Eurocopter unveils EC130 T2
Eurocopter EC130 T2 helicopter has seven launch customers with 105 bookings
The new Eurocopter EC130 T2
was revealed during a ceremony at the 2012 Heli-Expo exhibition in Dallas, where Eurocopter
also announced seven launch customers for the aircraft covering a total of 105
bookings: Maverick Helicopters, Papillon Helicopters, Blue Hawaiian
Helicopters, Scandinavian Helicopter Group, Air Commander, Europavia and Enloe
FlightCare.
“The EC130 T2 is the latest
step in Eurocopter’s strategy to expand and evolve our helicopter lineup. The
high number of orders is proof that Eurocopter innovation is perfectly aligned
with customers’ requirements and the evolution of their operations,” said
Eurocopter president and chief executive officer Lutz Bertling. “The EC130 T2
has literally been ‘love at first flight’ for our customers. We are fully
committed to begin deliveries of the new EC130 version in 2012.”
While retaining the EC130’s
existing external lines, approximately 70 percent of the EC130 T2’s airframe
structure has been modified.
The no 1 EC130 T2 has logged
90 flight hours since its first flight in 2011, the company expects certification later this summer.
Final assembly of the initial series production aircraft began last December at
Eurocopter’s Marignane, France facility. By the second half
of 2012, production will transition completely to the EC130 T2 version.
