The Airbus Helicopters H215 (formerly Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma) is a four-bladed, twin-engined, medium-sized, utility helicopter developed and initially produced by French aerospace company Aérospatiale. It has been subsequently manufactured by the successor companies Eurocopter and Airbus Helicopters. The Super Puma is a re-engined and larger version of the original Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma. The military version is the Airbus Helicopters H215M, previously known as the Eurocopter AS532 Cougar.
The Super Puma was developed during the 1970s, based on the successful SA 330 Puma. While retaining a similar layout, the fuselage was redesigned to increase its damage tolerance and crashworthiness, and composite materials were more extensively used. A pair of more powerful Turbomeca Makila turboshaft engines was used, the nose was more streamlined, and there were other changes. Two alternative fuselage lengths, a shortened and stretched form, were developed from the onset. On 5 September 1977, the SA 331 preproduction prototype performed its maiden flight; the first true Super Puma made its first flight roughly one year later.
By 1980, the Super Puma had succeeded the SA 330 Puma as Aérospatiale's principal utility helicopter. The Super Puma quickly proved itself to be a commercial success for both military and civilian customers. The French Army was a keen early customer, using the type in its then-new rapid-response task force, and routinely dispatching Super Pumas to support France's overseas engagements in Africa and the Middle East. From 1990, Super Pumas in military service were marketed under the AS532 Cougar name.
In the civilian sector, it has been heavily used to support offshore oil rigs and aerial firefighting. A next-generation successor to the AS 332 was introduced in 2004, the further-enlarged Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma for civilian use and EC225M for militaries.
Contents
Development
Origins
During 1974, Aérospatiale commenced development of a new medium transport helicopter based on its successful SA 330 Puma. The project's existence was publicly announced at the 1975 Paris Air Show. While the new design retained a similar general layout to the preceding AS 330, it was powered by a pair of Turbomeca Makila turboshaft engines, which had recently been developed and were more powerful than the preceding Turbomeca Turmo. The rotorcraft's four-bladed main rotor was redesigned to make use of composite materials. The design team paid substantial attention to increasing the new model's damage resistance; a more robust fuselage structure and a new crashworthy undercarriage were adopted, the rotor blades are able to withstand some battle damage, and various other key mechanical systems were modified.
External features that distinguish the new helicopter from the SA 330 include a ventral fin underneath the tail boom and a more streamlined nose. From the project's onset, it had been planned for the new rotorcraft to be available in two fuselage lengths: a short-fuselage version with similar capacity to the SA 330 while providing superior performance under "hot and high" conditions, and a stretched version which allowed more internal cargo or passengers to be carried in circumstances where overall weight was deemed to be less critical.
On 5 September 1977, a preproduction prototype, the SA 331, modified from a SA 330 airframe by the addition of Makila engines and a new gearbox, performed its maiden flight. The first prototype of the full Super Puma made its first flight on 13 September 1978, and was quickly followed by a further five prototypes. Flight testing found that the AS 332 Super Puma had a higher cruise speed and more range than the SA 330 Puma, in part due to the Makila engine providing greater power output, and also a 17% reduction in fuel consumption. The Super Puma was also far more stable in flight, and was less reliant on automated corrective systems. The development of military and civilian variants was carried out in parallel, including at the certification stage. During 1981, the first civil Super Puma was delivered.
Production and improvements
By 1980, the AS 332 Super Puma had replaced the preceding SA 330 Puma as Aérospatiale's principal utility helicopter. It quickly proved to be highly popular amongst its customers; between July 1981 and April 1987, on average, three helicopters per month were being built for operators from both the military and civilian sectors. The success of the AS 332 Super Puma led to the pursuit of additional development programs that produced further advanced models. These included the introduction of features including lengthened rotor blades, more powerful engines and gearboxes, increases in takeoff weight, and modernised avionics. Overseas manufacturing was established; Indonesian Aerospace (IPTN) produced both the SA 330 and AS 332 under license from Aerospatiale; IPTN-build rotorcraft were produced for both domestic and some overseas customers.
A wide variety of specialised Super Puma variants followed the basic utility transport model into operation, including dedicated search-and-rescue (SAR) and antisubmarine warfare (ASW) versions. Since 1990, military-orientated Super Pumas have been marketed under the AS532 Cougar name. As a fallback option to the NHIndustries NH90 programme, a Mark III Super Puma was considered for development at one stage. By 2005, various models of Super Puma had been operated by numerous customers across 38 nations for a wide variety of purposes. 565 Super Pumas (including military-orientated Cougars) had been delivered or were on order at this time.
