- 23 Mar 2023
- Chris Kjelgaard
- Engines - BizAv
The A119 Koala, known as the AW119 since the merger of Agusta and Westland in 2000, is essentially a single-engine derivative of the successful Agusta A109 turbine helicopter family, providing an economical solution for operators who require a powerful, light executive and utility platform.
An Agusta A119 Koala costs between $975k and $2.376m, according to JETNET data taken in Winter 2021. An individual helicopter’s fair market value will be specific to a variety of different factors, including its maintenance condition, how close the next major maintenance inspection or overhaul is, and the status of its many life-limited components. Therefore, the sale price of an Agusta A119 Koala remains something that is ultimately negotiated between buyers and sellers on a model-by-model basis.
The Agusta A119 Koala is attractive because it offers a more economical single-engine version of the A109 models while being a powerful, light turbine helicopter model for executive users. Some buyers may be tempted to look at the subsequent AW119Ke and Kx models, however, which offer a wide range of performance and comfort enhancements.
Ultimately, the A119 Koala broke new ground for Agusta, offering operators a successful blend of power and space with the economical approach of a single-engine turbine helicopter.
A119 Koala is the legacy aircraft in the A119-series of helicopters. Today’s version, the AW119Kx is at the cutting edge of the single-engine turbine market, according to Leonardo, and is powered by a Pratt & Whitney PT6B-37A engine. Leonardo also says it provides the most spacious cabin in its category. The avionics of the AW119 Kx are a particular selling point, with the Garmin G1000H providing synthetic vision, moving map, highway in the sky, and embedded obstacle/terrain avoidance system technology, all of which boost the pilot’s situational awareness and flight information. The Kx variant is also optionally available with Genesys Aerosystems full IFR avionics – the model recently became the world’s first single-engine helicopter to obtain FAA certification for IFR operations for several decades.
Agusta A119 Koala Helicopter Overview
By Gerrard Cowan - Editor, Aircraft Reviews
The A119 Koala from Agusta offers many of the benefits of the A109E Power in terms of space, multiple system redundancies and other considerations, but is much less expensive, appealing to customers who do not require the redundancy provided by two engines.
According to JETNET data, 98 units of the Agusta A119 Koala were produced before it was upgraded with a newer model on the production line.
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What features does the Agusta A119 Koala offer?
Certified in 1999, the A119 Koala is powered by a single PT6B turboshaft engine from Pratt & Whitney. It can hold up to seven passengers and has a range of just over 500nm.
What came before and after the Agusta A119 Koala?
As noted above, the A119 Koala was derived from the A109E Power, which was itself an upgraded version of the popular A109 family. The A109E Power had been introduced in 1996, and proved to be a market success.
Having established a market for its single-engine Koala model, Agusta introduced an upgraded version, the AW119Ke (‘Koala Enhanced’), which arrived on the market in 2007, offering increased range and maximum take-off weight, among several enhancements.
Today the product line is represented by Leonardo’s AW119Kx, which was launched in 2012 with a wide range of additional enhancements to the aircraft, including a Garmin G1000H glass integrated flight deck.
Operators of the AW119Kx can also opt for a Genesys Aerosystems avionics package providing full IFR capabilities.
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