Agusta A109 Power

Type (Muster)
Light helicopter (Zweimotoriger Leichthubschrauber)

Country (Land)
Italy (Italien)

Manufacturer (Hersteller)
AgustaWestland
Via Giovanni Agusta 520
21017 Cascina Costa die Samarate
Italy

Phone: 0039-331/229-111
Fax: 0039-331/229-605
Internet: http://www.agusta.com

General (Allgemeine Angaben)
Crew (Besatzung): 1 or 2
Passengers (Passagiere): 6 or 7, or two litters and two attendants

Power plant (Antrieb): 2 x Pratt & Whitney Canada PW206C or Turboméca Arrius 2K1 turboshafts
Power (Leistung): 2 x 477 kW (640 shp) at take-off, 423 kW (567 shp) maximum continuous and 546 kW (732 shp) contingency for 2,5 min.
The Arrius 2K1 offers 2 x 670 shp for take-off, 571 shp max. continuous and 750 shp on one engine in case of emergency.
The transmission is rated at 900 hp for take-off and maximum continuous and for 640 hp input from one engine in an emergency.
TBO: 3000 hrs

Dimensions (Abmessungen)
Fuselage length (Rumpflänge): 11,44 m
Length overall, rotor turning (Länge über drehenden Rotor): 13,04 m
Height (Höhe): 3,50 m
Width (Breite): 2,88 over tailplane
Main rotor diameter (Hauptrotordurchmesser): 11,00 m
Tail-rotor diameter (Heckrotordurchmesser): 2,00 m
Main rotor disk (Hauptrotorfläche): 95 sq m

Max. cabin length (Kabinenlänge): 2,10 m
Max. cabin width (Kabinenbreite): 1,61 m
Max. cabin height (Kabinenhöhe): 1,28 m
Cabin volume (Kabinenvolumen): 5,1 cu m
Baggage compartment volume (Gepäckraumvolumen): 0,95 cu m

Weights (Massen)
Basic empty (Leermasse): 1570 kg
Fuel (Kraftstoff): 605 litres plus 265 litres with more fuel cells
Max. slung load (max. Außenlast): 1000 kg
Max. gross weight (Max. Startmasse): 2850 kg or 3000 kg with external load

Performance (Flugleistungen)
Max. speed (Höchstgeschwindigkeit): 311 km/h
Max. cruise speed (max. Reisegeschwindigkeit): 289 km/h (156 kts)
Service ceiling (Dienstgipfelhöhe): 5975 m (19680 ft)
Rate of climb (Steigrate): 9,8 m/s
Hover ceiling (Schwebeflughöhe)
- out of ground effect (ohne Bodeneffekt): 3597 m (11800 ft)
- in ground effect (im Bodeneffekt): 5060 m (16600 ft)
Maximum range (max. Reichweite): 965 km, no reserve, 230 US gallons of fuel
Max. endurance (Einsatzdauer): 5 h 4 min

Costs (Kosten)
Around 3,1 million US-Dollars in mid 1998.
Direct operating costs claimed as 386 US-Dollars in 1997.

Customers (Kunden)
By October 2001, Agusta claimed over 220 orders from 90 customers worldwide. Among the cusotmers are:

Balmoral (South Africa): one for shuttling harbour pilots.
Carabinieri: Two delivered in 2000
Careflite (Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas): Four and four options. Ordered in December 2001 for delivery in 2002, with the options following in 2003.
CJ Systems Aviation Group (USA): One, delivered in November 2001, for use with Life Star in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Deer Jet: Two for shuttling harbour pilots in Shanghai. Delivered in October 2001.
Duke Life Flight, Durham: Two. Received in December 2001 and January 2002. They have Arriel 2K1 engines.
Dyfed/Powys Police Authority (UK): One delivered in 1999
Ministry of Health of Greece: Five ordered in May 1999. Contract value is 35 billion Lire (19 million US-Dollars) including training and spares.
South African Air Force: 30 A 109LUH for the light helicopter programme, plus 10 options. Announced on September 16, 1999, at a value of some 240 million US-Dollars. Powered by Arrius 2K2 engines. To be deliverd from 2002.
Swedish Army: 20 ordered under the designation HKP15 in June 2001. Powered by Arrius 2K2 engines.
US Coast Guard: Four in police/utility configuration for anti-drug missions. Desginated MH-68A. A squadron of eight helicopters is planned.

About 800 helicopters of the A 109 family have been ordered in total.

Competitors (Konkurrenz)
Eurocopter EC 135
MD Helicopters Explorer
Bell 427

Remarks (Bemerkungen)
The A 109 Power is the latest member of the A 109 family. It is available in various configurations, like
   * VIP/Corporate
   * EMS, since 1998
   * Law Enforcement, since 1999
   * Harbour Pilot Shuttle
   * Military, to enter service in 2002
The helicopter is certified for singel pilot IFR operations and can take off in Category A conditions from elevated helipads without any payload restrictions. Noise is below ICAO Annex 16 standards.

History (Geschichte)
Go-ahead was given in 1993, and prototype flew on 8 February 1995, under the engineering designation A 109E. By the time the helicopter was unveiled at the Paris Air Show in June 1995 it had completed 60 hours. Certification by the Italian RAI was achieved on May 31, 1996, with FAA approval following on 26 August. The first production unit was publicly displayed on September 26, 1996, with the first delivery following in December.
PZL-Swidnik was contracted to build fuselages for the A 109E between 1996 and 2002.
The 100th A 109 Power was delivered in December 2000, to Austrian customer SchenkAir. It will be used in an EMS configuration.
A version with Turboméca Arrius 2K2 engines of 446 kW is on offer since early 2001.
Agusta and Turboméca agreed to offer the Arrius 2K1 in June 1997. At that time, certification by the Italian RAI was predicted for the summer of 1998. In the end, the first helicopter was delivered in November 2001 to CJ Systems Aviation Group in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Last updated January 28, 2002

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