Aircrafttotal Encyclopedia


An AW109E formerly operated by No. 32 Squadron RAF in 2012
Role	Search and rescue/utility helicopter
Manufacturer	Agusta AgustaWestland Leonardo S.p.A.
First flight	4 August 1971
Introduction	1976
Status	In production
Primary users	Italian Army Rega (Swiss Air Rescue) South African Air Force Royal New Zealand Air Force Royal Malaysian Air Force
Produced	1971–present
Variants	AgustaWestland AW109S Grand
Developed into	AgustaWestland AW119 Koala

The AgustaWestland AW109, originally the Agusta A109, is a lightweight, twin-engine, eight-seat multi-purpose helicopter designed and initially produced by the Italian rotorcraft manufacturer Agusta. It was the first all-Italian helicopter to be mass-produced. Its production has been continued by Agusta's successor companies, presently Leonardo S.p.A. (formerly AgustaWestland, merged into the new Finmeccanica since 2016

Development of the A109 commenced during the late 1960s as an indigenous rotorcraft suited to commercial operations. A twin-engine arrangement was pursued in response to market interest, while work on the civil model was prioritised over the military-orientated A109B project. On 4 August 1971, the first of three prototypes made its maiden flight. On 1 June 1975

Development

Work on what would become the AW109 commenced during the late 1960s at the Italian helicopter manufacturer Agusta, which sought to design an indigenous rotorcraft suitable for commercial activities. Known as the A109, early designs were of a single-engine helicopter. However, the design team came to recognise that the market found a twin-engine rotorcraft to be more attractive, thus the project was reoriented to fulfil this in 1969, opting to outfit it with a pair of Allison 250-C14 turboshaft engines. While early considerations had been made for a militarised model, which the company internally referred to as the A109B, Agusta intentionally placed a low priority on the work for this variant in favour of other market sectors. In particular, design efforts were concentrated on the eight-seat A109C model.s

Aeromacchi Leonardo

AgustaWestland (now Leonardo)
AgustaWestland AW109 Hirundo

General Info

Crew: 1 or 2
Capacity: 6 or 7 passengers
Length: 11.448 m (37 ft 7 in) fuselage
Height: 3.50 m (11 ft 6 in)

Powerplant

Empty weight: 1,590 kg Max takeoff weight: 2,850 kg Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PW206C Turboshaft engine, (560 hp) each Main rotor diameter: 11.00 m

Performance

Maximum speed: 311 km/h
Cruise speed: 285 km/h (177 mph,
Never exceed speed: 311 km/h
Ferry range: 932 km (579 mi, 503 nmi)
Rate of climb: 9.8 m/s (1,930 ft/min)

Related development

Special Links Aeromacchi Leonardo

Links to Youtube & Others

The BA609 drew on experience gained from Bell's earlier experimental tiltrotor, the XV-15.[2][3] In 1996, Bell and Boeing had formed a partnership to develop a civil tiltrotor aircraft; however, in March 1998,

AgustaWestland
AgustaWestland AW109

Bell/Agusta aimed the aircraft "at the government and military markets".[77] Another key market for the AW609 has been offshore oil and gas operations,

Youtube Link

On the occasion of the Jesolo Airshow Gianfranco Cito, Head of Flight Test Department of the AW609 presents the features of Leonardo's

Leonardo / AgustaWestland AW109 Hirundo
First flight 4 August 1971 Produced 1971–present