Heller 80378 Eurocopter EC145 'Gendarmerie'

The Eurocopter (now: Airbus Helikopter) EC145 is a contemporary German-French light multipurpose helicopter, with a fixed-skid undercarriage in the classic arrangement with a main rotor and a tail rotor on the beam. The drive is provided by two motors Turbomeca Arriel 1E2 with 770 hp each. The flight of the first prototype took place in 1999. Serial production started in 2002 and is still ongoing.

The EC145 was originally produced under the designation BK117 C2 in cooperation with MBB and Kawasaki, but when the Eurocopter group was established (from the merger of MBB and Aerospatiale-Matra), the helicopter adopted its current name and was modernized. Compared to its predecessor, the EC145 has a slightly enlarged fuselage, uses a new main rotor, and also has a much richer and more developed avionics. Interestingly, it was not decided to install the tail rotor in the fenestron system. Depending on the configuration, the EC145 can take up to 9 passengers and 2 crew members. The EC145 is used as a universal transport machine, disposable machine, helicopter for medical rescue or uniformed services (e.g. police). Eurocopter EC145 is used by many foreign operators, including: Brazil, Lithuania, Morocco, Peru, Philippines and Switzerland.