I literally laughed when I saw that Leonardo had ditched the 609's engine/proprotor configuration and went with fixed-mounted engines for the new NGCTR model. I laughed again when I saw that they ditched the t-tail empennage for that hideous and draggy-looking v-tail setup. Obviously, they learned a bit after that terrible 609 accident TEN YEARS AGO that was attributed to a roll/yaw coupling and the inability of the onboard computers to effectively deal with it. But wait- doesn't the V-tail Beechcraft Bonanza also have a weird and uncomfortable yaw coupling in turbulence, which resulted in Beech switching back to a conventional tail for the stretched Bonanza (A-36)? 609 pilots are probably going to be told that hand-flying in high-speed cruise is PROHIBITED, and if the autopilot kicks off for any reason in turbulence, you're probably all going to die.
But then we come to the issue of pilot certification of these "powered lift" aircraft. Clearly, the FAA doesn't yet know what to do with them. I laugh yet again at the hubris of one Adam Goldstein, the CEO of Archer Aviation, who tells us that his Midnight eVTOL will be certified and carrying fare-paying passengers during the 2026 Olympics in Los Angeles. Hoo-man! That kid must be one silver-tongued devil, for he sure has convinced a bunch of wealthy (and obviously naive) investors to dump tons of money into his company when, in their own financial statements, Archer admits that their aircraft may not ever achieve FAA certification! Say what?! Archer's Midnight is a four-passenger eVTOL. Seems like there's only room for one single pilot up front, so getting dual in that thing is going to be a problem if the FAA sticks to making Midnight pilots have a powered-lift a type rating. Goldstein must be VERY optimistic that the FAA will create rules in his favor. Heh. Dream on, Macduff (sic).
Back to the 609... It has sure been quiet on that front...so quiet that it makes me wonder if Leonardo has given up on the design and transferred all of the important technical people over to the NGCTR program. I mean, after all, it was back in 1957 that Bell began playing with the idea of a tilt-rotor aircraft. You'd think that someone would have developed a workable, certifiable example in the nearly seventy years that have passed. But no... 609 is "close"...but it's been "next-year close" for as long as i can remember. Hey, maybe 2026 will be the year Leonardo gets the 609 certified! Hmm. I doubt it. If I were a betting man, I'd wager that there are issues (aerodynamic or otherwise) with high-speed tilt-rotor flight that are simply insurmountable, and Leonardo is reluctant to admit it and throw in the towel. Maybe that whole "tilting-engines-and-rotors" thing is just a bad idea?