June 1, 2000
Pilot
Report
Agusta’s A119 Koala: A Breed Apart
Despite the Koala’s cute and cuddly name, Agusta’s
latest transport/utility helicopter is shaping up to be the world’s most
powerful light single.
by Ron Bower, Reporting from
THE FIRST TIME I SAW THE Agusta A119 Koala was on
static display at the Paris Air Show in 1995. My reaction then was that the
powerful 1,000+ horsepower engine, combined with a fast, proven and roomy
airframe, should be a slam-dunk success in the light single-engine market.
In late March of this year, I visited Agusta’s Cascina Costa headquarters outside
I must confess up front that I have carried an incorrect perspective on Agusta for many years. I negatively viewed the Italian
airframe manufacturer, with its A109 series, as a token, one-pretty-product
player in the world helicopter market, with limited production capability, and
a disorganized approach to product support and marketing. I was dead wrong, and
I suspect many others are, as well.
I have visited the facilities of most major helicopter manufacturers:
For four full days, I had the opportunity to explore one of the best-kept
secrets in the industry: the often-underestimated technical competence of Agusta. I found the highly vertically integrated company to
be well managed, under the capable leadership of chairman and CEO Amedeo Caporaletti. In six plant
sites in
Horizontally, the company has filled nearly all major product niches,
employing a strategic alliance of cooperative risk sharing with other
manufacturers. In addition to their own popular A109Power light twin, the folks
at Agusta have joint products that include the AB139
in the four- to six-ton twin class; the NH90 (with Eurocopter
and Fokker) in the nine- to 10-ton class; the EH101 (with GKN Westland) in the
14- to 15-ton class; plus the Bell/Agusta Aerospace BA609
commercial tiltrotor.
Agusta’s technical capabilities have earned
respect from "competitors" who have now become partners. Agusta is following a well-planned course, charted by Caporaletti, to break into new markets. Clearly, Caporaletti has assembled a first-rate engineering and
design team. During a luncheon with Caporaletti, I
personally witnessed how his tight-knit team is held together and inspired by
his hard-driving, but charming, personality.
Agusta probably leads the industry in experience in
working with other competitive manufacturers, and thus seems very comfortable
in doing so. In 1954, Agusta entered into a licensing
agreement to manufacture the
Preflight briefing
The company’s production facilities look like an HAI convention, with six or
seven different models evident in various stages of buildup or upgrade modification.
However, the main purpose of my visit was to get to know the A119 Koala,
which is expected to receive FAA certification this summer, and to conduct the
first pilot report on an example of an early production aircraft.
My demonstration test pilot was Guiseppe Lo Coco,
an affable Italian Air Force veteran who knew the Koala inside and out—the
result of his many certification test flights. After a thorough preflight
discussion and review of the flight manual, we worked out a weight and balance.
We would depart from Agusta’s facility at Cascina Costa, adjacent to
One of the first things I learned is that the Koala bucks common
manufacturing trends. Many manufacturers typically migrate from a popular
single-engine helicopter to a twin created by shoehorning a second engine into
what once was a single-engine airframe. Usually, this is done to catch the
yet-unproved safety benefit of a twin. Sometimes it works: Witness the
In the light helicopter ranks, this single-to-twin strategy usually provides
a lower useful load and shorter-legged version of the single. The second engine
drinks precious fuel while weighing about the same as the two displaced
passengers. Usually, the twin versions go to less powerful engines to conserve
both weight and fuel. In some cases, if you lose an engine, you just descend
slower during the emergency.
Agusta reverses the single-to-twin trend with the
Koala. The A119 is rather a downward migration from a popular and proven twin
airframe, the A109Power, to a single. As a result, the Koala enjoys the rare
advantage of gaining useful load and improving range over its twin-engine
cousin. The Koala also keeps the aerodynamically sleek body shape of the fast
A109, which helps make the A119 the largest, fastest and most powerful of the
light singles.
This twin-to-single migration gives the Koala another advantage: passenger
capacity. The Koala has a standard seating configuration for two-plus-six,
where the
The A119 Koala is designed to carry a 170-pound passenger in every seat and
a full standard fuel load of 160 gallons at more than 140 knots. The dollars
per seat-mile race is based on being able to make your target range. If you
have to off-load passengers to take on adequate fuel to make the distance, it
raises your costs per seat-mile.
The benefit of going faster is also an edge, since you will fly fewer hours
and thus have reduced hourly direct operating costs (DOCs).
These factors drive many decisions in dollars per seat-mile markets like
offshore petroleum.
