ENGINEERINGNET.EU -- Deliveries of the EC175s will begin 2013 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,” 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.”
The NHV aircraft fleet is located in nine countries on three continents, and includes 17 Eurocopter Dauphin family helicopters and one EC145.
“We are happy to provide the advanced 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 multi-role EC175 benefits from a mix of proven and advanced technologies, including unique flight envelope protection and pilot assistance with the most advanced 4-axis dual-duplex automatic flight control system and a highly intuitive new avionics and human machine interface.
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.
BACKGROUNDER
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.
