The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) issued the Type Certificate to AVIC HAIG for its advanced medium-sized multi-purpose civil helicopter Z15 (AC352). The helicopter is powered by the WZ16 engine co-developed by Safran Helicopter Engines and Aero Engine Corporation of China (AECC).
Marc Delort, general manager of Safran Helicopter Engines China, extended his congratulations: “Safran Helicopter Engines is very proud to power the helicopter in cooperation with our engine partner AECC Dongan, and we all believe that with this certification, Z15 (AC352) will soon open the 7-ton medium civilian helicopter market in China, in order to provide flight support for various types of operational needs, such as EMS, police, offshore search and rescue and other offshore operations, etc. in horizontal and plateau areas.”
The AC352 helicopter is a medium-sized multi-purpose helicopter developed by AVIC HAIG and Airbus Helicopters. Its engine WZ16, also known as the Ardiden 3C, was certified by the CAAC on October 9th 2019. Co-developed and built by Safran Helicopter Engines with Harbin Dongan Engine and Hunan Aerospace Propulsion Research Institute (HAPRI), both parts of the AECC consortium, the WZ16 is the first-ever jointly-developed aero engine to be entirely CAAC certified.
The WZ16/Ardiden 3C is a new-generation turboshaft engine in the 1,700-2,000 shp range. The Ardiden 3 family has completed over 10,000 hours of tests, confirming high levels of design maturity and competitive operating and maintenance costs. It features a remarkably compact modular architecture, a best-in-class power-to-weight ratio and low cost-of-ownership. It also delivers at least 10 % better fuel consumption than engines operating in the same power range.
