The
AgustaWestland AW109
is a light-weight, twin-engine, eight-seat multi-purpose
helicopter built by the Anglo-Italian manufacturer
AgustaWestland. First flown as the Agusta A109 in 1971,
the craft has proven itself in light transport, medevac,
search-and-rescue, and military roles.
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.
The first of three prototypes made its maiden flight on
4 August 1971.
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.
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.
The Agusta A109 became renamed
the AW109 following the July 2000 merger of Finmeccanica
S.p.A. and GKN plc's respective helicopter subsidiaries
Agusta and Westland Helicopters to form AgustaWestland.
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.
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