Mark Huber is an aviation industry veteran who has worked in the flight training, aircraft sales, aircraft component, and airport development businesses. He has flight time in more than 50 different and diverse aircraft, including helicopters, aerobatic aircraft, vintage warbirds, jet fighters, business jets and turboprops, and transport-category aircraft. He has jumped out of several of these—on purpose—with a parachute. His defense and aviation journalism has been published in a variety of national and international periodicals.

Contributor

Mark Huber

Leonardo unveiled the new "Agusta" branding of its AW line of VIP and corporate helicopters over the weekend in Dubai. This announcement followed the arrival of the company’s AW609 AC4 civil tiltrotor there, on display at Falcon Aviation Services at “Casa Agusta,” an upscale urban heliport terminal concept that can be replicated in multiple markets, is modular, and easily transportable.

 


The company said the Casa Agusta concept “will support the development of a network of point-to-point connections for both urban transfers and connections between cities, while meeting the growing demands for sustainable and modern vertical lift mobility, as well as greater access to urban areas while providing VIP and charter passengers “levels of service typically available in larger private airport facilities far from downtown and urban areas.”

 


“With Agusta we give our VIP operators a strong brand that they can easily recognize and identify with, a sign that embodies their desire for excellence and quality with a personal touch and distinction, which includes their flight experience. We want them to be themselves before takeoff, during flight, and upon arrival at their destination, setting them apart from others. The strength and recognition of the Agusta brand legacy still continues to live on in this particular market segment,” said Leonardo Helicopters managing director Gian Piero Cutillo.&nbsp;

 


Launch of the Agusta brand follows a similar move by Airbus when it launched Airbus Corporate Helicopters (ACH) in 2017, and draws on the heritage of the Agusta name from an aviation company formed in Italy in 1923 by Giovanni Agusta. That company began producing helicopters under license from other OEMs, most notably Bell, in 1952, and began developing its own indigenous civil helicopter, the Agusta A109 light twin, in the late 1960s. It then merged with Britain’s Westland Helicopters in 2000 to form AgustaWestland, later rebranded Leonardo Helicopters in 2017, a nod to&nbsp;15th and 16th Century Italian artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci, widely credited with devising the first concept for the helicopter.

News and issues regarding all manner of civil and military rotorcraft and their powerplants, including helicopters, tilt rotors and unmanned air vehicles.

Leonardo Launches Luxury Brand 'Agusta'

Leonardo is launching the new “Agusta” branding of its AW line of VIP and corporate helicopters.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Charlotte Bailey

Flights with two scaled technology demonstrators will inform potential future iterations 

Singaporean eVTOL Conducts Test Campaign In Germany 

Matt Thurber

New developments and products in avionics, specifically about aircraft electronics in the cockpit.

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

Lightweight white-phosphor NVG have a 94-degree field of view

FAA Approves TSO for ASU Panoramic Night-vision Goggles

Hanneke Weitering

Proposed rule addresses pilot awareness of control limits

FAA Floats Special Conditions for Skyryse Fly-by-wire R66

Charles Alcock

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

European Helicopter Association and Vertical Aviation International extended their alliance 

Vertical Lift Groups Extend Trade Show Partnership

Essential news and analysis on the defense aerospace business. Your trusted source for new and ongoing programs and requirements in military aircraft (manned and unmanned), engines, avionics, weapons and associated systems, including ground-based air defense.

More In Rotorcraft

Singaporean eVTOL Conducts Test Campaign In Germany

Flights with two scaled technology demonstrators will inform potential future iterations

FAA Approves TSO for ASU Panoramic Night-vision Goggles

Lightweight white-phosphor NVG have a 94-degree field of view

FAA Floats Special Conditions for Skyryse Fly-by-wire R66

Proposed rule addresses pilot awareness of control limits

Vertical Lift Groups Extend Trade Show Partnership

European Helicopter Association and Vertical Aviation International extended their alliance

Sikorsky Is Upgrading the Black Hawk Helicopter for Evolving Military Needs

Armed forces will be able to outfit Black Hawks with new armament and equipment.

Sikorsky’s S-97 Raider Points to a New Level of Performance for Future Helicopters

Originally developed for the U.S. military, X2 technology is in search of a new customer.

Bell 505 Makes Asia-Pacific Debut with Aichi Police

Joins fleet of longtime operator of Bell 206s and 412s

Enstrom Delivers 480B to Africa’s Safomar Aviation

Distributor will use the helicopter to introduce customers to its capabilities

AIN Products

SUBSCRIPTIONS

RESOURCES

ABOUT AIN