During February 2012, Eurocopter announced that it was offering a lower-cost basic Super Puma configuration that would be more competitive with rivals such as the Russian-built Mil Mi-17. Starlite Aviation became the launch customer for this new variant, designated AS 332 C1e. In November 2015, Airbus Helicopters announced that manufacturing activity of the AS 332 Super Puma, which was redesignated H215, would be transferred to a new purpose-built final-assembly facility in Brasov, Romania to cut production time and cost by simplifying production to a single baseline configuration that would then be customised to meet the needs of civilian and military customers.
Design
The Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma is a medium-sized utility helicopter, powered by a pair of Turbomeca Makila 1A1 turboshaft engines, which drive the rotorcraft's four-bladed main rotor and five-bladed tail rotor along with a pair of independent hydraulic systems and a pair of electrical alternators. Fuel is housed across six internal fuel tanks, while additional auxiliary and external tanks can be equipped for extended flight endurance. For safety, the fuel tanks use a crashworthy plumbing design and fire-detection and suppression systems are installed in the engine bay. The monocoque tail boom is fitted with tail rotor strike protection; the forward portion of the boom also accommodates a luggage compartment. The retractable tricycle landing gear has been designed to provide high energy-absorption qualities.
The main cabin of the Super Puma, which is accessed via a pair of sliding plug doors, features a reconfigurable floor arrangement that enables various passenger seating or cargo configurations to be adopted, which includes specialised configurations for medical operators. According to Airbus Helicopters, in addition to the two pilots, the short-fuselage AS332 can accommodate up to 15 passengers, while the stretched-fuselage AS332 increases this to 20 passengers in a comfortable configuration. Soundproof upholstery is installed, as is separately-adjustable heating and ventilation systems. In addition to the doors, 12 windows line the sides of main cabin area, these are jettisonable to become emergency exits if required. The lower fuselage can also be fitted with flotation gear to give the rotorcraft additional buoyancy. A hatch is set into the cabin floor which facilitates access to the cargo sling pole, in addition to individual stowage space for airborne equipment.
The flight control system of the Super Puma uses four dual-body servo units for pitch control of the cyclic, collective, and tail rotor. A duplex digital autopilot is also incorporated. The cockpit is equipped with dual flight controls. Principle instrumentation consists of four multifunction liquid crystal displays along with two display and autopilot control panels; for redundancy, a single integrated standby instrument system and vehicle monitoring system are also fitted. According to Airbus Helicopters, the avionics installed on later variants has ensured a high level of operational safety. Third-party firms have offered various upgrades for the Super Puma, including integrated flight management systems, global positioning systems receivers, a digital map display, flight data recorders, a collision warning system, night-vision goggles-compatibility, and multiple radios.
Operational history
In August 1983, the French government created a new rapid-response task force, the Force d'Action Rapide, to support France's allies and to contribute to France's overseas engagements in Africa and the Middle East; up to 30 Super Pumas were assigned to it. In June 1994, France staged a military intervention in the ongoing Rwandan genocide, dispatching a military task force to neighboring Zaire; Super Pumas provided the bulk of the task force's rotary-lift capability, transporting French troops and equipment during their advance into Rwanda.
During the 1980s, the French Army were interested in mounting an airborne battlefield surveillance radar upon the Super Puma. The first prototype Orchidée was assembled at Aérospatiale's Marignane factory and began testing in late 1988; the French Army intended to procure 20 aircraft to equip two squadrons. Orchidée was described as having a pulse-Doppler radar mounted on the fuselage's underside, capable of 360° scanning to detect low-flying helicopters and ground vehicles at ranges of up to 150 km; gathered data were to be relayed in real time to mobile ground stations by a single-channel data link for processing and analysis before being transmitted to battlefield commanders. The system was said to be capable of all-weather operation, and would counteract hostile electronic countermeasures. However, development was aborted in mid-1990 during post-Cold War defence spending reductions.
Indonesia has been a key customer for the Super Puma; state-owned aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PT DI) secured a license to produce the type. While the company was initially involved in the assembly and finishing of Super Pumas delivered from Europe, PT DI has expanded the range of its manufacturing involvement in the type over time, while also expanding its collaboration with Eurocopter. In 1989, the Indonesian Air Force placed an order for 16 Super Pumas as a replacement for its ageing Sikorsky S-58T fleet, but amid continued funding shortfalls, only seven units had been delivered by 2008, the operations of which were reportedly hampered by a lack of spare parts. The Indonesian government had also ordered 16 Super Pumas for purposes such as VIP transport, seven of which had been delivered by 2008. These helicopters were manufactured locally by PT DI.
