Leonardo celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first flight of the A109 helicopter, an iconic product that has allowed Italy to become one of the few nations in the world that can boast the presence of a manufacturer with independent capacity for the design, development and production of helicopters capable of achieving great success on the national and international market.
It was the August 4th, 1971 when the Agusta A109 took off for the first time. The A109 was born from the request of Bruno Lovera, responsible for the design and construction of some helicopter models of the then Agusta SpA. The first flight took place only two and a half years after the first feasibility studies, piloted by Ottorino Lancia. It is a twin-engine 8-seater multi-role helicopter with a four-blade articulated main rotor, a two-blade semi-rigid tail rotor and retractable landing gear, and immediately showed extraordinary flight qualities and maneuverability. The 2,4 ton helicopter was certified both in Italy and in the United States 4 years later and marketed in 1976.
The product became an instant success and was used in many roles beyond light transport, such as air ambulance and search and rescue. This has allowed the company to also enter the American helicopter market, highly competitive, where it was able to benefit from the construction of the Philadelphia logistics center, destined to become over the years the headquarters of Leonardo's industrial presence in the helicopter field in the USA for production, support and training services in the rotary wing sector .
From that moment on, the unstoppable and constant growth of the company began in the demanding world market of light twin-engine helicopters with multiple versions and newly certified models for the widest range of civil, public utility and military applications. Among the new models in the 3-ton category the most popular Power e Tall, as well as the most recent GrandNew e Trekker, without considering the more customized military and government variants such as LUH e Nexus.
Over time, Leonardo has progressively introduced increasingly cutting-edge digital avionics, more spacious cabins, new dynamic components, new engines and all the main landing gear options (fixed, retractable, skid), reaching an overall number ranging from over 1600 light twin-engine helicopters sold in 50 years in over 50 countries on all continents for missions in all weather/environmental conditions, both on land and at sea.
