Deliveries To Begin In Early 2008

Eurocopter's new EC635 built for the Swiss Air Force successfully completed its maiden flight at Eurocopter's Donauwörth facility last week. The helicopter maker says the schedule for manufacture and delivery of 18 EC635s for transport and training missions and two EC135 for Federal Air Transport Services is right on schedule.

The EC635s/EC135s are to replace the Swiss Air Force's Alouette III helicopters, according to the company.

The maiden flight was under the command of Eurocopter test pilot René Nater and lasted 35 minutes with all systems operating as designed. The EC635 now goes back to the production facility for the qualification of Swiss Air Force-specific equipment and further testing.

Deliveries of the helicopters are scheduled between March 2008 and the end of 2009. The first four will be delivered from Eurocopter's facility in Donauwörth, while the other 16 will be assembled and delivered by RUAG Aerospace in Alpnach, Switzerland.

The EC635 was certified in 2001 and is a military variation of the twin-engine EC135. It is designed to carry out military/paramilitary and public security missions including search and rescue, troop transport, reconnaissance/observation, disaster relief and medevac work.

Its internal equipment can be interchanged -- user can select one of several seating layouts, or install medical apparatus. It has a 4.6 cubic-meter cabin is accessible by two lateral sliding doors and two large-size rear doors and a shrouded Fenestron tail rotor.

The first scheduled maintenance is due after 400 flight hours.

FMI: www.eurocopter.com, www.lw.admin.ch/internet/luftwaffe/en/home.html