In some VFR-only
The Koala keeps all of the A109 Power’s cabin and baggage spaces, and
flexible seating/litter configurations. The flat-floored cabin area is ideal
for cargo hauling. Everyone will like the Koala’s dual sliding doors, one on
each side of the cabin. With dual sliding doors standard, a costly add-on
feature is eliminated.
Dynamics and other features
The Koala boasts an improved titanium-composite main rotor head based on Agusta’s A129 Mangusta attack
helicopter. Each blade is attached to the head using a single elastomeric bearing that is maintenance free. The new rotor
head is smaller and produces less drag than the head on the A109Power.
The Koala’s four composite rotor blades are 35.5 feet in diameter, about six
inches shorter than the rotors on the A109 Power. The main rotor blades and
rotor head are "on-condition" components, without overhaul
requirements.
Another advantage of having a big-brother predecessor in the A109Power is
that most of the "wheels" already have been designed for optional
equipment, and the needed integral structural supports have been incorporated
into the fuselage at the factory. If you want to add a FLIR or SX-16
searchlight, the structural provisions are already there. The same goes for
cargo hooks, hoists, rappelling kits, floats, and the auxiliary fuel tanks.
The Koala doesn’t tuck its gear like the A109Power, nor does it have the
fixed wheel gear of the A109K-2. Instead, the A119 has a fixed skid landing gear
common to most singles. Belly height is comfortable for rough terrain landings
at about 21 inches above the ground.
Here again, the lower cost, lower maintenance and weight, and higher fuel
capacity than some new helicopters, typically are factors that drive the
decision to eliminate the folding undercarriage.
The tail boom baggage compartment is literally big enough to sleep in,
measuring 7.5 feet long with a volume of 33.5 cubic feet (more than twice that
of a
Making a good marriage
Probably one of the most important decisions a manufacturer must make is the
marriage-like selection of the right engine mate for an airframe. A bad
marriage can lead to market disaster for an otherwise good airframe. (Classic
examples include the Lycoming LTS-101 in the
Usually, the evolution of single-engine helicopters starts with grossly
underpowered engine mates. It’s also a general principal that helicopter types
become heavier over time. Thus the chase starts—trying to stay competitive with
"improved" versions, which nearly always means more powerful engines.
Of course, more powerful engines usually are useless without more powerful
transmissions, and maybe bigger tail rotors, unless you just want to spin
faster at higher altitudes and weights.
For a heralded and pleasant change, it looks to me like Agusta
got it right the first time out of the box with the Koala.
I believe Agusta made the perfect marriage with
the powerful and well-proven Pratt and Whitney PT6B-37A, which can produce
1,002 shaft horsepower for takeoff, and can run all day long at a max
continuous power of 872 shp. The PT6 family is a
favorite of pilots and mechanics for the
Known for reliability and minimal maintenance requirements, the PT6 has also
been the engine of choice in thousands of airplanes, namely the Raytheon King
Air 90, 200 and 300 series; Cessna Conquest I twin and Caravan single; the
Piper Cheyenne series; and the Swiss-built Pilatus PC-12, to name a few.
The PT6B turboshaft engine is also
The -37A version of the PT6B in the Koala presently has a TBO of 3,000
hours, with a pursuit program in place from which Agusta
expects the TBO to be increased to 3,500 hours.
The PT6B-37A needed a matched gearbox to handle the output for the Koala, so
Pratt hired Agusta to build it. Agusta
builds the main transmissions for its own aircraft and also for its strategic
partners, such as EH Industries, for the three-engine EH101.
Lighting the fire
A PT6B starts much like a Rolls-Royce Model 250-C20B: spool up to about 12%,
move the throttle to the start position, and just watch. The throttle on the
Koala is a typical twist grip on the collective, rather than a
hard-to-reach-when-you-are-really-busy ceiling or floor lever. The Koala
doesn’t have a FADEC; rather it has a less complicated Electronic Engine
Control (EEC) unit, which effectively minimizes engine droop and surge during
rapid high-power application.
The Koala transmission comes straight from the A109Power, and like the
Power, can handle 900 shp for both takeoff and
continuous power. After a 900 shp max takeoff, you
only have to reduce engine power 3% to its maximum continuous cruise power of
872 shp. As with most other PT6 engines, if you want
to go to economy cruise you can lower the collective a little more, sacrifice a
few knots and stretch your range and endurance.
The Koala’s modular fuel system is exactly like that of the A109Power. It is
planned and designed for the easy addition (or removal) of one or two auxiliary
fuel tanks. The standard fuel capacity is 160 gallons in three cells below and
behind the aft cabin seats.
Two additional cells of 28 gallons (right) and 42 gallons (left) each can be
easily added, bringing the five-cell option to a total of 230 gallons. These
additional aux tanks do not use any cabin or baggage compartment space, but
rather fit in indentations behind the aft cabin seat.
