What's New With The Civil Tiltrotor?
Agusta used to have a very cozy arrangement with part of the Canadian government until recently....well an organization funded by the government. Things seem to be a bit blue at ORNGE currently however. Maybe Agusta's investment there might be good money thrown away now.
Ospreydriver, ChildFlight Sydney were fundraising to get into a 609 at one stage. I remember seeing the ads. Maybe their plans were put on hold as the certification process dragged on, because I can't find anything about it now.
SEIFR, I imagine Canada and Australia have a lot in common regarding EMS needs; long distances, sparse population outside metro areas and a lack of airfields suitable for EMS aircraft in remote areas. It's a niche market though.
SEIFR, I imagine Canada and Australia have a lot in common regarding EMS needs; long distances, sparse population outside metro areas and a lack of airfields suitable for EMS aircraft in remote areas. It's a niche market though.
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Sas,
Take your personal problems somewhere else. This thread is for educated discussions on tilt rotors, your knowledge of this technology is only surpassed by FH100 which means you appear to know absolutely nothing. FH100, did you really asked what happens if an engine on the 609 looses oil or was your account hacked?
TC
Take your personal problems somewhere else. This thread is for educated discussions on tilt rotors, your knowledge of this technology is only surpassed by FH100 which means you appear to know absolutely nothing. FH100, did you really asked what happens if an engine on the 609 looses oil or was your account hacked?
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I say put a gun on it and make it a combat escort for the V-22, that would be a great team!
The USMC asked Bell to take a look at doing just that a few years back.
Bell asked to come up with a tilt-rotor gunship to escort V-22s - Dallas Business Journal
riff_raff
OD, you may know that there was a move afoot, ~ 2000-2001 timeframe, to try and get a 609 (or something like it) built for CNATRA to use as pre Osprey Trainer, instead of the TH-57 & C-12 lash up currently used.
Part of the problem was running into Rummy's austerity intentions (before 9-11). There was something like 70-90 million to get that program going for an "off the shelf" tilt rotor trainer that ran into a couple of problems.
1. Uncertainty of final configuration and certification timeline for 609.
2. Some differences in the monkey skills chosen for V-22 versus 609, which I suspect you understand far better than I.
3. Building a simulator package on a timeline that was sane.
3a. (Dealing with the whole JOINT crap since CV-22 was going to be involved and JUPT USN/USAF momentum was picking up and lots of USN/USAF interservice training ... but never mind)
4. A bunch of other 'Orange and White' aircraft program priorities (A-C mod for T-45, and the NFO's wanting a new trainer to replace the T-39) that were going to get money first.
5. It died a fairly rapid death in the staffing process, and I don't think ever got to the SECNAV level for a look at money ... I don't think it even got out of CNET. (NETC?)
All this before the V-22 program ran into that much publicized "stop, go back, sort out x, y, z, and then move forward" set back to Osprey.
I don't think the Navy is going to revisit that idea for a trainer any time soon, but will more likely stick with the blend of multi-engine and helo, and adapt it via the usual curriculum modifications, since doing that appears to be one hell of a lot cheaper considering 609 the cost of operations point your raised.
Jet Rangers and King Airs are not all that expensive to operate.
With Panetta cutting where he can, APN 1 money for a TR trainer like 609 ain't gonna happen, particularly now that Bell, and the Texas lobby, are no longer in play for a 'buy American' option that tends to get political traction.
I have heard that order book for 609 is already 60 or 70, and wonder who it is that wants to buy one.
Part of the problem was running into Rummy's austerity intentions (before 9-11). There was something like 70-90 million to get that program going for an "off the shelf" tilt rotor trainer that ran into a couple of problems.
1. Uncertainty of final configuration and certification timeline for 609.
2. Some differences in the monkey skills chosen for V-22 versus 609, which I suspect you understand far better than I.
3. Building a simulator package on a timeline that was sane.
3a. (Dealing with the whole JOINT crap since CV-22 was going to be involved and JUPT USN/USAF momentum was picking up and lots of USN/USAF interservice training ... but never mind)
4. A bunch of other 'Orange and White' aircraft program priorities (A-C mod for T-45, and the NFO's wanting a new trainer to replace the T-39) that were going to get money first.
5. It died a fairly rapid death in the staffing process, and I don't think ever got to the SECNAV level for a look at money ... I don't think it even got out of CNET. (NETC?)
All this before the V-22 program ran into that much publicized "stop, go back, sort out x, y, z, and then move forward" set back to Osprey.
I don't think the Navy is going to revisit that idea for a trainer any time soon, but will more likely stick with the blend of multi-engine and helo, and adapt it via the usual curriculum modifications, since doing that appears to be one hell of a lot cheaper considering 609 the cost of operations point your raised.