A key export customer was Switzerland, which had originally purchased fifteen AS 332M1 Super Pumas, locally designated TH89, for the Swiss Air Force. These were subsequently joined by 11 AS 532UL Cougars, designated TH98, while the TH06 programme was launched in 2006 to retrofit the earlier Super Puma fleet with new avionics that equalled or exceeded the capabilities of the newer Cougar fleet by RUAG. The Swiss Air Force has typically deployed the type for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance and search-and-rescue (SAR) missions. Swiss Super Pumas have occasionally been deployed outside the country, usually to provide humanitarian aid, such as a deployment to Greece for aerial firefighting in August 2021.
Variants
SA 331 – Initial prototype, based on SA 330 airframe, first flew on 5 September 1977
AS 332A – Commercial preproduction version
AS 332B – Military version
AS 332B1 – First military version
AS 332C – Production civilian version
AS 332C1 – SAR version, equipped with a search radar and six stretchers
AS 332F – Military antisubmarine and antiship version
AS 332F1 – Naval version
AS 332L – Civilian version with more powerful engines, a lengthened fuselage, a larger cabin space, and a larger fuel tank
AS 332L1 – Stretched civilian version, with a long fuselage and an airline interior
AS 332L2 Super Puma Mk 2 – Civilian transport version, fitted with Spheriflex rotor head and EFIS
AS 332M – Military version of the AS 332L
AS 332M1 – Stretched military version
NAS 332 – Licensed version built by IPTN, now Indonesian Aerospace PT DI
UH-14 – Brazilian Navy designation of the AS 332F.
CH-34 – Brazilian Air Force designation of the AS 332M.
VH-34 – Brazilian Air Force designation of the VIP-configured AS 332M1.
Operators
Notable accidents and incidents
16 July 1988 – an AS332 L operated by Helikopter Service AS ditched in the North Sea due to heavy vibrations caused by the loss of a metal strip from one of the main rotor blades. All passengers and crew survived.
14 March 1992 – G-TIGH lost control and crashed into the North Sea near East Shetland Basin; 11 of the 17 passengers and crew died.
19 January 1995 – G-TIGK, operating Bristow Helicopters Flight 56C, ditched in the North Sea, after being hit by an abnormally large lightning strike; there were no fatalities, but the aircraft was written off.
18 January 1996 – LN-OBP, an AS332 L1 operated by Helikopter Service AS, ditched in the North Sea some 200 km south-west of Egersund. All passengers and crew survived and the helicopter was still floating 3 days later.
18 March 1996 – LN-OMC, an AS332 operated by Airlift from Svalbard Airport crashed at Wijdefjorden. There were no fatalities
8 September 1997 – LN-OPG, an AS332 L1 operated by Helikopter Service AS, suffered a catastrophic main gearbox failure and crashed en route from Brønnøysund to the Norne oil field, killing all 12 aboard. Eurocopter accepted some but not all of the AAIB/N recommendations.
11 August 2000 - Kaskasapakte, Sweden. A Swedish Air Force AS332M1 (10404 / H94) crashed into the mountainside during initial approach to perform hoisting operations during a mountain rescue mission. All 3 crewmembers were killed. The cause of the accident was not fully determined, but difficult visual conditions is believed to have caused the crew to lose judgement of distance to the mountain side.
18 November 2003 - Rörö, Sweden. A Swedish Air Force AS332M1 (10409 / H99) crashed into the sea during a night-time hoist exercise near Rörö in Gothenburg's archipelago. The task was to conduct a number of hoist cycles to the rescue ship Märta Collin. On approach the aircraft suddenly hit the water at high velocity, killing six crew members. Only one crew member, a conscript rescue swimmer, survived with minor injuries. The cause of the accident was not fully determined, but was believed to have been the result of incorrect flight attitude awareness in bad weather.
Specifications (AS332 L1)
Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1993–94General characteristics
Crew: 2
Capacity: 24 passengers plus attendant / 4,490 kg (9,899 lb)
Length: 16.79 m (55 ft 1 in) fuselage
18.7 m (61 ft) rotor turning
Height: 4.97 m (16 ft 4 in)
Empty weight: 4,660 kg (10,274 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 9,150 kg (20,172 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Turbomeca Makila 1A2 turboshaft, 1,376 kW (1,845 hp) each
Main rotor diameter: 16.2 m (53 ft 2 in)
Main rotor area: 206.12 m2 (2,218.7 sq ft)
Blade section: root: NACA 13112; tip: NACA 13106
Performance
Cruise speed: 277 km/h (172 mph, 150 kn) max,
247 km/h (153 mph; 133 kn) econ.
Never exceed speed: 327 km/h (203 mph, 177 kn)
Range: 851 km (529 mi, 460 nmi)
Service ceiling: 5,180 m (17,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 7.4 m/s (1,460 ft/min)