Eurocopter Canada Ltd. is showcasing the EC225 helicopter in St. John’s this week to demonstrate the rotorcraft’s features and capabilities for the offshore oil and gas community in Canada’s Newfoundland and Labrador province.

The helicopter is in St. John’s for three days to highlight its ideal suitability for use as a crew transport aircraft, and in search and rescue missions for offshore operations. Flight opportunities will be provided for more than 30 representatives of the oil and gas sector, along with members of key industry associations.

The EC225 is the latest evolution of the company’s Super Puma rotorcraft family and benefits from the experience accumulated by almost 1,000 aircraft of this family delivered to some 100 operators. The EC225 came to Canada (Iqaluit) for extreme cold weather testing in winter 2004 and 2007.

The EC225 is a helicopter of choice for oil and gas operators due to its long-range performance, state-of-the-art equipment and system redundancy. More than 80 EC225s operate for the oil and gas sector in approximately 12 countries. With more than 300,000 flight hours logged by the global fleet, the EC225 had validated its capability of performing missions at all latitudes in a full range of conditions.

“Eurocopter Canada is very pleased to bring a member of the well-known Super Puma family to St. John’s, providing the oil and gas industry a first-hand look what the EC225 has to offer with its tremendous capabilities and special features,” said Guillaume Leprince, Vice President of Sales and Marketing of Eurocopter Canada Limited, based in Fort Erie, ON.

In addition to an extended flight range of more than 200 naut. mi., the helicopter features a long list of safety features and enhancements for passenger comfort. It has a cabin free of fuel tanks, is equipped with a Sea State 6 emergency flotation device, full de-icing, a state-of-the-art avionics suite including autopilot, and is certified for night flying.

Of particular note is the aircraft’s main gearbox run-dry system, which is certified for 30 minutes –but has been demonstrated for more than 50 minutes. As a result, helicopter’s gearbox can run for 30-plus minutes without oil flow due to a special back-up cooling lubrication system.

For passengers, the EC225 offers improved seating with increased leg and shoulder room, large push-out windows for easier emergency exit and better visibility during flight, along with lower cabin noise and reduced vibration levels.

Highly versatile and designed to perform in all operating conditions, the EC225 flies in civil, military and parapublic operations worldwide ranging from offshore transportation and cargo airlift to search and rescue (SAR), in particular in very demanding environment.

Eurocopter press release