The AgustaWestland AW139 is a 15-seat medium-sized twin-engined helicopter developed and built by AgustaWestland (now part of Leonardo). It is marketed at several different roles, including VIP/corporate transport, offshore transport, fire fighting, law enforcement, search and rescue, emergency medical service, disaster relief, and maritime patrol.
In 1997, the Italian helicopter manufacturer Agusta launched a programme to develop a replacement for the Bell Huey family of helicopters (which had been built in very large numbers by Bell Helicopter and under license by Agusta). A potential market of 900 aircraft was predicted. In 1998, Bell and Agusta entered into an agreement setting up a joint venture, Bell/Agusta Aerospace Company (BAAC), to develop two aircraft: a conventional helicopter and a tiltrotor aircraft. These became the Bell/Agusta AB139 and Bell/Agusta BA609 respectively. Bell was to be the leading partner for the development of the BA609 while Agusta would be the lead partner for the AB139; it was intended for production, sales, and support to be shared.
On 26 September 2000, the first order for the type was placed by Bristow Helicopters. The first preproduction helicopter flew on 3 February 2001 at Vergiate in Italy, with two further AW139s also participating in flying trials. The first production AW139 made its first flight on 24 June 2002.[9] European JAA certification was received in June 2003, and its FAA type certificate followed in December 2004. By May 2005, the AW139 had received in excess of 100 orders worldwide. In the US, the type was marketed under the designation US139, and was entered into the US Army's Light Utility Helicopter competition. One key market for the AW139 was the oil and gas industry, which required helicopters of increased endurance for offshore operations. In 2005, AgustaWestland bought out Bell's 25% share in the program and all of its rights to the AW139 for $95 million.
In April 2008, AgustaWestland revealed that it was in the process of certifying an increase in the AW139's max gross weight to 14,991 lb (6,800 kg) to better compete in long-range markets served by helicopters such as the larger Sikorsky S-92 and Eurocopter EC225. In 2007, a second production line at the United States AgustaWestland Aerospace plant in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was established; the Philadelphia plant produced its 200th AW139 in September 2014, at which point U.S. production was intended to reach 40 units per year in the near future. By 2011, AgustaWestland was producing 90 AW139s per year; 9.5% of the company's overall revenue in 2010 was attributed to the type. By 2013, a combined total of 720 AW139s had been sold to over 200 operators in 60 different countries.
The AW139 is a conventional twin-engine multi-role helicopter. It has a five-bladed fully articulated main rotor with a titanium hub and composite blades and a four-bladed articulated tail rotor. It is fitted with retractable tricycle landing gear, the two aft wheels retracting into external sponsons which are also used to house emergency equipment. It is flown by a crew of two pilots, with up to 15 passengers accommodated in three rows of five. The AW139 had been aimed at a vacant niche in the market, sitting below larger types such as the Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma and Sikorsky S-92, and above smaller ones like the Bell 412 and Eurocopter EC155. Rotor & Wing has described the AW139's flying attitude as 'docile and predictable'.
The AW139 is powered by two FADEC-controlled Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6C turboshaft engines; the FADEC system seamlessly adjusts the engines for pilot convenience and passenger comfort, and can automatically handle a single-engine failure without noticeable deviation. It was constructed with maintenance requirements in mind; critical systems can be readily accessed, where possible the number of parts has been reduced, and many components have been designed for an extended lifecycle; a Health and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS) is also equipped. More than a thousand customizable items of equipment can be configured per customer demand, including auxiliary fuel tanks, rescue hoists, cargo hooks, search and weather radar, ice protection systems, external cameras and searchlights, and seating arrangements.
General characteristics
* Crew: one or two
* Capacity: up to 15 passengers, depending on configuration
* Length: 16.66 m (54 ft 8 in)
* Width: 2.26 m (10 ft 0 in)
* Height: 4.98 m (16 ft 4 in)
* Gross weight: 6,400 kg (14,110 lb) ; 7,000 kg (15,000 lb) for 7 t version
* Fuel capacity: 1568 liter (414 USgal)
* Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6C-67C turboshaft engine , 1,142 kW (1,531 hp) each
* Main rotor diameter: 13.80 m (45 ft 3 in)
Performance
* Maximum speed: 310 km/h (193 mph, 167 kn)
* Cruise speed: 306 km/h (191 mph, 165 kn)
* Range: 1,061 km (659 mi, 573 nmi)
* Endurance: 5 hours 13 minutes
* Service ceiling: 6,096 m (20,000 ft)
* Rate of climb: 10.9 m/s (2,140 ft/min)