Maiden Flight of first Finnish NH90
Marignane, 17 September 2004
The first NH90 destined for the Finnish Armed Forces took off for a successful maiden flight on september 15th at Eurocopter’s production site and headquarter in Marignane. 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 success of the campaign was observed by an official Finnish representative.
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 programme, which will commence deliveries to customers from 2005 on.
NH90 is the biggest helicopter programme 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 superior 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.
Due to its inherent multi-mission capability, the NH90 will greatly enhance interoperability of the European armed forces in NATO and United Nations missions, contribute to the standardization of equipment and to the rationalization of costs, training and logistics.
Eurocopter is a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS. EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2003 EADS generated revenues of 30.1 billion euros and employed a workforce of more than 109,000. The EADS Group includes the aircraft manufacturer Airbus, the world’s largest helicopter supplier Eurocopter and the joint venture MBDA, the second-largest missile producer in the global market. EADS is the major partner in the Eurofighter consortium and is the prime contractor for the Ariane launcher. EADS is also developing the A400M military transport aircraft and is the largest industrial partner for the European satellite navigation system Galileo.
For further information please contact:
Jean Louis ESPES
Tel : + 33 (0)4 42 85 95 55
Fax : + 33 (0)4 42 85 95 64
Eurocopter
Aéroport International Marseille Provence
F-13725 Marignane Cedex
France
Christina GOTZHEIN
Tel : + 49 (0) 89 6000 64 88
Fax : + 49 (0) 89 6000 44 37
Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH
D-81663 München
Germany
Chantal LINARES
Tel : + 33 (0)4 42 85 60 51
Fax : + 33 (0)4 42 85 95 64
Eurocopter
Aéroport International Marseille Provence
F-13725 Marignane Cedex – France
Christoph MÜLLER
Tel : + 49 (0) 906 71 45 65
Fax : + 49 (0) 906 71 46 74
Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH
D-86607 Donauwörth
Germany
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