MBB/Kawasaki BK 117

The MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 is a twin-engined light utility and transport helicopter developed jointly by Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm of West Germany and Kawasaki of Japan under an agreement signed on 25 February 1977. MBB handled the rigid four-bladed rotor system, tail boom and controls, drawing on the earlier Bo 105, while Kawasaki took the airframe, landing gear and main transmission. The German prototype first flew on 13 June 1979 and the Japanese one on 10 August 1979; German certification came in December 1982 and US FAA certification in March 1983. Early aircraft used two Lycoming LTS101 turboshaft engines. The cabin seats up to ten and the type became widely used for air ambulance, rescue and police work. Each partner kept its own assembly line, and 443 were built before the BK 117 C-2 development, renamed EC145 and later H145, replaced it in production.