A privately owned Augusta Westland AW109 landing trackside, during the 2017 Silverstone Classic
The AgustaWestland AW109 is a lightweight, twin-engine, eight-seat multi-purpose helicopter built by the Italian manufacturer Leonardo (formerly AgustaWestland, merged into the new Finmeccanica since 2016).The rotorcraft had the distinction of being the first all-Italian helicopter to be mass-produced. Developed as the A109 by Agusta, it originally entered service in 1976 and has since been used in various roles, including light transport, medevac, search-and-rescue, and military roles. The AW109 has been in continuous production for 40 years. The AgustaWestland AW119 is a derivative of the AW109, the main difference being that it is powered only by a single engine AW109 is a lightweight twin-engine helicopter, known for its speed, elegant appearance and ease of control.[3][14][15] Since entering commercial service, several revisions and iterations have been made, frequently introducing new avionics and engine technologies. AgustaWestland have promoted the type for its multirole capabilities and serviceability. The type has proven highly popular with VIP/corporate customers; according to AgustaWestland, 50% of all of the AW109 Power variant had been sold in such configurations. Other roles for the AW109 have included emergency medical services, law enforcement, homeland security missions, harbor pilot shuttle duty, search and rescue, maritime operations, and military uses. In 2008, AgustaWestland claimed the AW109 to be "one of the industry’s best-selling helicopters". A range of turboshaft powerplants have been used to power the numerous variants of the AW109, from the original Allison 250-C14 engines to the Turbomeca Arriel 1K1 and Pratt & Whitney Canada PW206 of more modern aircraft. Powerplants can be replaced or swapped for during airframe overhauls, resulting in increasing lifting capacity and other performance changes. In the case of single-engine failure, the AW109 is intended to have a generous power reserve even on a single engine.
Size: 3353px × 2299px
Location: Silverstone Circuit, Towcester, UK
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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