(Exclusive) Beja: Two of the new helicopters Koala Air Force are already in BA11.
The two new AW119 Koala helicopters, arrived Saturday BA 11. The Lidador News has the exclusive photo of the entry into Portugal by the air space of the Portuguese-Spanish border,Rosal de la Frontera and Vila Verde Ficalho.
Two in five helicopters AW119 Koala, purchased by the Portuguese Government to the Italian manufacturer Leonardo Helicopters and will be delivered today, in Beja, the Minister of Defense, João Gomes Cravinho, the Portuguese Air Force (FAP), are since Saturday in the hangar Police 552- "Drones", Air Base (BA) 11.
The Lidador News (LN) found that the two aircraft, which were assembled in Spain, They entered Portuguese territory within the Portuguese-Spanish border Rosal de la Frontera and Vila Verde Ficalho, as shown in exclusive photo taken the entry into Portugal.
Just before 16,30 hours two helicopters Alouette III, the BA11, aircraft will be replaced by Koala, They flew at low altitude the Vila Verde resort of Ficalho and then hover, They waited for the arrival of two new handsets.
The two Allouette III, whose flight was to inaugurate 28 February 1959, There 60 year old, still painted with the colors of the old former Air Patrol Acrobatic "Rotors of Portugal" extinct a few years ago by FAP, "Have welcomed and made the honor guard" their replacements, forwarding them to BA 11.
The new helicopter AW119 Koala is painted with the colors and the Cross of Christ of the branch of the aircraft and destinan to replace the Alouette III fleet 552, at the service of the Air Force since the days of the colonial war in Africa.
The AW119 Koala operate at night and will come equipped to support fixed firefighting operations. But, militarily, these light helicopters can carry out the tasks hitherto performed by Alouette: Basic instruction and advanced flight, search and rescue, medical evacuation, patrolling and observation.
Able to carry up to seven passengers or a stretcher and five passengers, Koala can still move 1400 kg of suspended load.
Leonardo Koala can be configured with six seats for passengers in the club seat (facing) on the back of the cabin and a seat next to the pilot. The single-engine helicopter main rotor has four blades comprising composite material and two tail rotor blades. The fuselage and tail Leonardo Koala are basically made of aluminum and alloys, but several pieces, Helicopter parts and components are manufactured of composite material. The cruising speed is about 250 km / h.
Teixeira Correia
(journalist)
