With no new order announcements expected, Bell/Augusta Aerospace Company"s principal goal this week will be to convince NBAA Convention attendees that its new $7.5- $8 million AB139 medium twin helicopter program is viable.
"Deliveries of the AB139 have begun. This is not a paper aircraft as our competitors contend," said a confident Louis P. Bartolotta, managing director for the jv between Bell Helicopter and Agusta.
In mid-September, the second production AB139 was delivered to the government of Namibia, which plans to use it for utility and emergency medical transportation. The first customer AB139 was delivered in December 2003 to Elilario, an Italian helicopter public transport company. Three more AB139s will be delivered by the end of this year, and a "significant number of deliveries" are expected in 2005, according Bartolotta. The present order book stands at 80 aircraft, of which 35% are from unnamed corporate operators, he added.
In a pre-NBAA interview, Bartolotta updated ShowNews on the AB139 program and FAA certification that is expected in the fourth quarter of 2004. The FAA had just completed hot-and-high trials of the No.2 pre-production aircraft in Palm Springs, Calif. and Colorado, respectively, and will not be on display in Las Vegas. Successful completion of the trials will lead to full FAA Category A (Class I) public transport performance. The AB139 has already received IFR type certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
Bartolotta said the AB139 is an ideal replacement for the 3,000 medium twin helicopters that are nearing retirement. Of that number, Bell/Augusta expects to capture one-third of the market.
Touted for its exceptional power-to-weight ratio and high-speed capability, the AB139 may have many applications as a vehicle for EMS, offshore shuttle, VIP transport, law enforcement and paramilitary services. It has been selected by the Integrated Coast Guard Systems for its Deepwater Program.
With a 167 kts maximum cruise speed at sea level and long-range capability (400 nmi standard, 500 nmi with auxiliary tank), the AB139 may eventually generate significant attention from the offshore oil and gas industry, claimed Bartolotta, although sales for that market, as well as law enforcement, have diminished lately.
But competition from other OEMs and continued cost-cutting by companies that are just beginning to improve economically may for now slow civil sales of the AB139. Even record high oil prices have done little to stimulate sales of rotorcraft, according to one assessment.
"The AB139 looks like a very solid performer, but it will need to gouge out its market share at the expense of two established players, the [Sikorsky] S-76C+ and [Eurocopter] EC 155," opined The Teal Group"s Richard L. Aboulafia. "Fortunately for Bell/Agusta, the Coast Guard Deepwater requirement should lift them out of this dismal corporate market. But until then, sales of the AB139 could be slow, despite the aircraft"s impressive competitiveness." According to the Teal Group"s Rotorcraft Report, 385 turbine-powered helicopters worth $1.2 billion were delivered in 2003.
Ultimately, final assembly for the AB139 will take place on dual production lines in Cascina Costa, Italy and Amarillo, Texas. The Amarillo facility will produce a limited number of aircraft in 2005, ramping up to an as-yet-undetermined annual production rate in three years. Completion and delivery of the first aircraft assembled in Amarillo is slated for the first quarter of 2006.
The AB139 is powered by two 1,679 shp Pratt & Whitney PT6C-67Cs with FADEC. Honeywell Primus Epic avionics with four large flat-panel displays and four-axis digital autopilot come as standard. Options include night vision goggle and deicing capability, which is expected to be approved in 2007.
