Flight Operations

HELICOPTER FLEET EXPANSION: THE NEW ECUREUIL H125 IS HERE!

The new Ecureuil H125 (AS 350 B3e) still looks a little bare as it approaches the Zermatt heliport for the first time. The brand-new Air Zermatt helicopter is sparkling bright red in the sunshine, but the famous stars of the Valais coat of arms are still missing. Allow us to introduce the new “Zulu-Uniform-Oscar”.

11. May 2023

Sina Furrer

Air Zermatt has a new stallion in its stable – or rather a new bird in the nest. Another Ecureuil H125 (AS 350 B3e) joined the helicopter fleet, having been recently assembled and flown in from France. Now our technicians have various tasks to perform before it can take to the skies alongside its counterparts.

René Lauber, head of the Technical Service Department, answered our most pressing questions

RENÉ, YOU AND YOUR TEAM WENT TO FRANCE FOR THREE DAYS. WHAT HAPPENS DURING THE HANDOVER OF A HELICOPTER?

Following announcement of the delivery date, usually two months in advance, a team from Air Zermatt is chosen for the handover. The handover starts with an early-morning briefing and is generally an all-day process.

We ordered the helicopter HB-ZUO via the Swiss Airbus distributor, Europavia Suisse, who also brought a team to France. The transfer of ownership to Air Zermatt took place after a physical inspection of the helicopter, check of all documents and successful check flight.

During this check flight, a test pilot and a flight engineer from Airbus were on board alongside Gerold Biner as the pilot, workshop manager Christof Kalbermatter and myself, as technical director. The flight took around 45 minutes. Airbus completed the minor adjustments that we requested following our physical inspection of the helicopter before we flew back to Switzerland. The helicopter was flown to Sion for customs clearance on May 4 and, from there, to Raron.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE FROM ORDER PLACEMENT UNTIL THE HELICOPTER WAS DELIVERED?

We signed the purchase contract in May 2022. Our requirements meant that the HB-ZUO wasn’t immediately available “off-the-rack”, which affected the delivery date.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS MAKE OF HELICOPTER AGAIN?

To allow us to continue meeting our operational need for a single-engine helicopter and always be able to provide our customers with the best possible service, the Air Zermatt Board of Directors decided to purchase another Ecureuil.

ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH THE FINAL PRODUCT?

We are very pleased with the new helicopter. It 100 percent meets our expectations.

IS THE NEW MACHINE ABSOLUTELY IDENTICAL TO THE ECUREUILS THAT AIR ZERMATT ALREADY DEPLOYS?

Other than a few new features that Airbus has developed to meet the constantly growing requirements of its customers, the HB-ZUO is identical to the helicopter that we acquired in 2020. For example, the instrument panel in the cockpit is narrower so that the crew has a better view out front.

NOW THE HELICOPTER IS INITIALLY IN THE TECHNICAL DEPARTMENT IN RARON, WHERE VARIOUS WORK IS BEING COMPLETED. WHEN WILL WE SEE THE HB-ZUO IN THE SKY?

The aerial work season is already in full swing, meaning we cannot concentrate solely on the new machine. The Technical Service Department currently has a number of major inspections scheduled. Our staff have plenty of work on their hands.As a result, we won’t be able to start work on the new helicopter until the end of May at the earliest. It’s not yet possible to say when exactly the ZUO will take to the skies. All in all, we need to perform around 20 installations or modifications on the helicopter. Our in-house, highly trained technicians will perform all these tasks. At this point, I’d like to say a big “thank you” to our team.