AgustaWestland AW109
| AW109 (A109) | |
|---|---|
| |
| Polish Air Ambulance A109 Power | |
| Role | SAR/utility helicopter |
| Manufacturer | Agusta AgustaWestland |
| First flight | 4 August 1971 |
| Primary users | Italian Army REGA (Swiss Air Rescue) Royal Australian Navy |
| Variants | AgustaWestland AW119 |
The AgustaWestland AW109 (formerly Agusta A109) is a helicopter manufactured by Agusta (now AgustaWestland) of Italy. It is a light-weight, twin-engine, eight-seat multi-purpose helicopter. The AgustaWestland AW119 Koala is a single-engine development.
Design and development
In the late 1960s Agusta designed the A109 as a single-engined commercial helicopter. It was soon realised that a twin-engined design was needed and it was re-designed in 1969 with two Allison 250-C14 turboshaft engines. A projected military version (the A109B) was not developed and the company concentrated on the eight-seat version the A109C.[1] The first of three prototypes made its maiden flight on 4 August 1971.[2] A protracted development then followed and the first production aircraft was not completed until April 1975. Delivery of production machines started in early 1976. The aircraft soon became a success and was soon used for roles other than as a light transport including as an air ambulance and search-and-rescue. In 1975 Agusta returned again to the possibility of a military version and trials were carried out between 1976 and 1977 with five A109As fitted with Hughes Aircraft TOW missiles. Two military versions were then developed, one for light attack or close support and another for naval operations.
Fuselages of A109 are made by PZL-Świdnik. In June 2006 the 500th fuselage was delivered by this manufacturer, marking 10 years of co-operation between the two companies.[3]
The sale of the Agusta A109 to the Belgian armed forces in 1988 gave rise to a bribery scandal when it was alleged the company had given the Belgian Socialists over 50 million Belgian francs to get the sale. This scandal led to the resignation and conviction of NATO Secretary General Willy Claes.
In August 2008, Scott Kasprowicz and Steve Sheik broke the round-the-world speed record using a factory-standard AgustaWestland Grand, with a time of 11 days, 7 hours and 2 minutes. The A109S Grand is also the fastest helicopter from New York to Los Angeles.[4][5]
Variants
- A109A: The first production model, powered by two Allison Model 250-C20 turboshaft engines. It made its first flight on 4 August 1971. Initially, the A109 was marketed under the name of "Hirundo" (Latin for the swallow), but this was dropped within a few years.
- A109A EOA: Military version for the Italian Army.
- A109A Mk II: Upgraded civilian version of the A109A.
- A109A Mk.II MAX: Aeromedical evacuation version based on A109A Mk.II with extra wide cabin and access doors hinged top and bottom, rather than to one side
- A109B: Unbuilt military version.
- A109C: Eight-seat civil version, powered by two Allison Model 250-C20R-1 turboshaft engines.
- A109C MAX: Aeromedical evacuation version based on A109C with extra-wide cabin and access doors hinged top and bottom, rather than to one side
- A109D: One prototype only
- A109E Power: Upgraded civilian version, initially powered by two Turbomeca Arrius 2K1 engines . Later the manufacturer introduced an option for two Pratt & Whitney PW206C engines to be used - both versions remain known as the A109E Power
- A109E Power Elite: stretched cabin version of A109E Power. This variant, which is operated by the RAF, has a glass cockpit with two complete sets of pilot instruments and navigation systems, including a three-axis autopilot, an auto-coupled Instrument Landing System and a satellite-based Global Positioning System. There is also a Moving Map Display, weather radar and a Traffic Alerting System.[6]
- A109LUH: Military LUH "Light Utility Helicopter" variant based on the A109E Power. Operators include South African Air Force as well as Sweden and Malaysia
- MH-68A Stingray: Eight A109E Powers were used by the United States Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron Jacksonville (HITRON Jacksonville) as short range armed interdiction helicopters from 2000 until 2008 when they were replaced with MH-65C Dolphins.[7]
- A109K: Military version.
- A109K2: High-altitude and high-temperature operations with fixed wheels rather than the retractable wheels of most A109 variants. Typically used by police, search and rescue, and air ambulance operators
- A109M: Military version.
