Irish Air Corps C295 Makes First Flight
The first Airbus Defence C295 due to be delivered to the Irish Air Corps completed its maiden flight today from Seville in Spain. The aircraft will become ‘284’ when it joins the Air Corps early next year but made its flight today with test registration EC-010. The second C295 was photographed in the paint shop at Airbus Defence in Seville last week with the test registration 216. The two C295s were ordered in December 2019 to replace the existing CN235s, serials ‘252’ and ‘253’ which have been in service since 1994.
The principal role of the existing CN235s is maritime surveillance, particularly fishery protection. It also enables the Air Corps to provide a wide range of services including logistics support and transport of troops and equipment, medical evacuation and air ambulance, search and rescue and a general utility role. The C295s will be configured with Airbus’s Fully Integrated Tactical System (FITS) mission equipment and optimised for maritime surveillance and fisheries protection tasks. They will also feature Collins Aerospace Pro Line Fusion avionics; equipment first installed on the C295 in support of the Royal Canadian Air Force’s future fixed-wing search and rescue aircraft fleet. The cost of the contract, including equipment fit-out and ancillary support, is approximately €221.6 million including VAT.
Airbus Defence and Space has to date secured orders for a total of 285 C295s from 33 nations. The fleet has achieved over half a million flight hours in service with 202 aircraft delivered.
About the Author
Mark Dwyer Mark is an airline pilot flying the Boeing 737 for a major European airline. In addition he is also a Type Rating Instructor, Type Rating Examiner and Base Training Captain on the B737. Outside of commercial flying Mark enjoys flying light aircraft from the smallest 3 Axis microlights up to heavier singles. He is also an instructor and EASA Examiner on single engines and a UK CAA Examiner. He flies the Chipmunk for the Irish Historic Flight Foundation (IHFF). Mark became the Chairman of the National Microlight Association of Ireland (NMAI) in 2013 and has overseen a massive growth in the organisation. In this role he has worked at local and national levels. In 2015, Mark won ‘Upcoming Aviation Professional Award’ at the Aviation Industry Awards sponsored by the IAA. Mark launched this website back in 2002 while always managing the website, he has also been Editor and Deputy Editor of FlyingInIreland Magazine from 2005 to 2015.
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