Polish Navy’s first AW101 takes flight

Leonardo has revealed that the first AW101 multi-mission maritime helicopter for the Polish Navy took to the skies for its maiden flight at the company’s production facility in Yeovil, Somerset, on July 19. This inaugural flight demonstrated functional checks of the helicopter’s main airframe and control systems, with additional engine-handling checks being taken throughout to monitor the aircraft’s speed range. Following this, Leonardo Helicopters will no further open the AW101’s flight envelope through further testing as the relevant mission equipment