MBB/Kawasaki BK117 facts for kids

class="infobox " style="float: right; clear: right; width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: left; font-size: 90%;" ! colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: large; padding-bottom: 0.3em;" | MBB/Kawasaki BK117 |-

|- | colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | |- |colspan="2" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;text-align:center;" |An Australian police BK117 helicopter. |-

! Role | Lightweight helicopter |- ! National origin | Germany & Japan |- ! Manufacturer | MBB and Kawasaki Heavy Industries |-

! First flight | 1979 |- ! Introduction | 1982 |-

! Status | Active |-

! Produced | Production stopped in 2004. |- ! Number built | 443 |-

|} The MBB/Kawasaki BK117 is a special kind of helicopter. It has two engines, making it very powerful. This lightweight helicopter was designed and built in both Germany and Japan.

The BK117 is used for many different jobs. It helps people in everyday life (called civilian use). It also helps in the military. Until 1992, it was made by two big companies: Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) from Germany and Kawasaki Heavy Industries from Japan. After that, another company called Eurocopter joined Kawasaki to build it. Some versions were even built in Indonesia under a special agreement, called the NBK117. A newer helicopter, the Eurocopter EC145, is based on the BK117 design but was made without the Japanese company.

Images for kids

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  STARS Air Ambulance at Foothills Medical Centre.

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  A PolAir 5' BK 117 in flight.

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  A BK 117 helping the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust.

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  A BK 117 used by the South African Air Force.