Agusta A 109 Hirundo

The Agusta A 109 is a light-duty, twin-engined helicopter developed for civilian use. It features seating for eight, as well as retractable landing gear. The nickname "Hirundo" ("swallow") was dropped early in production. Its commercial success resulted in the helicopter being adapted for use as an air ambulance, SAR aircraft, light freight carrier, and limited military development.

The Agusta A109 Power is the latest (1997) civilian version. It has a crew of one and can carry seven passengers with limited cargo. The helicopter burns 31.2 gallons of jet fuel per hour of routine usage. A full tank of fuel costs $480.

Agusta A109 Power

Subassemblies: Body +4, Top-and-tail rotor +0, two fixed Skids +0.

Powertrain: Two 500-kW Improved gas turbines; 1,000-kW Improved TTR drivetrain, 2,300-kWs advanced battery.

Fuel: 160 gallons jet fuel (Fire 13) in light self-sealing tank [Body] (fire +0).

Occupancy: 1 NCS, 7 NPS.

Cargo: 330 lbs. [Body].

Armor F RL B T U

All: 3/5 3/5 3/5 3/5 3/5

Equipment:

Body: Civilian Helicopter Package (autopilot, GPS, long-range radio (300 miles), navigation instruments, 1-mile searchlight, transponder), 8-man environmental control, duplicate controls.

Statistics:

Size: 37'x25'x11' Payload: 1.4 tons Lwt.: 3.1 tons

Volume: 348 cf Maint.: 16 hours Price: $6,300,000

HT: 12. HPs: 223 Body, 99 Rotors, 20 each Wheel.

aSpeed: 193 aAccel: 5 aDecel: 15 aMR: 4 aSR: 2

Stall speed 0.

Design Notes:

Body is 348 cf; rotor is 6.96 cf; wheels are 17.4 cf. Structure is light, expensive with fair streamlining. Armor is standard composite. Mechanical controls. Fuel tank is light, seal-sealing. The helicopter can have a 3-cell fuel system holding 160 gallons, 4-cell holding 185 gallons, or a 5-cell system holding 221 gallons. The chassis was built to accommodate 221 gallons of fuel, but is given 160 gallons for use; this matches the real world endurance of 4 hours, 51 minutes nicely. Real world cabin volume is 181 cf; this makes seating slightly cramped at 26 cf per passenger. Empty weight is 3,494 lbs. Asking price for a 2008 model was $6,300,000. Maintenance interval was calculated from the design cost of $163,603.

Variants:

The A 109 (1971) was the initial version, and had only one engine rated at 515 kW.

The A 109A (1976) featured two 276-kW turboshafts. The Mk II was an upgraded version.

The A 109B was an unbuilt military version.

The A 109C featured different engines. The A109C MAX was an aeromedical evacuation version.

The A 109D was a single prototype.

The A 109E Power was another civilian upgrade. The A 109E Power Elite features a larger cabin and is operated by the RAF.

The A 109LUH is the military version of the M109E Power.

The MH-68A Stingray is an A 109E Power variant operated by the U.S. Coast Guard. 8 built.

The A 109K is a military version; the M109K2 has been modified for high-altitude and high temperature operations.

The A 109M is the military version. The -KM is for high altitudes/temperatures; the -KN is the naval version, the -CM is the standard military version, the -GdiF is for the Italian Finance Guard, and the -BA is for the Belgian army. Armament for the military versions can include a 12.7mm MG with 250 rounds in a pod, a pintle-mounted 7.62mm MG, a door-mounted 12.7mm MG, two TOW missile launchers, 81mm rocket pods with 7-12 tubes, or a rocket/MG pod with three 70mm rockets and a 12.7mm MG with 200 rounds.

The A 109S Grand is a civilian version with a lengthened cabin.

The CA 109 is a Chinese version manufactured under license.

From the Aerodrome for GURPS