A109 with skids ?
Thread Starter
A109 with skids ?
Apologies for the spotterish question. A few day ago whilst in the Italian lakes area an Augusta (or is it Leonardo?) 109 flew over at around 300m and rather unusually it appeared to have skids underneath like a Bell 206 Jet Ranger. Maybe it had some kind of sensor array underneath and my eyes were playing tricks with me, but they did look awfully like skids to me. Has anyone seen similar, or is there a test frame knocking about ? I wasn't so far away from the factory in Vergiate
Last edited by SpringHeeledJack; 1st Nov 2017 at 08:43.
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Europe
Posts: 88
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
AW109 Trekker - DETAIL - Leonardo - Aerospace, Defence and Security
If the hight has been approx 300 meters could've easily been a Koala too.
Thread Starter
Thanks for the replies, I hadn't realised that the Koala was so popular in the US, I thought that the Bell 429 had that market segment sewn up. The Trekker that I saw was the yellow and blue one in the previous post, it flew above and just to the side of me, which made the skids visually ambiguous and made me doubt my eyes.
Should be certified in 2018. Basically a 109S airframe with skids and better glass cockpit/simplified electrical system.
It was supposed to be Garmin 1000, but that changed to Genesis I believe, which delayed the certification.
There is also a 109E on skids in Cascina Costa with a fenestron. But it hasn't moved for more than 10 years.
It was supposed to be Garmin 1000, but that changed to Genesis I believe, which delayed the certification.
There is also a 109E on skids in Cascina Costa with a fenestron. But it hasn't moved for more than 10 years.
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Below Escape Velocity
Posts: 416
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I have a friend too.
I can even release the name: "Leonardo's public website"
Thanks for the replies, I hadn't realised that the Koala was so popular in the US, I thought that the Bell 429 had that market segment sewn up. The Trekker that I saw was the yellow and blue one in the previous post, it flew above and just to the side of me, which made the skids visually ambiguous and made me doubt my eyes.
NYPD recently replaced their A119s with Bell 429s, and seem content. Would have been more logical to change the 119s to 109s, but perhaps they wanted an all Bell fleet, as they operate a few 412s?
Nope, they wanted skids. If the 109 Trekker was ready, they probably would have gone with it over the 429.
Their RFP specifically said that the helicopter must be skid equipped.
Their RFP specifically said that the helicopter must be skid equipped.