Finmeccanica Helicopters has announced the first flight of its AgustaWestland AW109 Trekker, the skid version of the AW109 light twin helicopter.  The aircraft took off from the company facility at Cascina Costa in Italy, flown by pilots Giuseppe Afruni and Giuseppe Segreto.  The development aircraft is was previously an AW109S Grand model,

EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) certification is expected by year end.  Over 20 units already ordered by customers worldwide since the model was first announced at Heli-Expo 2014.  Customers include two air ambulance versions for Italian operator Elitaliana, and five for Life Flight Network

Texas based SevenBar has also been associated with marketing efforts for the Trekker model, having previously taken delivery of an AW109 GrandNew at the 2014 Air Medical Transport Conference.

Jeremy Parkin – HeliHub.com