Jet Rangers and King Airs are not all that expensive to operate.
With Panetta cutting where he can, APN 1 money for a TR trainer like 609 ain't gonna happen, particularly now that Bell, and the Texas lobby, are no longer in play for a 'buy American' option that tends to get political traction.
I have heard that order book for 609 is already 60 or 70, and wonder who it is that wants to buy one.
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Don't see why not, other than that the door configuration I've seen seems to be the type designed for admin unloading, i.e. it looks like the type that opens up with stairs built in the lower part--not very conducive to a hover exit. There's no ramp, so that way's out. Now, for the right price could they give a different door configuration? Don't know.
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Doors
It needs a ramp and or big sliding cargo door.
The 609 prototypes have the old 707 style door installed that opens forward, but a design for a Lear-style clam shell door was completed years ago and was under serious discussion as the most likely production fit last time I heard (that also had winch configuration capability designed into it). There was also a wider cargo door design (not sliding) that will likely be an option.
Of course there is the emergency egress door on top of the fuselage for water exits etc. And external to future production models the first prototype (not sure about the second) has a 'blow-out manhole' in the cabin floor with explosive charges for the test pilots to have access to, but fortunately it has never been needed.
Last edited by 21stCen; 19th Mar 2012 at 19:29.
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Market Interest in India
Cut down on travel time, fly TiltRotor craft
Vinay Kumar Published: March 25, 2012 01:29 IST | Updated: March 25, 2012 01:29 IST NEW DELHI, March 25, 2012
A new generation of hybrid machines to hit the skies
As traffic on the ground clogs arterial roads, a new generation of hybrid machines capable of taking off from the heart of Delhi and landing at Cuffe Parade in Mumbai in half the time it takes to travel the distance by any commercial airline could become a reality in the Indian skies in the years to come.
Performance capabilities
AgustaWestland 609, already booked by five Indian corporate houses, is a certain possibility based on the performance capabilities of the TiltRotor craft.
Giving a presentation on Tilt Rotor technology at an international seminar on Heli Power India-2012 here, Roberto Garavaglia, senior vice-president (Marketing), AgustaWestland, said AW609 would be able to cover the distance between Connaught Place and Cuffe Parade in about two-and-a-half hours.
If one takes into account the time it takes to reach the airport, go through security check-in, boarding process and the flight time of nearly two hours from New Delhi to Mumbai, it amounts to nearly five hours spent on the journey. If a person travels by AW609, the hybrid TiltRotor craft can take off directly and land in Mumbai in around two-and-a-half hours.
The presentation organised by the Rotary Wing Society of India (RWSI) — the nodal agency for helicopter industry in India, was attended, among others, by Sitaram Yechury, Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport Tourism and Culture, S.N.A. Zaidi, Civil Aviation Secretary, E.K. Bharat Bhushan, Director General of Civil Aviation and K. Sridharan, president of RWSI.
Efficient and safe
Mr. Yechury said that civil helicopter operations in the country should be made more efficient and safe. He emphasised the need to impart necessary impetus in order to make the helicopter available for the common good whether it be for emergency medical services or law and order or disaster management.
Huge potential
Dr. Zaidi said though the number of civil helicopters was not enough, the potential was huge and the number was expected to increase in the future. He also mentioned a study commissioned with experts from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to prepare a road map for the next 15 years for the development of aviation, sea planes and helicopters.
Vinay Kumar Published: March 25, 2012 01:29 IST | Updated: March 25, 2012 01:29 IST NEW DELHI, March 25, 2012
A new generation of hybrid machines to hit the skies
As traffic on the ground clogs arterial roads, a new generation of hybrid machines capable of taking off from the heart of Delhi and landing at Cuffe Parade in Mumbai in half the time it takes to travel the distance by any commercial airline could become a reality in the Indian skies in the years to come.
Performance capabilities
AgustaWestland 609, already booked by five Indian corporate houses, is a certain possibility based on the performance capabilities of the TiltRotor craft.
Giving a presentation on Tilt Rotor technology at an international seminar on Heli Power India-2012 here, Roberto Garavaglia, senior vice-president (Marketing), AgustaWestland, said AW609 would be able to cover the distance between Connaught Place and Cuffe Parade in about two-and-a-half hours.
If one takes into account the time it takes to reach the airport, go through security check-in, boarding process and the flight time of nearly two hours from New Delhi to Mumbai, it amounts to nearly five hours spent on the journey. If a person travels by AW609, the hybrid TiltRotor craft can take off directly and land in Mumbai in around two-and-a-half hours.
