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AgustaWestland unveils new Grand development
By: Thierry Dubois
Caption: AgustaWestland last month unveiled a special variant of the A109S Grand light twin, dubbed Da Vinci, with improved avionics.
Word Count: 165
AgustaWestland last month unveiled a special variant of the A109S Grand light twin, dubbed Da Vinci, with improved avionics. Launch customer Rega, Switzerland’s air rescue organization, has placed firm orders for 11 copies of the light-twin helicopter and has options for four more. The Da Vincis will succeed the agency’s A109K2s.Equipped for single-pilot VFR operations and specifically developed for Rega, the helicopter features a new cockpit developed by AgustaWestland. Avionics include a dual-duplex, four-axis, digital automatic flight control system, a 3-D synthetic vision and terrain awareness and warning system, a Euronav V digital map and a Max-Viz EVS 1000 enhanced-vision system. The cockpit is also compatible with night-vision goggles. Rega and Aerolite developed a special EMS interior for the helicopter.Rega launched its Da Vinci project to find “a light-twin aircraft capable of performing high-altitude rescue missions as well as the rapid hospital-to-hospital transfer of severely injured patients and provide them with specialized medical treatment in flight,” according to the manufacturer.