BA609, nå AW609, pusler videre.....

Heli-Expo 2012: AgustaWestland advances civil tiltrotor plans

11 February 2012 - 22:45 by Tony Osborne in Dallas, US

AgustaWestland is pushing forward with its plans to certify the AW609 civil tiltrotor under its own steam.

The company, which bought out Bell's share of the project in 2011, has stepped up flying rates on the two existing prototypes and is building new infrastructure in Italy and the US as test flying prepares to enter the certification testing phase at the beginning of 2013.
The company hopes to achieve certification under the FAA's 'Powered Lift' category for the first half of 2016.
The Bell-Agusta Aerospace Company, now wholly-owned by AgustaWestland, has been reformed as the AgustaWestland Tiltrotor Company (AWTRC) and operates out of a newly-built facility at Arlington Municipal Airport near Dallas, from where the first prototype is conducting test flying. Meanwhile, at Cascina Costa near Milan the company is building a new hangar and a runway that will allow STOL procedures to be developed allowing increased range and payload.
Previously, it has been suggested that a rolling take-off could allow the aircraft to increase its take-off weight to around 18,000 lb (maximum vertical take-off weight is 16,800 lb). With the range extended mission radius could be extended out to around 315 nautical miles.