Pilots, crew of armed AW-109s to leave by last quarter of 2014 for flight training abroad

From the Philippine News Agency (Aug 27): Pilots, crew of armed AW-109s to leave by last quarter of 2014 for flight training abroad

The pilots and crew of the two armed AgustaWestland AW-109 "Power" helicopters, which are scheduled to be delivered by January 2015, will leave for their flight training in Italy by the last quarter of 2014.

This was revealed by Navy public affairs office chief Lt. Cmdr. Marineth Domingo in a message to the Philippines News Agency Tuesday evening.

"The pilots (and the aircrew) will leave for their training by the last quarter of the year (2014)," she said.

Training will take place at AgustaWestland facility at Cesto Calende, Italy.

The two armed AW-109s are part of the five helicopters contract from AgustaWestland inked by the Department of National Defense (DND) last year. The contract is worth Php 1.33 billion.

Three of the planes were delivered on Dec. 8 and commissioned on Dec. 20 last year.

The AW-109 is a three-ton class, eight-seat helicopter powered by two Pratt and Whitney PW206C engines.

The spacious cabin is designed to be fitted with a number of modular equipment packages for quick and easy conversion between roles.

The aircraft’s safety features include a fully separated fuel system, dual hydraulic boost system, dual electrical systems and redundant lubrication and cooling systems for the main transmission and engines.

The AW-109 has established itself as the world’s best selling light-twin helicopter for maritime missions.

Its superior speed, capacity and productivity combined with reliability and ease of maintenance make it the most cost-effective maritime helicopter in its class.

For shipboard operations, the aircraft has a reinforced-wheeled landing gear and deck mooring points as well as extensive corrosion protection measures.

The ability to operate from small ships in high sea state enables the AW-109 to perform its mission when many other helicopters would be confined to the ship’s hangar.

Over 550 AW-109 "Power" and AW-109 light utility helicopters have been ordered for commercial, parapublic and military applications by customers in almost 50 countries.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=677090