Tiltrotor
Yes, you are right, the tiltrotor is definitely a niche aircraft that will not replace airplanes or helicopters (although there may be some instances where companies currently using a both a turboprop and a helicopter may be able to use the tiltrotor in place of the two a/c). The two basic requirements that exist for the tiltrotor to be effective in a particular civilian operation are:
1) There must be an absolute need for vertical take off and landing capability at one or both ends of the flight. – If not, a turboprop airplane would be able to perform the operation more economically flying airport to airport.
2) The distances to be flown must be greater than a minimum of about 100nm. -- If not, a helicopter will be able to perform the operations more economically due to its lower initial acquisition cost (DOCs for the 609 are expected to be slightly higher than a 412).
The key to the potential success of the first civilian tiltrotor also rests with its ability to operate using the existing helicopter ground infrastructure. When the Civil Tilt Rotor Development Advisory Committee (CTRDAC) prepared their feasibility report for Congress in the mid 90s, they referred mainly to a 40 or 75 passenger a/c. The projected saturation of major metropolitan airports by the year 2010, and the lack of available real estate for new airports meant some alternative method of mass transport must be developed. Although the report came back with a resounding affirmative response for the projected success of the tiltrotor in a future transport role, the CTRDAC pointed to the critical need for publicly funded infrastructure development.
In order to be successful, vertiports that will be needed to support transport tiltrotor operations will have to be built either in, or very close to city centers (preferably with over water approaches that do not overfly congested areas). This can only be accomplished with public support. Public support can only be gained with understanding and confidence in the technology, and so Bell/Boeing (now Bell/Agusta) decided that a small civil tiltrotor should be introduced that can operate using the existing helicopter infrastructure. This way the general public will have time to learn about and become familiar with the capabilities of tiltrotors before the introduction of a large-scale transport version.
The 609 will be 44 feet long and 60 feet across (proprotor tip to tip). These dimensions are not far off from those of a Bell 212 which are 48 feet across (blade diameter) and 58 feet long (main rotor tip to tailrotor tip). I’m sure there will be some offshore platforms that 609s will not be able to land on safely, but by far the majority of platforms, drilling rigs and helipads currently being used by helicopters should present no problems. And it sure is nice being able to visually see the furthest extremity of your aircraft when you’re maneuvering on the ground rather than trying to estimate how much distance exists between the nearest obstacle and your tailrotor!!