Delivered to Sweden’s Northern Helicopters in 2010, a Cabri G2 S/N1013 was put to work along with its stable mate S/N1011, wracking up an extraordinary 2,200 hours in its first 20 months of service. Following an engine and transmission overhaul, the aircraft was sold to Spain, where it has stayed – and today is operated by Helipistas, a flight school in Barcelona.
Aside from the engine and transmission, which have had five overhauls, the aircraft is essentially the same one that rolled off the assembly line 13 years ago.
Bruno Guimbal, President and Chief Engineer of Hélicoptères Guimbal, the creator of the Cabri G2, recalls: “When I started with Aérospatiale in the late eighties, the fatigue life was so-called ‘infinite’ by the Certification Authorities when above 10,000 flight hours. According to our boss, the late René Mouille, Aérospatiale Chief Engineer, it was because no one had ever seen a 10,000-hour fatigue component. The rule was changed in the nineties to 20,000 flight hours, and it speaks for all the advances in helicopter design and safety. The Cabri was certified with all parts above 20,000 flight hours.”
Cumulatively, the Cabri G2 fleet has logged a total in excess of 450,000 flight hours on 340 helicopters in about 40 countries and 70 have passed the engine 2,200 hours TBO milestone.
Photo: Helipistas
