Thierry Dubois is a freelance writer specializing in helicopters, business aviation and aerospace technology. He earned a degree in fluid dynamics from an engineering school in Toulouse, France in the mid-1990s. At an unexpected crossroads, he found his first job in journalism. In 1997, he started working for French aerospace weekly Air &amp; Cosmos in Paris. This lasted until 2000, when he moved south to Lyons. He then became a freelancer, working for various aerospace publications and has been part of the AIN team since late 2000. In addition to writing about business aviation, Thierry shares responsibility for the rotorcraft section. He also is a regular on-site writer for AIN’s daily editions at international airshows such as the Paris, Farnborough, Dubai and Singapore shows, as well as at EBACE in Geneva.
In 2007, he won the Honeywell award for “Best systems or technology submission” at the Aerospace journalist of the year awards. In 2013, he won an Aerospace Media Award for the "Best Safety, Training &amp; Simulation Submission."
In other activities, Thierry moderates international conferences on aviation technology topics. Thierry is married and has three children, who seem to begin enjoying the mountains–as their parents do.

Writer

Thierry Dubois

Pegasus Design has won Airbus Helicopters’ design contest for the H160 VIP cabin interior, the airframer announced here on Tuesday. At the Airbus Helicopters display (Hall 5, Booth N060), showgoers can experience the medium twin’s cabin interior, electric footstep and hinged doors, thanks to a virtual reality immersion tool.

 


The contest was launched in October 2015. It culminated in an evaluation by “a large panel of customers and specialists in luxury goods,” said Frédéric Lemos, Airbus Helicopters’ head of private and business aviation. Airbus’s in-house design team will now work closely with Pegasus Design, following the latter’s “design intention.” It will not be the first cooperation between the two companies, as Pegasus was previously selected to design the H175’s VIP and corporate cabin interiors.

 


The H160 test program has been progressing as planned, according to Airbus Helicopters, which targets EASA certification in 2018. The two prototypes (PT1 and PT2) have accumulated around 140 flight hours in 100 sorties. A third will join the fleet next year. Also taking part to the effort are two advanced ground test beds–Dynamic Helicopter Zero and System Helicopter Zero.

 


PT1, which first flew in June 2015 with Pratt &amp; Whitney Canada engines, has been modified with Turbomeca Arranos and will be back flying this month. Meanwhile PT2 has been flying since January, powered by Arranos.

 


“This has been a very promising beginning with the Turbomeca engines, which are maturing,” Bernard Fujarski, head of the H160 program, told AIN. The aero-mechanic configuration of the rotorcraft has been “progressing rapidly,” he added. Night flight trials have begun.

 


The flight envelope has been “widely open,” Fujarski said. PT2 has flown several times at 20,000 feet. It has performed turns at 2.2 g. It also recently flew a planned test flight at greater than Vne speed. “We are totally on target,” Fujarski said.

 


Coming up are Arrano performance flights and cold- and hot-temperature tests. The aero-mechanic configuration is to be finalized soon.

 


Airbus opened the H160 order book at the U.S. Heli-Expo show in Louisville, Kentucky earlier this year, and has since signed some letters of intent.

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