The Agusta A.101 (originally designated AZ.101) was a large prototype
transport helicopter developed in Italy during the 1960s. Despite prospective orders from the Italian armed forces, no buyers emerged and the project was abandoned in 1971.
Design and development
The A.101 was of conventional, single-rotor configuration with tricycle undercarriage and powered by triple turboshaft engines. The fuselage was provided with a rear loading ramp and two large sliding troop doors.
The final stage in the A.101's development was to stretch the fuselage by 3 m (10 ft) and upgrade the engines to the more powerful
General Electric T58. This resulted in a marked improvement in performance, but in the end, the Italian government opted for variants of the
SH-3 Sea King, licence-built by
Agusta instead of their own design.
The original concept by
Filippo Zappata exhibited in model form at the Milan Trade Fair in April 1958, also designated AZ.101, acknowledging Zappata's role in the design process. Power was to have been supplied by three 750 hp (559 kW)
Turbomeca Turmo engines.
A.101G
The sole prototype powered by three 1,400 hp (1,044 kW)
Rolls-Royce Gnome H.1400 turboshaft engines
A.101H
A projected up-rated version, stretched by 3 m (10 ft), with tricycle undercarriage and powered by three
General Electric T58 turboshaft engines.
Specifications (A.101G configuration)
Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1969–70[1]
General characteristics
Crew: 2
Capacity: up to 36 pax / 18 stretchers with 5 attendants / 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) payload
Length: 20.19 m (66 ft 3 in) including tail-rotor
Width: 4.64 m (15 ft 3 in) rotor blades folded
Height: 6.56 m (21 ft 6 in) to top of rotor head
Empty weight: 6,850 kg (15,102 lb)
Gross weight: 12,400 kg (27,337 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 12,900 kg (28,440 lb)
Fuel capacity: 2,000 L (530 US gal; 440 imp gal) in fuselage side fairings