AgustaWestland's new AW189 helicopter completes maiden flight
The aircraft was launched at the Paris Air Show earlier this year and this first prototype made its maiden flight ahead of schedule. The company aims to achieve civil certification for the AW189 in 2013 and to start deliveries in early 2014.
The twin engine AW189 - which is optimised for long range offshore transport and SAR missions - was flown by AgustaWestland Chief Test Pilot Giuseppe Lo Coco at the company’s Cascina Costa plant in Italy. It performed as expected during a 45-minute trial that also included an assessment of the helicopter’s general handling and basic systems. The first prototype will be used for avionic system testing and certification of offshore equipment options, while the second prototype, set to fly in 2012, will be dedicated to a load survey programme.
Bruno Spagnolini, Chief Executive Officer, AgustaWestland, said: “Performing the first flight of the new AW189 just a few months after its launch highlights our strong commitment to providing the market with the most advanced helicopters in the shortest possible timescales. We are delighted with the initial response from the market with a number of leading operators having already committed to buy the AW189 for long range offshore missions.” He went on to say “We are confident as we progress towards certification and production that many more operators will select the AW189 as their new generation helicopter for Search and Rescue, offshore transport and parapublic missions due to its long-range capabilities, attractive operating costs and modern safety features.”
The all new AW189 was launched this year in response to the growing market demand for a multirole helicopter in the 8-tonne class and has rapidly achieved market success. A number of sales have already been secured from leading operators serving the offshore oil and gas markets, including Bristow Helicopters, Bel Air, and Weststar Aviation Services. The AW189 is part of AgustaWestland’s family of new generation helicopters that includes the AW169 and AW139 models. These helicopters all possess the same high performance flight characteristics and safety features and share the same common cockpit layout, design philosophy and maintenance concepts. This approach will deliver real cost savings for operators in areas such as training, maintenance and support. Existing operators of the AW139 will benefit from this design and capability commonality.
The AW189 will benefit from AgustaWestland's worldwide support network already serving the offshore oil and gas industry and a range of simulator and training devices will progressively be made available to serve the worldwide AW189 customer base.
