Leonardo AW189

Leonardo · Italy · first flew 2011 · helicopter

A modern super-medium twin-turboshaft helicopter optimised for offshore energy transport and search and rescue, with a strong North Sea and UK presence.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	High-mounted, rotary
E — Engines	2 × turboshaft, fuselage-mounted
F — Fuselage	17.6 m fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Five-bladed main rotor paired with a four-bladed tail rotor
Retractable tricycle landing gear
Large sliding cabin doors on both sides and a sleek super-medium twin profile

A clean super-medium twin with retractable tricycle gear and large sliding side doors. The five-bladed main rotor against a four-bladed tail rotor helps separate it from related Leonardo types.

Specifications

The Leonardo AW189 has a length of 17.6 m (58 ft).
It has a wingspan of 14.6 m (48 ft).
Its maximum speed is 287 km/h (178 mph).
Typical crew: 1-2 pilots.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Leonardo flew the AW189 in December 2011 as part of a family alongside the AW139 and AW169. It was aimed squarely at the offshore oil and gas market and at civil SAR, offering a spacious cabin and long range.

Variants

The standard model uses General Electric CT7 engines, while the AW189K, certified in 2020, fits Safran Aneto-1K engines for improved hot-and-high performance.

Where you'll see it

Heavily used for North Sea offshore crew transport, and central to UK civil search and rescue: Bristow Helicopters took eleven SAR-configured AW189s for the contract that transferred UK SAR from the Royal Navy and RAF, with operations beginning in 2014.

Related aircraft

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