Airbus Helicopters Delivers H125 to Empire Test Pilot School

Airbus Helicopters formally handed over the latest H125 helicopter to Empire Test Pilot School (ETPS), which is run under a partnering arrangement between the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and QinetiQ. Under the MoD’s modernization program, four new H125s will make up ETPS’ new generation, single-engine helicopter fleet.

All four ETPS H125 will be delivered following customization 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. The aircraft will also be equipped with a Flight Test Instrumentation suite that, similar to Formula 1 telemetry data, transmits data to the ETPS base at Boscombe Down in real time allowing students, both in practical and class-based environments, to test and evaluate aircraft design and performance.