AirCompAnalysis JULY20.qxp_ACAn 22/07/2020 10:41 Page 1
HELICOPTER COMPARISON
Helicopter Comparison: Leonardo AW119 Kx vs Bell 407 GXi vs Airbus H125 In this month’s Helicopter Comparison, Mike Chase provides information on three popular single turbine helicopters including the Leonardo AW119 Kx, Bell 407 GXi and Airbus H125. What are the pros and cons of each?
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ow do the Leonardo AW119 Kx, Bell 407 GXi and Airbus H125 compare within the market? Over the following paragraphs, we’ll consider several productivity parameters (including payload, range, speed and cabin size), and their current market values.
Leonardo AW119 Kx
The AW119 Kx is a single-engine turbine helicopter originally designed and developed by AgustaWestland. It is used for performing a variety of missions such as emergency medical services (EMS) transport, offshore transport, VIP or corporate transport, law enforcement, fire-fighting, and government duties. In production since 2012, the AW119 Kx succeeded the AW119 Ke (Koala Enhanced) model. The Kx version offers a Garmin G1000H avionics suite, helping improve
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situational awareness, reduce pilot workload, and increase safety.
Bell 407 GXi
The Bell 407 GXi is outfitted with the new Rolls-Royce 250-C47E/4 dual-channel FADEC turbine engine delivering exceptional hot and high performance, full automatic relight, and the ability to cruise at 133kts. Additional options for the Bell 407 GXi include the Garmin Flight Stream 510 that allows pilots to upload flight plans from smart devices, and Garmin Surface Watch that provides runway identification and alerting technology.
Airbus H125 (formally the AS350B-3e)
The H125 draws its roots from the Eurocopter AS-350B-3, produced between 1998 and 2012. The Eurocopter AS-350B-3e model (built between 2012 and 2015)
followed, before in 2016 Airbus renamed it the Airbus H125. Currently manufactured in Airbus Helicopters' plant at Golden Triangle Airport, the Airbus H125 features a new dual-channel FADEC-equipped Turbomeca Arriel 2D engine, and a dual LCD-screen Vehicle and Engine Multi-function Display (VEMD).
Worldwide Appeal
A total 912 Airbus H125s were in operation at the time of writing. By comparison 81 Leonardo AW119 Kx and 63 Bell 407 GXi helicopters were in operation worldwide. By continent, Europe holds the largest Airbus H125 fleet percentage (33%), followed by North America (32%) and Asia (21%), accounting for a combined total of 86% (per JETNET). For the Leonardo AW119 Kx (13%) and Bell 407 GXi (3%), Europe does not capture a particularly large market share.
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