Hello TT. Here is some relevant history re the two aircraft.
In 1974,SA Exec VP Jack McKenna was heading up a team to come up with a smaller helicopter for Gulf of Mexico oil rig support and VIP Markets. He took a small group ( incl yours truly as evaluation pilot ) to Italy to fly and evaluate the A-109, which was in flight test, with the thought being to possibly build it under license*. It still had a few flight technical issues to resolve,but nothing disqualifying. There were a couple of other things that were noted: 1) the cabin size. With me sitting opposite McKenna in the back, our knees were inside each other’s. The implication for VIP usage,not to mention the oil rig mission was obvious; 2) The rotor heads design was S-58/S-61 technology ( Augusta was building the naval version of the S-61 under license ), and SA was already doing the next step in that area with the new elastomeric MR head with titanium spar blades and composite TR on the UTTAS ( UH-60 ). Later on, the decision to go with an internal design for the S-76,incorporating a larger cabin and the new rotor technologies, was made.
*Not withstanding the design aspects of the 109, the level of presentation briefs and hospitality accorded by the Agusta folks was simply impressive.
Well, that was 46 years ago, and things have certainly changed since then, haven’t they.
Last edited by JohnDixson; 21st Apr 2020 at 03:09.
Reason: Corrected for 76 TR