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Helibras

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Helibras
Company typeJoint Stock
IndustryAerospace/Defense
Founded1978
HeadquartersItajubá,Minas Gerais,Brazil
Key people
Gilberto Peralta,[1]President
ProductsHelicopters,aircraft components, mission systems for air and ground operation
RevenueR$703 million
Number of employees
500
ParentAirbus Helicopters(Airbus)
Websitehelibras.com.br

HelibrasorHelicópteros do BrasilS.A. (Helicopters of Brazil, Inc.) is aBrazil-basedhelicoptermanufacturer which is a wholly owned subsidiary ofAirbus Helicopters,a division ofAirbus.

Helibras has produced and delivered more than 800 helicopters,[2]70% of which being theEurocopter AS350 Écureuil(known in Portuguese asEsquilo). Ten percent of total production is exported to Latin American countries such asArgentina,Bolivia,Chile,Mexico,Paraguay,Uruguay,andVenezuela.[3]

Helibras leads the Brazilian market of turbine helicopters in operation, the company's rotorcraft comprising 54 per cent of those used in the civilian market. It has a greater lead within the domestic military market, the company's share being roughly 66 per cent.[4]

History[edit]

Helibras was founded on 1 January 1978 inSão Jose dos Campos,São Paulo state,Brazil. Since 1980, the company has been located inItajubá,a city and municipality in southwesternMinas Geraisstate,Brazil.Formerly, Helibras was jointly owned by MGIParticipações(MGI Investments – owned by the government of the federal state ofMinas Gerais), Bueninvest andEurocopter.As of 2006, Helibras became a wholly owned subsidiary of Eurocopter (nowAirbus Helicopters) which in turn is owned byAirbus Group.[5]It is the only manufacturer of helicopters inLatin America.

The most numerous helicopter type to be produced by Helibras is theEurocopter AS350 Écureuil;of the 600 helicopters that the company has domestically manufactured for the Brazilian market by 2012, 70 per cent were AS350s.[6]Brazil has been a major market for the AS350; by 2011 more than 300 helicopters were reportedly operating throughout the country, including from the flight deck of theBrazilian aircraft carrier São Paulo.[7][8]Since 1984, theBrazilian Navyhas used AS350s to support theBrazilian Antarctic Program.[9]In January 2011, Helibras signed a contract with the Brazilian Army to substantially upgrade and refurbish their existing fleet of 36 AS350 Ecureuils.[10]

A Brazilian EC725 preparing to land on the flight deck ofamphibious assault shipUSSAmerica,2014

TheEurocopter AS565 Pantherhelicopter was another licensed design produced locally by Helibras. During 1988, theBrazilian Army Aviation Commandtook delivery of its first Panthers. In January 2010, Helibras was awarded a contract to upgrade 34 AS365K Panthers to the new AS365 K2 standard.[11]Changes on the Panther K2 include newTurbomeca Arriel 2C2CGengines which produce 40% more power, a glass cockpit containing new avionics and radio systems, a four-axis autopilot, a newweather radar,NVG-compatibility, and measures to reduce pilot workload, and shall extend the airframe's service life for a further 25 years.[12]In March 2014, the first two Panther K2 rotorcraft were delivered to the Brazilian Army.[13]In September 2014, the Panther K2 passed its technical operation evaluation, having reportedly demonstrated a 98% availability rating throughout the trial period, clearing the way for the full modernisation program to proceed.[12]

During September 2008, the Brazilian Government announced that Helibras' factory inItajubá,Minas Gerais,would produce an initial 50Eurocopter EC725sunder a $1 billion order.[14][15]These 50 helicopters are to be used by theBrazilian Navy,theBrazilian Air Force(FAB) andBrazilian Army Aviation Command.[16]By December 2010, three helicopters were undergoing flight tests prior to entering military service and in 2012, Helibras began assembly of the rest of the order.[17]In April 2014, Helibras andMBDAwere in the process of integrating the anti-shipExocetmissile, which are also 50%-built in Brazil.[18]On 19 June 2014, theBrazilian Navyformally accepted delivery of the first EC725.[19]By July 2015, the Brazilian armed forces had taken delivery of 16 H225Ms; deliveries were reported at the time to continue until 2019.[16]By 1 October 2015, Brazil's H225M fleet had attained 10,000 flight hours.[20]In December 2015, Helibras delivered the first pair of H225Ms to be delivered to a full operational capability (FOC) standard to the Brazilian military.[21]

Products[edit]

Civil[edit]

Military[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Gilberto Peralta - Helibras
  2. ^Helibras
  3. ^Helibras
  4. ^Helibras
  5. ^"Eurocopter".Archived fromthe originalon 23 February 2010.Retrieved19 December2009.
  6. ^"Eurocopter Unit Inaugurates Chopper Plant in Brazil.[dead link]",Defense news,2 October 2012.
  7. ^"Eurocopter’s Helibras Subsidiary to Modernize 36 AS350 Ecureuil Helicopters Operated by the Brazilian Army Aviation Command.Archived17 June 2015 at theWayback Machine",Helicopter Maintenance Magazine,1 February 2011.
  8. ^"Zentech to support Brazilian aircraft carrier São Paulo’s upgrade programme.Archived14 June 2015 at theWayback Machine",naval-technology,7 May 2015.
  9. ^Morant, Belen."The Brazilian Navy: The Ecureuil in Antarctica.Archived14 June 2015 at theWayback Machine",Rotor Online,April 2009.
  10. ^"Elixir of Youth for AS350Archived21 April 2017 at theWayback Machine",SavunmaSanayi.Net,6 January 2011.
  11. ^Hoyle, Craig."Helibras to upgrade Brazilian army Panthers."Archived8 December 2015 at theWayback MachineFlight International,11 January 2010.
  12. ^abTomkins, Richard."Modernization of Brazilian Army helicopters to continue."Archived8 December 2015 at theWayback MachineUnited Press International,17 September 2014.
  13. ^"Helibras begins deliveries of upgraded AS365 Panther K2 helicopters to the Brazilian Army."Archived8 December 2015 at theWayback MachineAirbus Helicopters,13 March 2014.
  14. ^Farias, Ivy (8 September 2008)."Brasil produzirá em Minas Gerais helicópteros para as Forças Armadas".Agência Brasil.Retrieved on 11 July 2009.
  15. ^"Brazil’s $1B+ Order for EC725 Cougar Helicopters."Archived25 July 2015 at theWayback MachineDefense Industry Daily,5 January 2012.
  16. ^ab"Continued delivery of the H225M for the Brazilian armed forces despite announcement of 2 year delay."Archived25 December 2015 at theWayback Machinedefesanet,3 July 2015.
  17. ^"Brazil's armed forces test-fly EC725".Archivedfrom the original on 25 December 2010.Retrieved2 January2011.
  18. ^"Helibras Integrating Exocet Onto EC725 Helicopter."Archived13 July 2015 at theWayback MachineAviation Week,29 April 2014.
  19. ^Perry, Dominic."Airbus Helicopters hands over first EC725 fully assembled in Brazil."Archived2 April 2015 at theWayback MachineFlight International,19 June 2014.
  20. ^"Brazilian Armed Forces Exceed 10,000 Flight Hours with H225M."Archived25 December 2015 at theWayback MachineAirbus Helicopters,1 October 2015.
  21. ^Dominic, Perry."Brazilian army and air force take first FOC-standard H225Ms."Archived25 December 2015 at theWayback MachineFlight International,22 December 2015.

External links[edit]

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