'The Little Big Helicopter' - Guimbal Cabri G2 Helicopter, G-RJVH

Guimbal Cabri G2 Helicopter, G-RJVH, arriving and departing from the Imperial War Museum Airfield at Duxford, UK on 29th September 2021.

The Cabri G2 is produced by Hélicoptères Guimbal, and powered by a reciprocating engine. Designed by Bruno Guimbal, a former Eurocopter engineer, it had its origins in the 1980s, and the first demonstrator flew in 1992. Following the granting of regulatory approval, the Cabri entered commercial service in 2008. In addition to its use within the general aviation sector and as a training rotorcraft, the Cabri G2 has also been used as the basis for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

It's a two-seat light helicopter with a three-bladed fully articulated main rotor and a Fenestron-type tail rotor. As with most French-designed helicopters, the main rotor blades advance to the left. The main rotor is designed to enable flight within a wide envelope of weather conditions, while the composite rotor blades are damage-tolerant and have no set life span. The use of the Fenestron has been credited as having made the Cabri noticeably quieter than competing rotorcraft, such as the Sikorsky S-300, in addition to its favourable safety, handling, and maneuverability attributes. The Cabri uses a skid landing gear arrangement; unusually, the skids are attached to the fuselage by elastomeric mounts rather than being directly bolted on to reduce ground resonance and provide greater articulation. The fuselage features a damage-resistant all-composite monocoque construction, reducing weight and maintenance requirements while increasing strength.

The Cabri employs a side-by-side seating arrangement for a pilot and passenger, which is also ideal for training purposes, which is an intended role for the type. Dual flight controls are typically installed; these can be removed without the aid of tools as required. The passenger seat on the left can be removed if unnecessary or for greater storage space within the cabin. Various features for personal helicopter usage, such as an externally accessible 200-litre baggage compartment, power sockets within the main cabin, leather seating, and incidental under-seat storage, are also present. An unusual feature of the Cabri is a remote door locking system, which includes an immobilizer function. The Cabri is the first light helicopter to feature a plasma ignition system, the first with a glass cockpit, and the first to be certified under TCDS 135 EASA regulations. Available options include air conditioning, various avionics configurations, moving map display, Global Positioning System display, cargo hook, automatically deployed floatation gear, and several maintenance tooling packages.

The Cabri is powered by a single 180 hp (134 kW) Lycoming O-360 piston engine, which has been rated to 145 hp (108 kW) max continuous power and 160 hp (119 kW) 5-minute power. The engine incorporates a solid-state electronic ignition system which protects against over-speed upon startup and has greater reliability. The engine mounts also utilize vibration isolation techniques for increased crew comfort. The engine is positioned directly behind the cabin, making it easier to access for maintenance; while the engine exhaust is elevated above the tail boom in order to reduce noise and lower the risk of ground fires upon landing. The maintenance costs of the Cabri are claimed to be "very low", in part due to only three components on the rotorcraft being time-limited, all others being condition-limited instead. The cost per overhaul of the Cabri is half of that of comparable rotorcraft such as the Robinson R22.

At the core of the Cabri's avionics is the Electronic Pilot Management (EPM) system, the digital instrumentation of the aircraft's glass cockpit. Intended to be intuitive, the EPM uses three monitors to display critical aircraft and engine information, such as current power settings, engine/rotor speed, fuel level, flight time, and sensor data. In the event of an EPM system failure, backup systems are present. Guimbal claims the Cabri G2 to be "the only piston helicopter designed from scratch with the safety of its occupants as top priority." Numerous safety features are present on the aircraft, including the design of the main rotor, a crash-worthy design, four-way trim system, energy-absorbent structure/seats, automatic carburetor ice-protection system, crash-resistant fuel tank, and exceptional autorotation capabilities. During development, the safety, security, longevity aspects of the design were emphasized over the cost.The Cabri G2 is one of only a handful of helicopters that fully complies with the FAA's crash-resistant fuel system (CRFS) safety standards of the Federal Aviation Regulations and the only piston engine helicopter that made this list.

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