Eurocopter and its Chinese partner Harbin Aircraft are designing a new medium twin helicopter, dubbed the EC 175, to fill the gap between the EC 155 Dauphin and the EC 225 Super Puma. They are to unveil details of the EC 175 design at the Paris Air Show in June. Nevertheless, Eurocopter (Booth No. 1833) likely will be asked lots of questions about the new medium twin here at Heli-Expo and might be persuaded to provide an update on the program.
The computer-generated image (shown here) gives a rough idea of the EC 175’s configuration. But the design likely will evolve. In fact, it has already changed significantly since the first artist rendering was released in December 2005, when the partnership agreement between Eurocopter and Harbin was signed. For example, the number of blades on the tail rotor has changed (from four to three), along with the shape of the windows and the engines’ air intakes.
