Russian aircraft leasing company Avia Capital Services has placed an order for ten Ansat 3.6t helicopters. The contract was inked with Russian Helicopters, the parent company of the Ansat manufacturer, Kazan Helicopters at the end of May, and is valued at RUB 2.4 billion (equating to about US $39 million).
According to Russian Helicopters director general, Andrey Boginsky, all of these Ansats will be delivered in a corporate transport configuration.
Placed on 25 May, this is the first large-scale order for the corporate transport version of the Ansat, which is still certified for VFR operations only.
All the remaining Ansats for civilian customers have been built in the EMS version. As of now only one Ansat outfitted for corporate transport is in regular civil operation, introduced in late 2016 by the type’s launch customer, Russian Helicopter Services.
It is expected that the helicopters ordered by Avia Capital Services will be employed for corporate transportation duties in the Moscow region. Delivery of the newly-ordered Ansats is set between December 2018 and March 2019 but their operator has not been disclosed yet.
As Yury Pustovgartov, Kazan Helicopters managing director hinted, this year’s production plans foresee the company rolling out a total of 51 Ansats.
In order to boost up the commercial attractiveness of the helicopter, Kazan Helicopters has embarked on a wide-ranging improvement programme for the Ansat, slashing 100kg of its empty weight.
The list of the novelties incorporated into the Ansat’s design includes a bird strike-resistant windshield, new nose section made by composite materials and widened fuselage doors together with the integration of wire cutters and active vibration dampers.
The company also offers a new glass cockpit for the Ansat intended to be civil-certified for IFV operations, but its integration and certification could be undertaken upon customer request only.
