AW169

AgustaWestland is set to establish a final assembly line for the new generation twin-engine AW169 helicopter at its facility at Northeast Philadelphia Airport in the US.

The first Philadelphia-built AW169 rotorcraft will be placed into the final assembly in May 2014 and will be delivered to the first customer in early-2015.

The new final assembly line is expected to ramp up production to around 20 aeroplanes per annum by 2017, according to AgustaWestland.

In addition, the new AW169 production line, which will feature advanced manufacturing concepts, can be upgraded to accommodate production escalations based on market demand.

AgustaWestland’s existing facilities in Vergiate, Italy and Yeovil, UK, will play key roles in the manufacturing activities for the AW169 programme.

AgustaWestland Philadelphia CEO William Hunt said the arrival of the AW169 production line would secure and create jobs in Philadelphia and within the company’s supply chain in North America.

"We have been in Philadelphia for over 30 years and have realised tremendous growth in servicing and supporting the commercial helicopter market over the past ten years," Hunt said.

To date, more than 80 AW169 helicopters have been ordered for a wide range of missions such as corporate transport, air ambulance, law enforcement, utility and offshore transport.

"We have been in Philadelphia for over 30 years and have realised tremendous growth in servicing and supporting the commercial helicopter market over the past ten years."

The AW169 is a 10,000lb new-generation twin engine light intermediate category helicopter, which features a spacious cabin that can seat up to ten passengers.

AgustaWestland stated that the AW169 was on schedule to achieve civil certification in 2014.

The AW169 is part of the AgustaWestland’s family of new-generation helicopters that includes the AW139 and AW189 models.

AgustaWestland Philadelphia is the US division of AgustaWestland and operates out of a 275,000ft² facility, employing more than 560 people.

The facility features final assembly lines for the AW119Kx and AW139 helicopters, a parts supply depot for the Americas and a fully approved Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) repair station.

It also provides helicopter customisation and maintenance services for customer aircraft and has a delivery centre for AW109 Power and GrandNew aircraft.


Image: AgustaWestland stated that the first Philadelphia-built AW169 rotorcraft will be placed into the final assembly in May 2014. Photo: courtesy of AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica Company.

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