-ton AS365 Dauphin because the H160 was upscaled for the medium twin market. Today, Leonardo’s 4.8-metric-ton AW169 dominates the weight class that was previously the Dauphin’s preserve.
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