Airbus Helicopters has marked the 50th anniversary of the maiden flight of the Gazelle.
The versatlie helicopter first flew on 7 April 1967 and nearly 100 operators in 34 countries are still using Gazelle versions.
Developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation in cooperation with the United Kingdom at the end of the 1960s, more than 1250 Gazelles have been delivered. Today 470–more than a third of all manufactured–are still in service, 100 of which are in the hands of the French army.
The Gazelle was the first helicopter in the world to be awarded the IFR qualification, Category I, by the US FAA, enabling operators to fly to instrument flight rules with a single pilot on board. It was also the first Airbus helicopter to be equipped with glass-resin blades developed in cooperation with the German company Bölkow, and the first of the Airbus range to be fitted with the Fenestron tail system instead of the traditional tail rotor.
The Gazelle was a major success in the military sector and nearly 80% of the rotorcraft in service are used by armies around the world. By the end of December 2016, the Gazelle fleet had accumulated more than 7 million flight hours. The Gazelles (SA341 and SA342) that have accumulated the most flight hours (14,200 and 13,100 respectively) are currently operating in the United States.