Wed, Sep 22, 2004
Biggest Helo Program Europe Has Ever Seen
The first NH90 destined for the Finnish Armed Forces took off
for a successful maiden flight last week at Eurocopter's production
site and headquarter in Marignane, France. The aircraft is the
first serial produced NH90 in France The flight was conducted by
one test pilot and two flight engineers over more than one hour
around the area of Marignane and Marseille under full fly-by-wire
conditions, during which high speed levels were reached and the
flight envelope of the basic aircraft was tested.
The maiden flight of the Finnish NH90 follows the first flight
of the first production aircraft for the German Armed Forces on May
4th of this year in Germany, and is a further important milestone
in the ambitious multi-national helicopters program, which will
commence deliveries to customers from 2005 on.
NH90 is the biggest helicopter program ever launched in Europe.
In addition, it just recently booked international and overseas
export successes with an order for 20 NH90 by the Sultanate of Oman
and 12 by Australia. To date, eleven countries have ordered a total
of 357 units, with options for a further 86 helicopters. This makes
the NH90 a worldwide and unrivalled success.
The NH90 has been designed from the outset as a multi-role
weapons system. The tactical transport (TTH) and naval (NFH)
variants of the helicopter share a common basic helicopter in a
modular design. Dedicated, specialized mission equipment packages
allow for maximum flexibility in operations. Special emphasis has
been given to features such as safety, reliability, availability,
maintainability, testability, and supportability. The diamond shape
of the all-composite, corrosion-free airframe combines optimal
aerodynamics with low detectability. Optimized man-machine
interface significantly reduces pilot and crew workload.
The NH90's handling qualities are enhanced by a fly-by-wire
flight control system, making it the first production helicopter in
the world to feature this advanced technology.
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