By Paul Derby at the Farnborough air show
AgustaWestland enjoyed a great day at Farnborough yesterday, revealing full details of its plans for the new AW149 medium twin and announcing the sale of six helicopters plus 56 options in Brazil.
The 7-8t AW149, optimised for military operations, will fly by 2009, with initial operating capability planned for 2011. AgustaWestland believes there is a market for several hundred aircraft in the next few years.
“We will unveil a full-scale mock-up at Paris next year,” says AgustaWestland chief executive Giuseppe Orsi. “We know that there are several thousand of this class of helicopter operating around the world and a large majority of them will need replacing over the next few years.”
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| The AW149 will fly by 2009, according to AgustaWestland |
Orsi says the aircraft will be configured for a range of roles including search and rescue, command and control, medical evacuation and external load lifting. AgustaWestland has secured some funding from the Italian trade ministry and is in discussions with its UKcounterpart to win additional support.
“We will focus not only on launch funding but also identifying launch customers,” says Alan Johnston, managing director of military business. “We see the AW149 as a potential solution in the UK for its medium lift helicopter replacement, which is in line with our proposed in service date.
“In the shorter term we are talking about a number of options for the UK including upgrades to the existing fleet and leasing.”
The AW149 will feature a five-blade main rotor, with power delivered by two 2,000shp (1,500kW) class engines. The cabin will be configured to carry up to 15 troops.
Meanwhile, AgustaWestland has penned a purchase and distribution agreement with Synergy Aerospace to take a mix of A119 Koala, A109 Power, AW139 and Grand helicopters to be delivered over the next three years.
The aircraft will be used, sold and leased by OceanAir Taxi Aereo, a Synergy subsidiary, for corporate and offshore transport. The helicopters will be produced at AgustaWestland plants in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Vergiate, Italy. The contract marks the first entry into service in South America for the AW139.
• The second prototype of the Bell Agusta BA609 civil tiltrotor has begun ground runs in Italy ahead of an expected first flight in the third quarter of the year.
Source: Flight Daily News
