HPB
No I don’t fly the 109E, but I have been looking at the possibility of using one in West Africa, so I do have a copy of the Flight Manual and I have been talking to Agusta and a number of operators of the type. This leads me to question the figures you are quoting of the aircraft starting to limit on performance from 24 degrees Celsius. According to the A109E RFM, Supplement 12 (Category A Operation) the aircraft can be operated at sea level at its max gross weight of 2850 kg from a clear area up to 37 degrees, from a short field up to 32 degrees and from a helipad up to 28 degrees. In fact, at a normal day time temperature of 30 degrees in that part of the world, it can still take off from an elevated helipad at 2800 kg. They all seem pretty impressive figures compared with many of the helicopters being operated in the region.
I also understand that the modification for an increase in MAUW to 3,000 kg involves a small structural modification and changing the 3 undercarriage legs, at a cost of around $150,000, which I agree is not that cheap. It does then give a max gross weight close to that of the Grande (Agusta tell me it’s not an A109 Grande, just a Grande because it’s a different aircraft – rather like one mustn’t call a Lexus a Toyota I guess!!).
I’ve seen other operators try and set up in competition to the big two (OLOG/Bristow and CHC/Aero) in Nigeria and fail, either because they tried to go head to head with them or because their operations were badly set up and funded. From what you say, Caverton actually seem to be trying to do a proper job if they’re spending the money you quote. As`SASless and NEO say, there are a number of very wealthy corporations and individuals in that part of the world, so if they’re trying something different to tap into that section of the market, maybe they can actually make it work. If so, good luck to them I say, and I hope they succeed.