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Leonardo AW139

2003 MODERN AIRCRAFT

Leonardo AW139 History

The AgustaWestland model AW139 is a modern, medium lift, multipurpose/multipurpose rotor product supplied by the Italian group for military and civilian service. The product was first born through an Italian-American joint venture, when AgustaWestland and Bell teamed up to form Bell/Agusta Aerospace and developed the "AB139" to replace Bell's venerable - albeit already Aging - UH-1 "Huey" family provides transportation.

When Bell pulled out of the program, the product was renamed the AW139 and was a huge market success, with more than 700 units sold by 2013. The first flight of the prototype took place on February 3, 2001, and the AW139 was officially introduced to the AgustaWestland product line in 2003.

With its military/civilian oriented design approach, the AW139 has proven useful in a variety of roles - it has been configured for search and rescue (SAR), VIP transport, general personnel transport, offshore platform personnel transport and border patrol, Maritime support, police, fire brigade and coast guard. The military operators are Cyprus, Egypt, Estonia, Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, Malta, Nigeria, Panama, Qatar, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Civilian operators include Australia, Canada, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the United States.

The AB139/AW139 program began in 1997 and evolved into a joint partnership with Bell the following year. The program also spawned the development of the BA609, a civilian-focused tilt-rotor passenger passenger concept.

From the looks of it, the AW139 is clearly an AgustaWestland design, with its low-set nose assembly, large window glass, and high-mounting beam. The two engines are housed in a compartment above the passenger cabin, with the two-person cockpit usually in the front.

Sliding doors allow passengers to board and eject as needed, while automotive-style hinged doors control pilot boarding and egress. The main rotor is located on the low mast and is made of five-blade composite material. The tail rotor is four-bladed and pointed to starboard.

The landing gear is fully retractable and includes a pair of single-wheel main legs and a two-wheel front leg.

Inside, the pilot position features dual controls, and the instrument panel is dominated by four large full-colour customisable information screens separated by a fifth central management screen. The seats themselves are separated by a center console with additional controls. The visibility from the cockpit is excellent as the design of the AW139 consists mainly of windows.

The cabin can be set up to accommodate up to 15 people, while the interior layout can be set up to accommodate medical waste, rescue lifts or other mission-related systems, depending on the customer's preference.

The AW139 is powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6C-67C turboshaft engines, each producing 1,530 hp, powering both a five-blade main rotor and a four-blade tail rotor. The advertised top speed is 193 mph and the range is up to 570 miles.

The helicopter supports service ceilings up to 20,000 feet and has a climb rate of 2,140 feet per minute.

The AW139 has since offered a number of important noteworthy variants, starting with the original AB139 model, 54 of which were produced under the joint AgustaWestlant/Bell label. After Bell left the 55th fuselage, the product came under the modified "AW139" designation. A sub-variant of the brand turns into a new "long nose" form with an extended nose assembly to accommodate additional avionics. The fully militarized form of the AW139 subsequently became the "AW138M", which was adopted by the Italian Air Force as the SAR-oriented HH-139A.

The VIP brand is called VH-139A. Further production of the AW139 will now come from the Italian-Russian joint venture (licensed) in Tomilino, Russia.

The successful AW139 influenced two other famous AgustaWestland products - the AW149 and the AW189. The AW149 is marketed to military customers as a medium lift helicopter (no customers as of October 2013), while the AW189 is a similar medium lift system but for the civilian passenger market (under development as of October 2013).

AgustaWestland is also developing a smaller AW169 passenger model and supporting its eventual military attack platform, the Italian Army's A129 "Mangusta".

Qatar operates a fleet of 21 AW139s through its Emir Air Force Division, making it one of the largest foreign operators of its type.