The Agusta
A109 is a helicopter manufactured by Agusta (now AgustaWestland) of
Italy. It is a light-weight, twin engine, eight seat multi-purpose
helicopter.
In the late 1960s Agusta designed the A109A as a single-engined
commercial helicopter. It was soon realised that a twin-engined design
was needed and it was re-designed in 1967 with two Allison 250-C14
turboshaft engines.
A projected
military version (the A109B) was not developed and the company
concentrated on the eight-seat version the A109C. The first of three
prototypes first flew on the 4 August 1971.
A long
protracted development then followed and the first production aircraft
was not completed until April 1975. Delivery of production machines
started in early 1976. The aircraft soon became a success and was soon
used for roles other than as a light transport including as an air
ambulance and search-and-rescue. In 1975 Agusta returned again to the
possibility of a military version and trials were carried out between
1976 and 1977 with five A109As fitted with Hughes Aircraft TOW
missiles. Two military versions were then developed, one for light
attack or close support and another for naval operations.
A-109 Specifications |
Type |
Light Utility
Helicopter |
Manufacturer |
Augusta Westland |
Accommodation |
1/2 pilots and 6/7
passengers |
Armament |
Rocket launcher 7/12/19 tubes 70/81mm, Twin
machine gun-pod 7.62mm, Machine gun-pod 12.7/20mm, Machine gun-pod 12.7mm
with 3 tubes 70 mm rockets, Antitank missiles (TOW, HOT or Hellfire),
Air-to-air missiles (Stinger or Mistral) |
Performance |
Cruise speed 290km/h |
Main Rotor Diameter |
11m |
Length |
13m |
Height |
3.5m |
Weight |
max take off weight 3000kg, weight empty
1663kg |
Powerplant |
Two Turbomeca Arrius 2K-2 producing a max of
711shp (530kw) each |