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Wed, Sep 22, 2004

First Flight: Finnish NH-90

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.

FMI: www.eads.com

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