The only commercial tiltrotor aircraft, the AgustaWestland AW609 has set a speed record on a 1000 km point-to-point’ journey, demonstrat...
The only commercial tiltrotor aircraft, the AgustaWestland AW609 has set a speed record on a 1000 km point-to-point’ journey, demonstrating its advantage over a conventional helicopter.
The aircraft, with its unique combination of the turboprop airplane’s speed and helicopter’s take-off and landing capabilities, flew from AgustaWestland's Yeovil facility in southwest England to its Cascina Costa facility near Milan, Italy, a distance of 1161 km (721 miles / 627 nm), in just 2 hours 18 minutes.
The AW609 TiltRotor features technology which will revolutionize commercial aviation transport: the record set in flight between Southern UK and Northern Italy clearly demonstrates the unprecedented advantages of the tiltrotor concept for point-to-point journeys.
The flight started with a vertical take-off from Yeovil. The aircraft then climbed to its en route cruising altitude of 25,000 ft (8,000 m), passing north of Southampton, just south of Paris, over the Alps and Piemonte in Italy, before descending and landing at Cascina Costa near Milan just 2 hours 18 minutes later.
The tiltrotor design combines the best of both helicopter and a turboprop airliner. The vertical take off and landing capability is provided by the 90 degree tiltable turboprop engines. The engines will be vertical for take off and turn horizontal for turboprop like cruising. Unlike helicopters, where the whole lift is provided by the main rotor, in a tiltrotor, the wings provide the lift, adding to improved efficiency.
The AW609 will be able to connect two important cities, such as London and Milan, in about two hours, taking off and landing vertically from the cities urban areas just like a helicopter, flying at the cruise speed of a turboprop airplane in all weather conditions.
The AW609 provides at least 30% to 50% time savings when compared to using a combination of car, helicopter and business jet, typically for travel to destinations up to 1100 km (700 miles) away.
This multi-role aircraft can be configured for passenger transport, search and rescue, offshore transport, emergency medical services, maritime surveillance, training and other government applications. It can transport up to nine passengers in comfort in its pressurized cabin.
The AW609 TiltRotor is set to achieve civil US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) certification in 2017 with deliveries scheduled to start soon after.
Maximum speed of AW609 is 510 kmph. The aircraft has a standard range of 1389 km, which can be extended to over 2000 km with auxiliary fuel tanks.
U.S. Marine Corps and Air Force operates the only other tiltrotor aircraft, the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey, which is a larger and only available for military purpose.
