AgustaWestland announces the maiden flight of the first A119 Koala single-PT6-powered utility helicopter to be manufactured in Agusta Aerospace’s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, plant. The company announced in early 2004 that it would move production of the Koala to the U.S. and opened the assembly line in October. The 1,000-hp, 1.4-ton-payload Koala has been a successful product in the U.S., selling to the Department of Homeland Security and other law enforcement agencies, and moving the assembly line increases the helicopter’s U.S. content.
