Leonardo has reached an important milestone in the slow and complex development program of the AW 609, the world’s first civil tiltrotor aircraft.
On Thursday, FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) pilots flew aircraft 5 N609LH, a representative production aircraft, for the first time.
The familiarization flight marks the beginning of the Type Inspection Authorization (TIA) process, a step towards type certification for the tiltrotor, expected this year.
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Leonardo and the FAA will meet next week in New York to demonstrate the aircraft’s compliance and system readiness.
FAA pilots have already flown the AW609 but prototype 4 in Italy.
“Aircraft 5 is a critical asset in the AW609 program, having accumulated 62 flight hours dedicated to pivotal testing phases, including Handling Qualities, Avionics systems performance, and Cold Weather operations down to -10°C OAT,” the company said in a post on Linkedin.
Almost 30 years in development
The AW609 originally emerged from a partnership between Bell and Boeing in 1996, almost 30 years ago.
Leonardo (then Agusta) replaced Boeing in 2003 and years later took over the entire project.
In 2015, the program took its biggest blow after a fatal accident with one of the test aircraft in Italy.
To advance its certification, Leonardo built an assembly line and test base in Philadelphia, USA, the most promising market for the aircraft.
