BA609
I had a discussion with Nick not so long ago about the tilt rotors & he gave me the nudge to pose the question to the wider community.
So what are your thoughts on the tilt-rotor's pilot requirements, having spoken to Bell Augusta about the aircraft status & crew requirements, I began considering the nature of the beast & the combination of the skill sets.
I spoke to some people at the recent avalon airshow & asked about the BA609 & its progression, & pilot requirements, they indicated optimally the crew would need ATPL(H) & CPL(A).
Does anyone consider that it would be a benefit having too much time in either fixed or rotary wing-discliplines with this aircraft, or would you consider RW the primary requirement (ATPL) with fixed just a lesser but still required skill?
Would there be a potential benefit for a pilot starting on the aircraft , so that they don't perceivably pick up any motorskills that might be detrimental, or adverse to handling the tilt rotor?
Or the inverse, should only the most experienced pilots with both disciplines be considered/permitted to enter into the realm of tilt-rotor crew.
Unfortunately from the conversations with BA they indicated that arriving with both a CPL(H) & CPL(A) would still require around US$50K (+/- $20K) for the endorsement alone, a pretty cost prohibitive exercise. But there was an indication of orders for around 40 aircraft post-certification (which is now into fixed wing testing as RW has been completd). Whether that is reality of marketing hype I have no means of verifying.
Anyway - as i stated, would appreciate to know what you guys think, & whether you can see this type of aircraft taking a hold in EMS/SAR or surveilance/customs etc, given the cost & performance of the aircraft compared to a standard RW EMS aircraft.