Guimbal Cabri G2

The Guimbal Cabri G2 is a two-seat light helicopter produced by Hélicoptères Guimbal, and powered by a reciprocating engine. Designed by Bruno Guimbal, a former Eurocopter engineer, it had its origins in the 1980s, and the first demonstrator flew in 1992. Following the granting of regulatory approval, the Cabri entered commercial service in 2008. In addition to its use within the general aviation sector and as a training rotorcraft, the Cabri G2 has also been used as the basis for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). While working at Eurocopter on the Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin and Eurocopter EC120 Colibri helicopters during the 1980s, Bruno Guimbal decided to independently pursue the development of a two-seat reciprocating engine helicopter. This rotorcraft would incorporate numerous safety-related and general technological advances commonly applied to larger turbine-powered rotorcraft, but typically absent from reciprocating-engine helicopters. These technologies included Eurocopter's Fenestron anti-torque shrouded tail rotor and Spheriflex main rotor, in addition to a composite fuselage. During the early 1990s, Eurocopter elected to sponsor the program, as well as providing technical assistance during testing. In April 1992, the first prototype Cabri G2-01 conducted its maiden flight, which lasted for a total of 45 minutes. In 1996, this prototype set a world record distance for a helicopter under 500 kg, with a distance of 481.32 km. In 2000, Bruno Guimbal left Eurocopter to establish a new company, Hélicoptères Guimbal, in order to certify the Cabri G2 and to place the type into commercial production. To this end, research and production facilities were set up in Aix-en-Provence Aerodrome, France. It had originally been hoped to have the Cabri certified in 2003. In March 2005, the first production Cabri performed its first flight. Following a six-year development program and 300 hours of flight testing, the Cabri G2 received type certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in December 2007.