Program Enters Into Its Final Development And Ground/Flight Testing Stages

The fourth AW609 tiltrotor, fully representative of the final production configuration, successfully performed its first flight at Leonardo’s Philadelphia plant on Dec. 23, entering the final program development and ground/flight testing stages.

Lifting off on a clear afternoon, test pilot Dan Wells said, “The aircraft performed beautifully, thanks to all the rig and ground testing and the work done by our amazing engineering and production teams. The new touch-screen cockpit layout really proved its value and the aircraft exceeded all of our expectations.”

With this flight, the world’s first multirole commercial tiltrotor achieved a major milestone on its path to FAA certification. The AW609 will be certified under the FAA’s new Powered Lift category, the first new category of aircraft certified by the FAA in decades. Combining the vertical take-off and landing performance of a helicopter with the speed, range, and comfort of a turboprop airplane, the AW609 is poised to transform private and downtown to downtown transport, emergency medical service (EMS), search-and-rescue (SAR), offshore operations and patrol, among other uses.

The AW609 carries up to nine passengers in a comfortable pressurized cabin, has a max cruise speed of 275 knots and can travel up to 700 nautical miles — about twice as fast and twice as far as the typical helicopter. It climbs to 25,000 feet, flying safely above inclement weather and in known icing conditions.

The AW609 features fly-by-wire flight controls, Collins Aerospace Pro Line Fusion avionics and two Pratt & Whitney PT6C-67A engines.

(Image provided with Leonardo Company news release)

FMI: www.leonardocompany.com