Turkey To Build AW139 Fuselage

Rotor & Wing has learned that Turkey's TUSAS Aerospace Industries is gearing up to build AW139 fuselages for AgustaWestland, with the first fuselage to come off its line within months. TAI, based in Ankara, Turkey, will be the second producer of AW139 airframes. PZL Swidnik in Poland builds fuselages for a wide range of AgustaWestland helicopters, including the AW139. It handed over its 500th airframe to AgustaWestland June 9. It began building AW139 airframes in 2001, and delivered more than 100 last year. AW139 airframes are currently delivered to AgustaWestland's plant in Vergiate, Italy, but a second assembly line is being established at Agusta Aerospace in Philadelphia and will receive airframes from both Poland and Turkey. A119 Koala airframes are already being shipped the Philadelphia facility from PZL-Swidnik. More