The prototype first flew in 2004. (Ed.)
Third AW609 Airborne, Will Soon Start Icing Trials
- February 9, 2017, 12:34 PM
The third Leonardo Helicopters AW609 civil
tiltrotor, AC3, recently began flight testing from the company's Philadelphia
plant and will soon head to Marquette, Michigan, for cold weather testing and
icing trials, the company announced today. Meanwhile, AC1 has been
returned to Italy for modifications, while AC4 is under assembly in
Philadelphia. Manufacture of production aircraft is scheduled to start there in
2018. Leonardo also reaffirmed its intent to gain FAA certification
for the AW609 next year.
To date, AC3 has performed several weeks
of unrestrained ground testing and, more recently, flight trials that allowed
avionics and all systems to be fully tested. During initial flights, the
aircraft performed basic hovering and maneuvering and patterns around the airport,
concluding with hover landing. Additional flights up to 4,000 feet with short
takeoff and landing (STOL) are planned shortly in AC3.
The rotorcraft manufacturer said it has current
customer commitments for “nearly” 60 AW609s, including three from the UAE Joint
Aviation Command, as well as development agreements in place with Bristow and
Era for offshore and EMS variants, respectively. Leonardo has yet to
disclose a price for its civil tiltrotor.
Flight testing of the AW609 resumed in
August with AC1 after the fatal crash of AC2 in October
2015. Announced performance includes a maximum forward speed of 275 knots, a
ceiling of 25,000 feet, a hover out of ground effect of 5,000 feet, hover in
ground effect of 10,000 feet and a useful load of 2,500 pounds. Short-takeoff
capability will be added to the certification basis to increase the
helicopter’s maximum takeoff weight to 18,000 pounds from 16,800 pounds.
Standard range is 700 nm, but 1,100 nm with aux fuel.
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