Safran is increasing the recommended time between overhaul (TBO) of its Arriel 2D engines by 25 percent, to 5,000 hours for new and in-service helicopters. The turboshaft engine powers both the Airbus Helicopters H125 and the H130 single-engine models.

Concurrently, Safran is increasing the new engine warranty from two years/1,000 hours to three years/2,000 hours for all H125s and H130s delivered in 2018 and lifting the calendar requirement for mandatory engine inspection every 15 years regardless of logged engine time. The TBO interval improvement was the result of “extensive endurance tests conducted on the Arriel 2D and analysis of engine fleet data,” said Nicolas Billecocq, Safran Helicopter Engines’ vice president, light helicopter engines. “Thanks to these new improvements, the Arriel 2D will feature one of the lowest direct maintenance costs of its class.”

More than 1,000 Arriel 2D-powered H125 and H130 helicopters are in service worldwide and have logged more than one million flight hours since 2011. Over the last 40 years, more than 12,000 Arriel series engines have been produced in variants from 650 to 1,000 shp, logging more than 50 million flight hours in some 40 different helicopter types.