- A109KM: Military version for high altitude and high temperature operations.
- A109KN: Naval version.
- A109CM: Standard military version.
- A109GdiF: Version for Guardia di Finanza, the Italian Finance Guard
- A109BA : Version created for the Belgian Army.
- AW109S Grand: Lengthened cabin-upgraded civilian version with two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW207 engines and lengthened main rotor blades with different tip design to the Power version.
- CA109: Chinese version of A109, manufactured by Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation under license.
- AW109 Grand New (or AW109 SP) : single IFR, TAWS and EVS, especially for EMS
Operators
Military operators
- Albanian Air Force - Used for VIP transport.
- Belgian Air Component
- Belgian Army - Former operator.
- CA109 Variant
- Royal New Zealand Air Force Five aircraft will be delivered from October 2010 to replace Bell 47 Sioux.[9] In 2010 three extra aircraft have been ordered bring the total to eight. [10]
- Nigerian Navy Three originally bought; one lost in 2007; two more commissioned in 2009.
- Paraguayan Air Force
- Grupo Aéreo de Helicópteros/GAH - 1 A.109 for Presidential transport (1993–1998)
- Army Air Corps - out of service 2007
- Empire Test Pilots' School
- Royal Air Force
- United States Coast Guard (Replaced by the MH-65C)
Former Military operators
Civilian and government operators
- Sabah Air operate one A109S Grand
- Saudi Aramco - 7 used for offshore and medical use.[11]
- Vektra Aviation operates one A109
![[2]](http://www.avejer.ejercito.mil.ar/GalFot/A109vol.jpg){kind=link}
- Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance[12]
- Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance[13]
- Summit Air Ambulance operates a two patient A109 Power out of Elko, Nevada serving all of northern Nevada.
- AirMed Georgia operates an A109 Power for their primary aircraft for medical evacuation
- North Memorial Hospital (Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN) has a fleet of A109s
- Shands at The University Of Florida's Medevac Helicopter is an Augusta A109
- Careflite operates four A109s in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.
- Intermountain Life Flight operates Two A109 K2's including Mountain Hoist Rescue Operations in Utah,Idaho,Wyoming.
- Lifeflight of Maine operates two A109Es, one out of Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston (able to handle two patients), one out of Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor (one patient, extended fuel tanks).
- Arctic Air Service Inc. operates an A109E, out of Astoria, Oregon performing offshore marine pilot transfers for the Columbia River Bar Pilots.
Specifications
Agusta A109 Power
Data from www.agustawestland.com[14] [15]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1 or 2 pilots
- Capacity: 7/6 passengers
Performance
Armament
(Agusta A109 LUH only)
- Guns: possibilities include 12.7 mm machine gun (250 rounds) in pod, pintle mounted 7.62 mm machine gun, door gunner post 12.7 mm machine gun
- Missiles: possibilities include 2 × TOW missile launchers (2 or 4 missiles each), unguided rockets in pods (2.75 in or 81 mm rockets with 7 or 12 tubes per pod), rocket/machine gun pod (70 mm × 3 rockets and 12.7 mm machine gun (200 rounds))
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
References
- ^ Air International October 1978, pp. 160–161.
- ^ Air International October 1978, p.161.
- ^ Wiadomości I Wydarzenia
- ^ History of Rotorcraft World Records, List of records established by the 'A109S Grand'. Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI)
- ^ AgustaWestland news archive, August 2008
- ^ RAF - Agusta A 109 E
- ^ MCH: Project Description, U.S. Coast Guard Multi-Mission Cutter Helicopter
- ^ "Four-Year Contract Announced for Navy's Skill Retention Helicopters" (Press release). Australian Department of Defence. 2007-02-07. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
- ^ Houlahan, Mike (9 May 2008). "Govt wraps up copter upgrade". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
- ^ http://www.defence.govt.nz/reports-publications/defence-white-paper-2010/contents.html
- ^ [1]
- ^ Warwickshire Northampton Air Ambulance - The Helicopter
- ^ Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance
- ^ AgustaWestland A109 Power product page
- ^ AgustaWestland A109 LUH product page
- "The A-109A - Agusta's Pace-Setter". Air International, October 1978, Vol. 15 No. 4. pp. 159–166, 198.
External links
