AW 149

[leopold bloom]

The AW149 Performs Its First Flight | AgustaWestland (http://www.agustawestland.com/news/aw149-performs-its-first-flight)

[lost horizon]

It's a wind up, nobody is called Guiseppe LeCoco :O :)

[helimarshaller]

It's a wind up, nobody is called Guiseppe LeCoco

Have you tried Google? You might be surprised.

[Shawn Coyle]

He's a very nice guy - nickname is Pino. Consumate gentleman.
I flew with him on the AW139 long before it was released to the public.

[lost horizon]

Yeah, I know, I was trying to be funny. I promise never to do it again, sorry Leo :(

[malabo]

Nice development of the AW139. 18 troops plus the two pilots. Did they stretch the cabin lengthways for an extra row or sideways to get six across?

New transmission and drivetrain must mean the current AW139 drivetrain is at its limit, so 6800kg is where it ends. The 149 takes it to 8000kg. GE engines finally, I wonder if the fuel burn will be the same as the P&W while carrying the extra ton.

Turkish mountain work qualification should guarantee good Cat A performance at sea level.

Mini Puma, only one seat less than what the S92 and EC225 offer. If they can bring it to the civilian world for less than 20mil they'll clean up the offshore market.

[noooby]

From the looks of the cabin config pictures, it looks like they have pushed the back row of seats into the area where the fuel cells are on the 139, so they now have 4 rows in the cabin. Makes me wonder where the fuel is now?
I remember asking about fixing the tyre wear problem on the 139 a few years back, and was told they wouldn't because they were working on a new main gear for the 149, and were looking at transferring it across to the 139, solving the problem. We'll see if that will happen!
I hope they certify it and sell to civil operators.
Would basically be an AW139B. No more 6 foot long exhaust either!!

[tottigol]

The Mock-up for the Turkish tactical utility helicopter program shows an extra row of windows where the refuelling receptacle is normally located, that may indicate a relocation of the fuel tanks to gain that extra space back, however that feature is not present in the configuration prototype.
A close look at the pictures in the first flight brochure shows a nice flowing curve along the "chine" below the window line, no more ugly boxlike structure and a complete yet subtle redesign of the fuselage that increases lateral space.
Also the window behind the pilots is larger, that space being stretched due to the requirements of protective armament installation for military use.
Larger (taller) sponsons to accomodate larger diameter MLG wheels are evident as well but not the new lightweight stabilizer, located on the port side only and further back than the current design.
I wonder how much it's going to be able to sling in real life.:ok:

I'd expect a few changes to the second ship and production airframes.

Nice, very nice altogether. I want one.