Airbus Helicopters has hailed early maturity shown by its new H140 light-twin during separate hot and high flight-test campaigns this summer and is now readying the programme’s second prototype for cold-weather testing later this year.

Launched in March, the H140 builds on the successful H135 programme through the addition of a five-blade main rotor, larger cabin, T-tail and new 700shp (520kW)-rated Safran Helicopter Engines Arrius 2E powerplants.

An initial prototype (D-HEEY) has been flying in one form or another since June 2023, with a second example joining the test fleet on 1 August.

Performed over a five-week period, the hot and high campaigns were carried out respectively in Palma del Rio in southern Spain and Saillagouse in the French Pyrenees using the first prototype, known as PT1.

During the two validation campaigns, the helicopter accumulated more than 40 flight hours, says Dirk Petry, head of the H140 programme, with the effort only curtailed due to the manufacturer’s self-imposed maintenance intervals.

“We did exactly what we planned to do,” he tells FlightGlobal. “And flying 40-plus hours over five weeks also indicates that the platform is very mature.”

Lasting three weeks, the hot weather testing saw flights conducted in temperatures of up to 42°C (107°F) which “validated the aircraft in terms of its design” with “only minor [adverse] findings – something we consider normal work”.

“We haven’t identified any severe issue that would need another iteration of the thermal design of the aircraft,” he says.

Similarly, the fortnight of high-altitude testing – up to a height of 12,000ft, exceeding the company’s initial 10,000ft goal – was used to assess the H140’s handling in typical operating conditions, for example hovering in ground effect as if performing a rescue.

Petry says the trials show the “very mature architecture” of the helicopter, adding: “It was all in line with our expectations – the team came back with no further work [needed] on the aircraft.”

While still available for ad hoc work, the major test programme planned for PT1 is now complete, he adds. The aircraft will later this year be used for initial familiarisation flights by pilots from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), before being used as a ground-test asset in 2026.

Meanwhile its sister aircraft (D-HEEZ), the first pre-serial H140, is currently in maintenance following initial envelope expansion activity.

In the coming weeks, that aircraft will be prepared for a winter test campaign scheduled to take place at a still-undisclosed location in Scandinavia.

Meanwhile, the third prototype – to all intents and purposes identical to PT2 – is now in final stages of assembly at the airframer’s Donauworth plant in southern Germany. It will fly in late 2025 or early next year, says Petry.

Airbus Helicopters has already begun involving technicians from the serial assembly line in the production process, “in order for them to understand the design and manufacturing approach”.

Lessons from that process are being implemented on the fourth prototype – a serial-conforming aircraft – which is “already advanced in the production process – we have completed the airframe assembly”.

“The last prototype we do in a serial line to prepare the production team for the industrialisation of the aircraft. It is a worthwhile exercise as we get a lot of valuable feedback we can incorporate,” says Petry.

However, first flight of that test asset will only happen around 12 months after PT3 takes to the skies, allowing the manufacturer to introduce any necessary changes derived from testing of the earlier prototypes.

Petry says the programme remains “fully on track” to achieve EASA certification and to deliver the first H140 in 2028 to an undisclosed helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) operator.

Sales of the H140 have been brisk, with a flurry of firm and tentative commitments booked in the wake of its March unveiling. At that time, Petry said the first three years of production were almost sold out.

“We are still in discussions with many more customers. I cannot give details but it has been a great launch and the aircraft has attracted a lot of attention.”

Airbus Helicopters recently showcased the H140 at the HEMS operator conference it held at Donauworth, “and the feedback was very positive”.

Although HEMS remains the launch sector, “We have [customer] requests from the each of the segments”, including utility, passenger transport/VIP, offshore and law enforcement/para-public.

Petry declines to disclose the H140 ramp-up plan but says full-rate production will be achieved “within a few years”.

And while he is at pains not to give a precise number for full-rate production, he says the “target rate is beyond what we do today with the H135”, noting that over the last two to three years that figure has been around 50 units.