EC175 funding
The European Commission has approved aid of €100 million ($126 million) to EADS subsidiary Eurocopter to help fund research and development of the EC175 6t-class helicopter, which it is co-producing with China's AVIC II. The commission says the funding, which was sought on behalf of Eurocopter by the French government, "is a cash advance to be reimbursed if the project is commercially successful".
The EC175 is designed to fill a niche in Eurocopter's civil helicopter portfolio between the 5t Dauphin and the 10t Super Puma. The aircraft is scheduled to fly in 2009, and gain European and Chinese certification and enter series production in 2011. EADS predicts a market for up to 800 EC175s over 20 years.
School sold
UK training school and Cessna authorised dealer Wycombe Air Centre has been snapped up by Europe's largest flight training company Cabair Group for an undisclosed sum.
Source: Flight International
