The MBB Bo.105 is a five-seat lightweight, general-purpose
helicopter. Development of the Bo.105 started back in 1959 when Bölkow
designed the Bo.103 helicopter. The Bo.103 single-seat flew first on 14
September 1961. The two-seat Bo.104 followed this study-project. Due to
marketing reasons this project was stopped in favour of the five-seat
Bo.105. Design work for the Bo.105 began in July 1962. Construction of
the first of three prototypes began in 1964. The first Bo.105 prototype
D-HAKO s/n V-1 was destroyed in ground tests and written off in October
1966. The second machine, D-HECA s/n V-2, was powered by two 317shp
Allison 250C18 turboshafts and on 16 February 1967, the BO105 took off
for its maiden flight in Ottobrunn (near Munich), Germany. On 14 May 1969, Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm GmbH (MBB) was formed and development of the Bo.105 continued
with the first production BO-105A, D-HABV s/n S-1, flying on 11 April 1970.
The breakthrough came in 1974 when the German Army ordered the BO
105 as a connection and observation helicopter. In January 1992 the MBB
Bo 105 became part of the large helicopters types row of Eurocopter when
the helicopter divisions of MBB from Germany and Aerospatiale from
France merged to form the Eurocopter Group. In 1993 the BO 105 CBS with
a 25cm fuselage stretch and extra window was certificated. Over the years,
license agreements for the BO105 CB/CBS versions with the Philippines,
Indonesia and Spain were concluded, and for the BO105 LS, a cooperation
agreement with Canada. Until production ended in 2001, as the BO105 was superseded by
Eurocopter’s EC135, a total of 1,406 BO105s had been delivered to 55
customer nations.
As a result of the merger between the Eurocopter parents Aérospatiale-Matra; DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (DASA)
and Construcciones Aeronàuticas Sociedad Anonima (CASA) in July 2000, the Eurocopter group became a division of the new formed
EADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space company). Taking off into 2014, EADS was rebranded as "Airbus Group". Uniting
all its activities under a single brand, its helicopter division Eurocopter was rebranded as Airbus Helicopters on 8 January 2014.
MBB BO105CBS-4 s/n S.456 was built in 1979 as a BO105CBS and test flown by MBB as D-HDNJ. In 1980, the helicopter was registered D-HNWE
with Landeskriminalamt NRW as owner. The MBB BO.105CBS entered service with Polizei Nordrhein-Westfalen and used call sign ‘Hummel 5’.
In 1984, the helicopter was upgraded by MBB to a BO.105CBS-4. In September 2003, after the Polizei Nordrhein-Westfalen had withdrawn
the helicopter from use, the MBB BO105CBS-4 D-HNWE was sold to Agrarflug Helilift. In 2004, the D-HNWE was registered with Heli Transair
at Egelsbach. In 2006, MBB BO105CBS-4 D-HNWE entered service with Rainbow Helicopters at Mainz/Finthen. In July 2009, the MBB BO105CBS-4
D-HNWE was registered with Heli Aviation, Wallerstein, and based at Nördlingen Airport. In 2010, after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the helicopter
was airfreighted to Haiti where it served out of Port-au-Prince as ambulance helicopter "German Help Two" on helicopter ambulance/medical
evacuation services and medical team transport services in the Haiti and Dominican Republic area. In 2011, the MBB BO105CBS-4 D-HNWE returned
to Germany where it was operated by Heli Aviation first out of its new base Augsburg, and from 2012 to 2014 out of Emden. On 9 August 2013, the
Heli Aviation MBB BO105CBS-4 D-HNWE was seen at Fluglatz Leer-Papenburg. At the end of 2014, the helicopter was flown back to Augsburg where
the D-HNWE was withdrawn from use and stored. At the end of 2016, the MBB BO105CBS-4 D-HNWE left Augsburg by road to an yet unknown location.
On 6 October 2016, Heli Aviation was renamed Babcock MCS Germany. Babcock Mission Critical Services Germany GmbH, previously known as
Heli Aviation, Augsburg, closed in March 2019. Their helicopter operations already stopped before November 2018.
Luchtvaart déjà vu
