Airbus Helicopters celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Gazelle’s maiden flight during a conference at the museum of aviation in St Victoret, France near the company headquarters.
The Gazelle was developed and manufactured in cooperation with the United Kingdom at the end of the 1960s.It is still being operated by nearly 100 customers in 34 countries and is well known for its ease of maintenance and high reliability. More than a third of all Gazelles manufactured are still in service, a hundred of which are operated by the French army.
A helicopter of many “firsts”, the Gazelle was the first Airbus helicopter to be equipped with the Fenestron which is still present on Airbus’ light and medium rotorcraft, including the first of the H generation, the H160. This major innovation improves safety around the tail rotor on the ground and reduces the sound level of the rotorcraft. It was also the first Airbus helicopter to be equipped with glass-resin blades developed in cooperation with the German company Bölkow. Lastly, it was the first helicopter in the world to be awarded the IFR qualification, category I, by the FAA (Federal Aviation Authority), allowing operators to fly to instrument flight rules with a single pilot on board.
The Gazelle was a major success in the military sector and nearly 80 percent of the rotorcraft in service are used by armies worldwide. By the end of December 2016, the Gazelle fleet had accumulated more than 7 million flight hours. The Gazelles (SA341 and SA342) that have accumulated the most flight hours (14,200 and 13,100 respectively) are presently operating in the United States.