The presentation organised by the Rotary Wing Society of India (RWSI) — the nodal agency for helicopter industry in India, was attended, among others, by Sitaram Yechury, Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport Tourism and Culture, S.N.A. Zaidi, Civil Aviation Secretary, E.K. Bharat Bhushan, Director General of Civil Aviation and K. Sridharan, president of RWSI.
Efficient and safe
Mr. Yechury said that civil helicopter operations in the country should be made more efficient and safe. He emphasised the need to impart necessary impetus in order to make the helicopter available for the common good whether it be for emergency medical services or law and order or disaster management.
Huge potential
Dr. Zaidi said though the number of civil helicopters was not enough, the potential was huge and the number was expected to increase in the future. He also mentioned a study commissioned with experts from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to prepare a road map for the next 15 years for the development of aviation, sea planes and helicopters.
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In His Helicopter, Bloomberg Can Rule Skies, and Even Get to Albany
AgustaWestland
The AW609 Tiltrotor, a helicopter-plane prototype, which Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg wants.
By CHRISTINE HAUGHNEY
Published: April 12, 2012
Among all the high-flying toys that a billionaire can buy, the futuristic AgustaWestland AW609 Tiltrotor, a hybrid helicopter-plane, is as coveted a trinket as they come. Forty people have lined up to buy the aircraft, which is modeled on the V22 Osprey used in the military. It maneuvers like a helicopter, but with the speed and altitude of a plane.
It will not be ready until 2016, and the price has not even been established — though estimates place it between $5 million and $30 million. And near the top of the ultraexclusive waiting list is one Michael R. Bloomberg.
Private jets have practically become de rigueur among the elite; everyone who is anyone either owns one or charters one regularly. Mayor Bloomberg is no exception: his trips to Bermuda aboard his private jet often fill in the blanks on weekends when he has no public schedule.
But his passion for flying and owning helicopters puts him in a rarefied circle, occupied by the likes of Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford and Gisele Bündchen.
Mr. Bloomberg, it turns out, is a fan of copters: he does not merely enjoy flying in them, he is obsessive about piloting them himself. His fellow pilots have seen how he delights in a helicopter’s mechanical quirks and how quick he is to compare notes about the latest gadgets or a trusted mechanic.
“People who experience this, it’s a dance,” said the crime fiction writer Patricia Cornwell, who flies her own helicopter and has talked with the mayor about the joys of flying one around New York. “It’s not take off, go straight and land.”
“You take someone like the mayor, this is a really handy thing,” Ms. Cornwell added. “It’s a bird’s-eye view of America from your cockpit.”
Through his company, Mr. Bloomberg owns a $4.5 million, six-seat Agusta SPA A109S helicopter, which he keeps at the Morristown Municipal Airport in New Jersey with his private planes, according to records.
There is no public data for how often the mayor flies his helicopter, but those familiar with his travel patterns said he had taken it to Albany and the Hamptons, among other destinations. His up-in-the-air celebrity is such that other pilots recognize his tail number, but Mr. Bloomberg has blocked public aircraft-tracking systems from tracing his exact aerial whereabouts. He is typically accompanied by a pilot, Toby Wilson, whose primary job is to fly the helicopter to New York to collect the mayor, or fly it back to New Jersey once the mayor has gotten off.
The helicopter can come in handy during the work day.
On the morning of March 16, a thick fog shrouded the city, causing huge delays at La Guardia Airport, where the mayor and several lawmakers were waiting to travel to Albany for a news conference on state pension reform. So Mr. Bloomberg offered to fly his guests, who included James P. Molinaro, the Staten Island borough president; Thomas M. Roach, the mayor of White Plains; a mayoral aide, Micah C. Lasher; and a security officer, in his helicopter instead.
As the mayor took the controls and steered north, he pointed out the Catskills and asked his passengers if they felt airsick. Mr. Molinaro, who previously flew Navy helicopters, said he was impressed with the mayor’s skills, especially during the landing.
“He came down nice and slow,” Mr. Molinaro said. “It was like you were just sliding. There wasn’t even a bounce.”
When Mr. Molinaro told Mr. Bloomberg how much smoother the flight was than some he had taken with the military, the mayor replied: “It’s not the plane. It’s the pilot.”
Things have not always gone perfectly. Back in 1976, when Mr. Bloomberg was training to become a pilot, he nearly encountered disaster as he flew alone off the coast of Connecticut.
“I wasn’t sure what was going on in the engine compartment behind me, but I certainly knew I was falling and couldn’t breathe. I was going down,” he wrote in his autobiography. He landed on an island and ultimately put out the helicopter fire himself.
