Farnborough 1992

CONSIDERABLE interest is being shown in the progress of the Westland‐Agusta EH101 with the nine pre‐production aircraft exploring every aspect of the helicopter's development and potential applications. The Royal Navy order in 1991 for 44 of the anti‐submarine warfare (ASW) version has been followed by a Canadian requirement for 50 and the likelihood of an Italian order, also for the ASW version. Meanwhile, the UK, Italy and the Netherlands are considering the rear‐ramp equipped military utility variant for their long range logistic and tactical support helicopter. The 30‐seat Heliliner civil version is being considered by the North Sea oil support industry. Civil certification for the EH101 is planned for 1993 and two aircraft are scheduled to undertake a 6,000 hour maturity flying programme to ensure reliability when the aircraft enters service.