New Airbus H145D3 sets altitude milestone

摘要

Airbus Helicopters recently announced an altitude milestone for its new H145D3 and a prominent superyacht customer for the aircraft. During high-altitude testing in Argentina, it touched skids on Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Southern Hemisphere, at 22,840 feet, the first time a twin-engine helicopter landed at this altitude. The aircraft departed Mendoza, Argentina, flew 30 minutes to the foot of the Aconcagua, and climbed for 15 minutes to the summit of the mountain where the temperature was -7.6 deg F. The crew-test pilot Alexander Neuhaus and flight-test engineer Antoine van Gent-encountered gusts to 30 knots in low air density during the ascension.