Eurocopter tells ANN
that the first production NH90 helicopter in the high cabin version
for the Swedish Armed Forces has performed its maiden flight at
Eurocopter’s plant in Marignane, France, on March 18.
The maiden flight lasted 55 minutes and was performed by a
Eurocopter flight test crew consisting of Philippe Boutry (pilot),
Denis Trivier (flight engineer), and Jean-Claude Rabany (flight
technician).
At the end of the flight, the crew declared that it was
completely satisfied with the behavior of the aircraft.
To mark the occasion, Fabrice Brégier, Eurocopter
President and CEO, stated: “Today’s successful maiden
flight of a significantly modified variant of the NH90, as compared
to the standard version, confirms the remarkable development
potential of this aircraft. NH90 is the major player in the
medium-class military helicopter category and has already
established itself as the NATO standard helicopter of the 21st
century.”
To date, a gross total
of 443 NH90s have been ordered, including 86 existing options, and
the 12 aircraft selected by Australia.
This NH90 is the fourth production aircraft to take to the
skies, following the German, Finnish, and Italian production
helicopters which successively performed their maiden flights in
2004.
Sweden has ordered a total of 18 NH90s, all of which are in the
high cabin version: thirteen will perform troop tactical transport
(TTT) and search and rescue (SAR) missions, and the other five
anti-submarine warfare (ASW) duties.
The Swedish high cabin version of the NH90 increases the usable
cabin height by 24 centimeters, from 1.58 meters in the standard
version to 1.82 meters. The high cabin NH90 also offers an increase
in volume of 2.5 cubic meters, providing a total volume of 17.5
cubic meters. The increased cabin height means that missions
requiring on-board operations, such as SAR work, can be performed
in a more comfortable environment.
The NH90 is currently the most modern helicopter in its
category. It is the world’s first production helicopter with
a full fly-by-wire control system, a crash resistant all-composite
airframe, completely integrated aircraft/avionics/mission systems;
and a series of the most up-to-date systems available for
performing the multi-purpose operations and multi-national
cooperation tasks, which are fundamental to modern military
scenarios.
The NH90 programme is managed by NAHEMA (NATO Helicopter
Management Agency) representing France, Germany, Italy, The
Netherlands and Portugal, and by the industrial consortium
NHIndustries consisting of Eurocopter (62.5%), Agusta (32%) and
Stork Fokker (5.5%).