Eurocopter, Dassault jet store opens
By Recto Mercene
May 24, 2012
THE Philippine economy
must be performing well, gauging by the decision of Eurocopter
Philippines and France’s Dassault Falcon to jointly sell the
seven-seater helicopter and the eight-seater Falcon jet as complimentary
package for the country’s top 500 corporations, including chairmen and
chief executive officers of multinational companies and conglomerates.
There is a family of
Falcons to choose from—six distinct aircraft to suit the company’s
budget—while the helicopter needs no further introduction, having been
introduced in the Philippine market since 1970.
Jussi
Hoikka, commercial director of Eurocopter Philippines, said the company
has locally sold 60 Eurocopters, at $3 million to $3.2 million per
unit, representing a 60-percent share of the market.
Its
most exclusive feature is the Fenestron tail rotor, which is enclosed
and not exposed like most helicopters. This prevents personnel or
passengers from being cut accidentally when the rotor is turning.
The
Eurocopter T3 is also equipped with an “active vibration control
system,” vibrations being a natural curse of all helicopters owing to
its design. This helicopter, however, senses the vibrations and a damper
removes this bone rattling sensation, lessening the noise to give
passengers comfortable ride, devoid of nausea.
The
Falcon costs $30 million, excluding the 12-percent to 25-percent tax.
So far, only one has been sold locally, compared to the 25 percent to 30
percent that Chinese billionaires had gobbled up so far.
However,
as Hoikka pointed out, they aim to sell about six to 10 Falcons for the
next two years, and in five years, be the leading executive jet
supplier in the country.
He
said a busy executive can jet to any point in the Philippines, and
still afford to make it on time to any remote locations by hopping to a
waiting Eurocopter, which would be the favorite chariot of choice by
mining executives, oil and gas barons and politicians hot on campaign
trails.
The
helicopter can be also be used for emergency medical evacuation and to
enter the remotest jungle or reach any isolated islands.
Eurocopter
Philippines has a 95-percent Filipino staff, mostly industry
professionals, serving customers that include the Coast Guard, the Navy,
the National Police, charter operators, corporate operators and other
private owners.
The
Falcon 2000LX, the latest in the lineup, has enough headroom for tall
persons, and offers 5-percent additional range, which would be 4,500
nautical miles, over the 2000EX EASy model.
It can land and takeoff on 1,500 meters of runway.
At
the cockpit, cutting-edge technology includes two onboard computers, a
fully digitalized cockpit, a trackball like in a computer game, where
the pilot places the cursor in on a map, and pinpoints the runway
locations anywhere in the world. The map could be enlarged to see the
airport’s layout and all information needed for navigation.
Instantly,
the pilot is provided with any particular runway’s length,
configuration, navigational aids, frequencies to tune in and all related
data.
Not many airplanes, even commercial ones, have this computerized cockpit.
Capt.
Frederick Lascourreges, the check-pilot, shows how, by the turn of the
trackball, he can avail of any information at his fingertips, having
done away with the “Flying Kit Bag” a bulky black leather bag that used
to contain all the maps and the pilot’s survival kit.
May 29, 2012
