Pawan Hans receives Eurocopters's 1,000th Dauphin Helicopter
merisarkar news service April 20, New Delhi
1000th Dauphin delivered to PHHL
Eurocopter delivered to Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited (PHHL) the 1,000th twin-engined medium-lift Dauphin chopper the European helicopter major has manufactured.
The AS365-N3 is especially configured for offshore oil and gas drilling missions and brings PHHL's fleet of Dauphins to 35.The Dauphin, known for its distinctive profile with its nose resembling a dolphin, serves 300 customers in 69 countries. Tuesday's delivery also marked the 25-year association between Europter and PHHL.
"The 1,000th Dauphin delivery is a historic moment for Eurocopter. We are fully committed to supporting PHHL's continued success, which includes our creation of the Eurocopter India subsidiary and reinforcement of our services network in India," Eurocopter President and CEO Lutz Bertling said on the occasion.
PHHL Executive Director Sanjiv Bahl said that the Dauphin is "perfectly tailored" to PHHL's needs for the past 25 years.
"We are now relying on the Dauphin for our future growth. The N3 offers very good operating performance in terms of speed and power with long-range capabilities, noise reduction and customer comforts," Bahl noted.
PHHL's choppers are used for airlifting personnel to offshore oil platforms off Mumbai in the Arabian Sea, shuttling between drill barges, airlifting state officials and VIPs besides tourist charters.
With 11,200 helicopters of various models in service worldwide, Eurocopter, set up in 1992, is a Franco-German-Spanish venture and is a division of EADS, a world leader in aerospace, defence and related services.
The Dauphin achieved a record speed of 372 kmph in Nov. 1991 and was used in extreme operations like rescue missions for the US Coast Guard following Hurricane Katrina.
