Belgium’s Noordzee Helikopters Vlaanderen Orders 10 Eurocopter EC175 Helicopters

Eurocopter has expanded its EC175 order book with Noordzee Helikopters Vlaanderen’s 10-aircraft acquisition of this new seven metric ton-category helicopter.

Deliveries of the EC175s will begin next year for Noordzee Helikopters Vlaanderen (NHV) and are to continue through 2015, with the rotary-wing aircraft equipped for missions that include transportation flights for the oil and gas sector. Future applications include search and rescue missions.

“The NHV team prides itself in owning and operating a very young fleet with state-of-the-art equipment, and the EC175 meets our company’s strategy to significantly invest in helicopters with the latest design for the heavier mid-size segment,” said Eric Van Hal, the CEO of Noordzee Helikopters Vlaanderen. “This will position us for the future to serve all our clients at the highest standards. The partnership with Eurocopter will ensure our continued growth for many years.”

Created in 1997, the privately-owned NHV is specialized in business-to-business helicopter transport. It provides services for the Belgian and Dutch Maritime Pilot Service; search and rescue missions for the Dutch Ministry of Defense; oil and gas industry transportation in Europe, South America and Africa; along with emergency medical airlift for various European hospitals.

The NHV aircraft fleet is located in nine countries on three continents, and includes 17 Eurocopter Dauphin family helicopters and one EC145.

“This is a major achievement for both Noordzee Helikopters Vlaanderen and Eurocopter, and we are happy to provide the advanced EC175 helicopter to a company that is taking a forward-looking approach to secure long-term contracts with various oil and gas companies,” said Eurocopter President & CEO Lutz Bertling. “The EC175 will provide a next-generation helicopter that gives NHV a competitive edge with highly capable and efficient operations.”

The multi-role EC175 fits into Eurocopter’s product range between the AS365 Dauphin (four to five metric tons) and the AS332/EC225 Super Puma (nine to 11 metric tons) aircraft families. It benefits from a mix of proven and advanced technologies, providing excellent performance and reliability. This includes unique flight envelope protection and pilot assistance with the most advanced 4-axis dual-duplex automatic flight control system – derived from Eurocopter’s EC225 helicopter – and a highly intuitive new avionics and human machine interface. Pilot workload is decreased as the result of better situational awareness and the help of an innovative crew-alerting concept, supported by a powerful vehicle monitoring system.

When it enters service at the end of this year, the EC175 will incorporate significantly increased range and payload capacity – becoming the first seven metric ton-category helicopter delivered with such capabilities.

About Eurocopter

Established in 1992, the Franco-German-Spanish Eurocopter Group is a division of EADS, a world leader in aerospace and defense-related services. The Eurocopter Group employs approximately 20,000 people. In 2011, Eurocopter confirmed its position as the world’s number one helicopter manufacturer with a turnover of 5.4 billion Euros, orders for 457 new helicopters and a 43 percent market share in the civil and parapublic sectors.


Source: 13 February 2012 - Eurocopter News

Photo: Belgium Noordzee-Helikopters Vlaanderen EC175 helicopter (Photo by Eurocopter)

(13.02.2012)