Thales announced today that, following an intense worldwide competition, it has been selected by Eurocopter to provide the Integrated Electronic Standby Instrument (IESI) for its range of light and medium helicopters. This range includes the Ecureuil family, the EC135, the EC145, the EC155 and their military derivatives, as well as the latest aircraft of Eurocopter’s civil range, the EC175, which performed its maiden flight at the end of 2009.
Thales will, through this major new programme, provide the most advanced technology ever developed in this field of equipment. It will set new standards in terms of harsh environment immunity (High Intensity Radiated Fields), measurement range and accuracy, as well as provide the pilot with unrivalled user comfort.
“We are extremely proud to have been selected for this equipment which is essential from a safety point of view for the pilot. This selection is the result of a strong partnership between Thales and Eurocopter,” commented Yves Joannic, head of Thales’s helicopter avionics activities.
The IESI gives the pilot the three main elements of information necessary to ensure a manual flight (attitude, altitude and air speed of the helicopter are measured, computed and displayed), even when other avionics functions are down. The IESI is a smart instrument combining in a single box both display and sensors. It also includes a battery providing the necessary autonomy to allow the pilot to land the helicopter in the extreme case of complete aircraft electrical failure. The IESI integrates high reliability Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) pressure and inertial sensors, an enhanced low consumption real-time computing capability and LED backlighting display.