Story ID: 361
AW139 Fleet Tops 2 Million Flight Hours
By: Mark Huber
Caption: The helicopter has been in service since 2004.
Word Count: 175

The worldwide Leonardo AW139 fleet has amassed two million flight hours. Nearly 900 of the medium twin helicopters are in service in 80 countries worldwide with the fleet leader logging over 12,000 hours. Development began in 1997 as a joint venture with Bell, and the AW139 received FAA certification approval in 2004. Bell exited the joint venture in 2005.

Since the model's introduction, the airframer has added equipment and capabilities. Maximum takeoff weight increased to 15,432 pounds, enabling enhanced offshore Cat. A procedures. Maintenance time has been reduced by 30 percent. The AW139 is equipped with a 60-plus-minute run dry main gearbox and optional systems including limited and full icing protection and the obstacle proximity lidar system. Avionics suite update releases have included ADS-B Out, TCAS II, EGPWS, and WAAS/LPV. 

Leonardo (Booth C3225) has established a reliability data sharing group and published a flight crew operations manual. Since 2004, 5,300 pilots and 7,700 technicians have trained on the AW139, logging 150,000 simulator hours to date. 

, full_html