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.
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 single prototype is stored for preservation at the Museo Agusta at Cascina Costa.
Variants
A.101D
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
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 take-off weight
12,900 kg (28,440 lb)
Fuel capacity
2,000 L (530 US gal; 440 imp gal) in fuselage side fairings
Powerplant
3 × de Havilland H.1400 Gnome turboshaft engines,
1,000 kW (1,400 shp) each for take-off
1,250 shp (930 kW) maximum continuous
Main rotor diameter
20.4 m (66 ft 11 in)
Performance
Maximum speed
217 km/h (135 mph, 117 kn) at MTOW
Cruise speed
201 km/h (125 mph, 109 kn) at MTOW
Range
378 km (235 mi, 204 nmi) at MTOW
Service ceiling
2,950 m (9,680 ft) at MTOW
Hover ceiling IGE
1,400 m (4,600 ft) at MTOW
Hover ceiling OGE
600 m (1,970 ft) at MTOW
Rate of climb
9.7 m/s (1,910 ft/min) at MTOW
Avionics VFR and IFR instrumentation with provision for autostab and autopilot.
