Tilt rotor - Teknisk Ukeblad/AW&ST

Denne nyheten burde kommet for 20 år siden. Maskinen har, liksom flere andre typer som har rotorer, vært utsatt for fatalt uhell under testing. Undertegnede har prøvesittet maskinen. Den er krampaktig liten og trang. Bygget for småvokste italienere. Over såkalte "hostile waters" er ikke maskinen i stand til å ta mer enn 6 oljearbeidere ikledd overlevelsesdrakt. Den er uegnet under norske forhold. Det er heller ikke plass til mer en 6 bagger i lasterommet. Dette er tatt på et subjektivt øyemål. Tror heller ikke at modellen har offshore ops. som et primært marked. Den er i utgangspunktet ikke utstyrt med flotation gear, men det er en opsjon som veier en del. Jeg ser gjerne at noen imøtegår dette negative inntrykket av maskinen. Jeg så forgjengeren Bell XV-15 fly på Le Bourget i 1981. I IFALPA systemet tok vi for oss konseptet. Randy Padfield, senere redaktør i Aviation International News og kollega i HS, fløy den og var begeistret. Under et bilde av Bell  XV-15. (Red.)

Foto: Bell

Om to års tid skal AW609 tas i bruk av Era Group i USA. Da vil det være hele 17 år siden flytypen startet flytesting. (Foto: Leonardo)

EKSTRA

AW609

Dette tiltrotorflyet skal snart frakte oljearbeidere i dobbel hastighet

Leonardo har inngått kontrakt med lanseringskunde.

Despite Additional Delays, Momentum Building For Commercial Tiltrotor Tony Osborne It seems the world will have to wait just a little bit longer until the first commercial tilt-rotor helicopter achieves entry-into-service status. In February, Leonardo Helicopters Managing Director Gian Piero Cutillo revealed that an internal review of the program had prompted the company to adjust the time line for FAA certification back to the end of 2019, which likely means service entry will not occur until early 2020. The company, Cutillo said, would take “a more conservative and realistic approach,” to the tiltrotor’s entry to service. “I believe in the [AW]609, and I want it to stick to this deadline,” he told Aviation Week.   Leonardo had hoped to achieve AW609 Powered Lift sign-off by year-end Fourth prototype built to near-production standard will fly this year Fifteen years have now passed since the first flight of the Bell-Agusta BA609, which has subsequently evolved into the Leonardo AW609 and despite the lengthy, torturous path to service, the aircraft is making significant enough progress that the commercial world is beginning to recognize its potential. It was announced at the recent Heli-Expo that one of the largest U.S. helicopter operating companies, Era Group, would take two of the aircraft after certification, becoming only the second customer to be declared by Leonardo in the history of the program. The first customer, The United Arab Emirates Joint Aviation Command, ordered three search-and-rescue-capable models at the 2015 Dubai Airshow. Leonardo also asserts that unnamed international operators are down for approximately 50 AW609s, but it is unclear whether longstanding letters of intent are included on this list. Era Group was one of three international operators who examined the potential of the AW609 in different missions as part of a joint development agreement with then-AgustaWestland. Era’s studies looked at the business potential of the aircraft for long-range medical transport of extremely wealthy people in countries where the ground infrastructure had not been fully developed.

 

Era Group was one of three operators selected to evaluate the AW609 commercial tiltrotor. That deal has now become a firm order. Credit: Leonardo Helicopters

 

However, Era’s aircraft will be delivered in a nine-seat-utility configuration that could be used for offshore oil and gas support operations, passenger transport and search-and-rescue (SAR) missions. “It was a natural progression, Era has been a long-standing customer of Leonardo, and their missions are similar to those we are focusing the tiltrotor on,” Bill Sunick, AW609 marketing manager tells Aviation Week. “We are now beginning to educate potential customers on the benefits that AW609 can bring,” says Sunick. One target is corporate fleet operators using a mix of business jets and helicopters. While the AW609 will be more expensive, Sunick is urging them to consider the through-life cost of the jets, weighing maintenance and crew costs versus the price of using a single aircraft such as the AW609 to carry out the same task in one platform. He notes the AW609’s ability to fly from point-to-point without the need for transferring from fixed-wing to helicopter for the final journey. Search-and-rescue operations could also benefit. Rather than flying the injured to the nearest hospital, the AW609 would have the range to fly patients for specialist care, if needed. He points out that AW609s could reduce the need of patient transfers between aircraft and ground ambulance, transfers that can be extremely harmful for at-risk patients. The AW609 will be certified under the FAA’s new Powered Lift category, which brings together elements of Part 29 requirements for rotorcraft and the Part 25 regulations for transport category aircraft. Cutillo says 2018 will be an “intensive” year for the program, as it entered a “very concrete phase.” The flight-test fleet has now flown a combined 1,400 hr., with flight operations split between Italy and the U.S. Leonardo teams are assembling the fourth prototype (AC4) in Philadelphia, where the final assembly line will also be situated. AC4 will introduce several modifications on production aircraft including a new “Learjet-style” clamshell main entry door, which has been made 3-in. wider to accommodate stretchers; but this modification required adjustments to the aircraft structure. On SAR versions of the aircraft, the upper section of the door will feature a rescue hoist. AC4 will also feature the Rockwell Collins Pro Fusion avionics suite, which is planned for production aircraft. Assembly of AC4 has taken more time than might have been expected because engineers have been progressively modifying the aircraft with features that will ultimately be on production models. It is due to fly later this year. Limited assembly of the first production standard aircraft is now also underway.