First new two-seat piston helo in Europe for decades

THE world has a new certified two-seat piston-engine helicopter! It is the French designed and built Cabri G2, which received its EASA type certification on 15 December.

At the same time, the company behind the Cabri, Hélicoptères Guimbal, received Design Organisation Approval (DOA). Former Eurocopter engineer Bruno Guimbal is boss - and there are recognisable design cues in the Cabri, most notably the enclosed tail rotor.

It's taken Hélicoptères Guimbal 300 flight test hours and two and a half years to meet EASA's demanding certification requirements - far tougher than previous certification regimes with crashworthiness being high on the agenda. The helicopter first flew in April 2005, and in 2006 claimed an altitude record of 6658 metres (21,838ft).

The Cabri G2 is entirely new. Features include a composite three-blade fully articulated main rotor, a  shrouded tail rotor, a crashworthy structure, seats and fuel system, protection against lightning and radio-frequencies, and a digital multiple display.

It's powered by a Lycoming O-360 engine, fitted with a solid state electronic ignition system from US company Light Speed Engineering. An EASA Supplementary Type Certificate (STC) for the ignition system was issued a few days before the Cabri's.

Helicopteres Guimbal is a 14-people company, located at Aix-en-Provence airport, southern France. It is working with Eurocopter to produce the Vertivision 'drone' based on the Cabri G2. It moved into new premises over the New Year holidays, still at Aix airport, where it intends to put the Cabri G2 into serial production.

The first production Cabri G2  will be delivered to the French operator IXAIR, during the first quarter of 2008.
W: www.guimbal.com