Phill Rawlins Online - Manchester aviation and transport photography

Helicopters

Sixteen helicopter types photographed around the North West between 2003 and 2004, five of which survive as images in this archive.

Rotary visitors recorded in the North West during 2003 and 2004. Click any photograph for a larger view.

Photographs

Agusta A109 helicopter registered N109WF
N109WF, Agusta A109. A corporate Agusta 109, the twin-engined Italian design that was for years the default executive helicopter.
Two Eurocopter AS355 F1 helicopters from PDG Helicopters
Two AS355 F1s from PDG Helicopters. The Twin Squirrel, distinguishable from the single-engined AS350 by the twin exhausts and the wider engine cowling.
Agusta A-109A II helicopter registered N109TF
N109TF, Agusta A-109A II. A US-registered 109, another corporate visitor.
Bell 222B helicopter registered N153H
N153H, Bell 222B. The Bell 222 is best known outside aviation circles for its television career; the 222B was the stretched, more powerful version.
Enstrom 280FX helicopter registered G-ZZWW
G-ZZWW, Enstrom 280FX. A small American light helicopter, and the sort of machine that turns up at a grass airfield on a Sunday.

Types photographed, with and without images

The original version of this page listed sixteen aircraft in a grid of thumbnail images. Five of those images were captured by the Internet Archive and are shown above. The full list of what was photographed is set out below, with a note where the airframe is documented elsewhere on this site.

Registrations are given as they were recorded at the time. Several of these aircraft have since been re-registered, sold abroad or withdrawn.

Police helicopters

Three of the aircraft listed were police air support machines. The West Yorkshire MD902 Explorer and the Merseyside Eurocopter EC135 each have their own page setting out their equipment; the Greater Manchester MD902 is covered here and on the police aircraft index.

Military rotary visitors

Two military helicopters were photographed at Barton Aerodrome: an RAF Gazelle and a Royal Navy Merlin HM Mk1, ZH858, which called in during a recruitment exercise. Both are described on the military aircraft page.