Leonardo AW169 Medium Twin Helo Gets FAA Nod

With FAA approval now in hand, Leonardo Helicopters said that deliveries of AW169s to U.S. customers will begin this year. The medium twin helicopter received its inaugural approval from EASA in July 2016.
(Photo: Leonardo Helicopters)

The Leonardo Helicopters AW169 has received validation by the FAA, with deliveries to U.S.-based customers slated to begin this year, the company announced today. This approval follows EASA certification of the new medium twin helicopter by seven months.

 

To date, more than 20 AW169s have been delivered to customers around the world for applications that include emergency medical service, executive/private transport, utility, offshore transport and wind farm support.

The 10,140-pound/4.6-metric-ton helicopter features a pair of 1,000-shp Pratt & Whitney Canada PW210A engines and Rockwell Collins glass-panel touchscreen avionics with four-axis digital automatic flight control system and dual flight management systems.

 

AW169s are also equipped with a variable-speed main rotor, which improves efficiency and reduces external noise, and the helicopter is the first in its category entering the market with electrically actuated retractable landing gear. Top cruising speed is 155 knots and maximum range is 431 nm. The 222-cu-ft cabin can accommodate seven to 10 passengers.

All AW169s are being delivered from Leonardo’s plant in Vergiate, Italy. A planned second AW169 assembly line at the company's Philadelphia facility, which was slated to open late last year, is indefinitely on hold, a spokeswoman told AIN. The company has signed agreements—orders and options—for more than 150 of the medium twins, she said.

(Chad Trautvetter - AINOnline News)