Good visibility, no IFR
Currently, Agusta has no plans to get IFR
certification for the Koala. Certainly, some customers will want it: The cold
hard facts are that it is a tough financial justification for a manufacturer,
based on potential volumes, to secure IFR certification without losing your
shirt in the process. This is especially true when you are trying to hold down
the development cost of a new aircraft.
The Koala, being VFR only, has a much smaller instrument panel than the
A109. Other improvements in visibility include: chin windows, an additional
window low on the front doors, and a shorter nose than the A109 models. Pilot
visibility is excellent for all maneuvers.
IFR is a likely follow-on, probably by STC, from some courageous aftermarket
shop. The Koala inherited many of the subsystems directly from the
single-pilot, IFR-certified A109.
With dual Stabilization Augmentation Systems (SAS) and dual hydraulic
systems incorporated into the Koala as standard features, some of the hardware
tasks of getting IFR certification will be easier. This isn’t to say it will be
easy—just easier than having to design and certify a second hydraulic system.
Head-banging underestimation seems characteristic of IFR and autopilot
certification projects.
The instrument panel has an option to get an IIDS (Integrated Instrument
Display System) to monitor engine and system conditions with colorful,
easy-to-read displays. The Koala I flew had the electromechanical "boiler
gauges" that were familiarly comfortable with a good array of
caution/warning lights.
Prime performance
Expected maximum cruise for the A119 is 144 knots; and it will easily do it,
losing just a few knots from the wheel-tucked A109. High-altitude performance
at ISA boasts a hover in ground effect (HIGE) of 11,000 feet, and a hover out
of ground effect (HOGE) of a respectable 8,800 feet at a max gross weight of just
under 6,000 pounds. Service ceiling is 18,600 feet.
The ride and controllability is excellent. In stabilized steep banks of 45°
and 60°, the Koala was rock solid. Quick control response was obvious in all
flight regimes.
Autorotations were docile and stable at about a
2,000-fpm descent. Touchdown autos were interesting. When you level after the
flare, you accelerate due to the four degrees of forward mast tilt, which gives
you forward thrust. This gave us some ground run on the grass turf at Agusta’s Vergiate facility. I
expect that touchdown-auto techniques will improve as the Koala gets into
training environments, as happened with the
We performed a zero-airspeed height/ velocity test from 800 feet AGL. After
chopping the throttle and counting the required "one-thousand-one"
delay, I lowered the collective. By 400 feet AGL, we had an
airspeed of 70 knots with the rotor in the green.
Flight with SAS or hydraulic failures was not difficult. Both are dual
systems. Max performance takeoffs give you a new definition of
"maximum." The Koala can give you 900 horses that want to jump
straight up. All approach and takeoff maneuvers were typical.
By the way, the A119’s four-bladed rotor system turns in the same direction
as
The Koala is designed for controlled flight into more wind
than most operators are likely to encounter. You can land the Koala in
winds of 50 knots up to 45° off the nose; 40 knots in an arc from a left
quartering headwind to right rear tailwind; and 35 knots for a right crosswind.
Lo
Fitting into the marketplace
Make no mistake: Though manufactured in
With the largest standard light-single seating capacity (eight places), the
Koala should deliver the lowest seat-per-mile cost for people-hauling jobs such
as offshore. The large interior cabin will be a winner in the single-engine
With a sling load capability of 2,204 pounds, the Koala will be a good
lifter. In the "Why didn’t you think of that?" category, long-line
operators will wish for a left-seat, single-pilot option for easier collective
control when doing sling work. Some aftermarket STCs
will surely address that minor oversight in due time.
The standard base price of the Koala is $1.85 million. I expect law
enforcement and electronic newsgathering (ENG) customers to like the Koala,
since they like to hang lots of gear on their aircraft. The Koala’s big cabin,
fast speed, sliding doors on both sides, and engine power will make it
desirable for rescue and insertion missions. It wouldn’t even surprise me to
see military uses developed for the A119.
The speed, power, roominess, and smooth ride of the Koala will make it
attractive as an executive transport or private helicopter, though I doubt many
will be painted bright yellow, as it is in the factory. In my mind’s eye, I can
see many classy and pleasing paint schemes being applied to this beautiful
body.
If I sound like I’m truly impressed by the Koala, I am. Moreover, I gained
an overdue and new appreciation for Agusta and its
capabilities as a major player in the world helicopter market.
The A119 Koala has been a long time coming, but I think it will be worth the
wait. The challenge for Agusta will be whether or not
the company can build enough to meet the demand.