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© AIRBUS 2018 - photo by P MASCLET / master films

Colin James, Airbus Helicopters’ UK Managing Director, formally handed over the latest Empire Test Pilots' School (ETPS) H125 helicopter to our Managing Director Air and Space, Nic Anderson. Under the current modernisation programme, the world-renown test pilot flight school will receive four H125s, which will make up ETPS’ new generation, single-engine helicopter fleet. Minister of State for Defence, Earl Howe, visited the aircraft as part of the handover and met both QinetiQ and Airbus Helicopters to show his support for the latest addition to the ETPS fleet.

All four ETPS H125s will be delivered following complex customisation by Airbus Helicopters’ UK design team, which equips the aircraft with, among other things, a 3-axis autopilot, dedicated communications equipment and a traffic awareness system. In addition, the aircraft will be equipped with a Flight Test Instrumentation suite which, similar to Formula 1 telemetry data, transmits data to the ETPS base at MOD Boscombe Down in real time, allowing students, both in practical and class-based environments, to test and evaluate aircraft design and performance.