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The Airbus Helicopters AS365 N Dauphin II is a twin-engined medium-weight transport helicopter powered by a pair of
737 hp Turbomeca Arriel 1C2 Turbine engines, accommodating up to 13 passengers and 2 crew. The twin-engine SA.365 was
developed in 1973 by SNIAS (Société Nationale Industrielle Aerospatiale) out of the single-engine SA.360 Dauphin.
The SNIAS SA.365 prototype F-WVKE, a SA.360 fitted with 2 Turbomeca Arriel 1A Turboshafts, flew first on 24 January 1975.
In 1977 production commenced with the SA.365-C, with deliveries starting in 1978. An improved version of the SA 365C Dauphin II,
the SA.365N flew first on 31 March 1979. The SA365 N differs from the SA365C in having Arriel 1C turbine engines, a
re-profiled fuselage, fully retractable undercarriage and increased fuel capacity in new under-floor tankage.
Deliveries of the production model began in 1982. Deliveries of the AS.365 N2, equipped with two Turboméca
Arriel 1C2 turboshafts, started in 1990. From 1984, SNIAS operated under the name of Aérospatiale.
The helicopter divisions of MBB from Germany and Aerospatiale from France merged in January 1992 to form the Eurocopter
Group. A new Eurocopter designation was added:
EC155 B1, originally known as the AS 365 N4. The Dauphin II
is used in several military and civilian roles. The AS 565 Panther is the military version of the Dauphin. The AS 366 G1,
powered by two Textron-Lycoming LTS.101-750B-2 turboshafts, is used by the United States Coast Guard under the
designation HH-65A Dolphin. The Dauphin II is manufactured under licence in China as the Harbin Z-9 Haitung and in
Brasil as the Helibras MH-1. More then 1100 AS365/366/565 and EC155 versions have been produced.
The ICAO Aircraft Type Designator for the AS365 N helicopters is AS65. |
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As a result of the merger between the Eurocopter parents Aérospatiale-Matra; DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (DASA) and Construcciones
Aeronàuticas Sociedad Anonima (CASA) in July 2000, the Eurocopter group became a division of the new formed
EADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space company). Taking off into 2014, EADS was rebranded as "Airbus Group". Uniting
all its activities under a single brand, the helicopter division Eurocopter was rebranded as Airbus Helicopters on 8 January 2014. |
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Eurocopter AS365 N PH-SSP of Schreiner Airways was photographed at the Heli-Holland heliport near Emmen in the Netherlands.
The Aerospatiale SA365 N Dauphin II PH-SSP was based at Den Helder-de Kooy airport. Out of Den Helder this Schreiner
helicopter was operated to the oil-platforms off-shore. The 1983-built Aérospatiale SA-365N Dauphin II s/n 6072 was test flown
as F-WTNR. On 3 January 1984, the aircraft was registered PH-SSP in The Netherlands with Schreiner Airways BV,
Leiden. In the period 19 November 1987 until 27 January 1989, the helicopter
was leased to Mc Alpine Helicopters and was registered G-BNZY in the UK. On 17 July 1998, registration PH-SSP was cancelled
for the second time, and the Dauphin II was registered 5N-ESO in Nigeria with
Capital Aviation Services BV as owner and Aero Contractors Company of Nigeria as operator. Late 2008, the aircraft was
stored at Cascais Airport in Portugal and is used for spares. |
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