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Overview

SNIAS-AEROSPATIALE

1970: Société Nationale Industrielle Aerospatiale (SNIAS).

In 1970, Sud Aviation became SNIAS by merging with French Nord Aviation and SEREB companies. From 1984, SNIAS operated under the name of AEROSPATIALE. The first famous success started in October 1972 with the maiden flight of the liner Airbus A300 B. With Matra, MBB and CASA, Aerospatiale played also a major role in the development of satellite launchers. Aerospatiale Helicopter Division produced some families of helicopters still in production: Ecureuil, Dauphin and Super Puma.

1972: SA360/AS365 Dauphin - AS565 Panther - EC155 The Dauphin was originally
designed as the successor to the Alouette III. The first Dauphin was a single-engine
aircraft. In response to the development of market requirements in this category,
then succeeded some twin-engine versions. In 1982, the AS365 N was the first
helicopter in the world to be certified to perform IFR flights with a single pilot.

1974: AS350/355 Ecureuil/AStar - AS550/555 Fennec - EC130 Following the
commercial success of the Alouette II, a new helicopter with five seats needed
to be developed. The goal was to obtain the most cost-effective helicopter possible.
The Ecureuil was a major technological advance in comparison with the Alouettes.

1977: AS331/AS332 Super Puma - AS532 Cougar - EC225/EC725 The development
criteria for the Super Puma first took into account the request from Puma operators
for improved safety. The mechanical design and the appearance of anti-crash fuel
tanks, for example, offered military users new guarantees in terms of survivability
and, in time, all the customers of the range would benefit from these improvements.