“Was I scared?” he wrote. “Well, there’d been no time for any emotion when I was in the air, and on the ground I was safe. So the answer is no — unless of course you count the internal shaking I couldn’t stop for the rest of the day.”
There have been other hiccups.
In October 2004, officials with the Meadowlands Sports Complex denied Mr. Bloomberg’s request to fly his helicopter to a Jets game and encouraged him to take the bus from the Port Authority Bus Terminal. In January 2002, when he was criticized for taking the controls of a police helicopter to attend Adolfo Carrión Jr.’s inauguration as borough president in the Bronx, he defended himself, saying, “I fly helicopters more sophisticated than that all the time that I happen to own.”
Mr. Bloomberg declined to be interviewed for this article. But Ms. Cornwell, the crime author, said he “made it very clear to me that he doesn’t like to give up the controls to anyone else.”
Some public officials, like Representative Jerrold L. Nadler, fear that Mr. Bloomberg’s passion could cloud his judgment on how he handles issues of helicopter safety in the crowded New York airspace. After a fatal crash in the East River in October, the mayor defended the safety record of helicopters.
“There’s three or four deaths in automobile accidents every single week in this city,” he said then. “Nobody’s suggesting you’re going to ban automobiles.”
Mr. Ford, the actor, said the mayor once lent him his AgustaWestland helicopter to pick up his daughter from summer camp; the favor was in return for once borrowing Mr. Ford’s Gulfstream jet.
Mr. Ford and Mr. Bloomberg also shared a relationship with Mr. Wilson: the mayor’s frequent co-pilot had given flying lessons to Mr. Ford. (Mr. Wilson also has flown Malcolm Forbes’s helicopter off his yacht.)
The mayor is a gracious host aboard his helicopter. One passenger said that on a flight, the mayor asked his passengers if they wanted coffee, and then proceeded to pour some from a Thermos into a Styrofoam cup. He then said, “Do you need milk with that?” before returning to speaking flight jargon with his co-pilot.
A sense of superiority can creep into the way the mayor speaks about helicopter flying versus other forms of travel. Hours after he arrived in Albany last month with Mr. Roach and the other passengers, he held a news conference and thanked Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo for signing the pension reform legislation. He then singled out two people on his staff: Mr. Lasher, who accompanied the mayor on the helicopter, and Timothy F. Mulligan, the mayor’s fiscal director, who did not.
Mr. Mulligan, the mayor dryly noted, was “still, last I checked, No. 44 in line at La Guardia to try to get off and come here.”
AgustaWestlandThe AW609 Tiltrotor, a helicopter-plane prototype, which Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg wants.
By CHRISTINE HAUGHNEY
Published: April 12, 2012
Among all the high-flying toys that a billionaire can buy, the futuristic AgustaWestland AW609 Tiltrotor, a hybrid helicopter-plane, is as coveted a trinket as they come. Forty people have lined up to buy the aircraft, which is modeled on the V22 Osprey used in the military. It maneuvers like a helicopter, but with the speed and altitude of a plane.
It will not be ready until 2016, and the price has not even been established — though estimates place it between $5 million and $30 million. And near the top of the ultraexclusive waiting list is one Michael R. Bloomberg.
Private jets have practically become de rigueur among the elite; everyone who is anyone either owns one or charters one regularly. Mayor Bloomberg is no exception: his trips to Bermuda aboard his private jet often fill in the blanks on weekends when he has no public schedule.
But his passion for flying and owning helicopters puts him in a rarefied circle, occupied by the likes of Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford and Gisele Bündchen.
Mr. Bloomberg, it turns out, is a fan of copters: he does not merely enjoy flying in them, he is obsessive about piloting them himself. His fellow pilots have seen how he delights in a helicopter’s mechanical quirks and how quick he is to compare notes about the latest gadgets or a trusted mechanic.
“People who experience this, it’s a dance,” said the crime fiction writer Patricia Cornwell, who flies her own helicopter and has talked with the mayor about the joys of flying one around New York. “It’s not take off, go straight and land.”
“You take someone like the mayor, this is a really handy thing,” Ms. Cornwell added. “It’s a bird’s-eye view of America from your cockpit.”
Through his company, Mr. Bloomberg owns a $4.5 million, six-seat Agusta SPA A109S helicopter, which he keeps at the Morristown Municipal Airport in New Jersey with his private planes, according to records.
There is no public data for how often the mayor flies his helicopter, but those familiar with his travel patterns said he had taken it to Albany and the Hamptons, among other destinations. His up-in-the-air celebrity is such that other pilots recognize his tail number, but Mr. Bloomberg has blocked public aircraft-tracking systems from tracing his exact aerial whereabouts. He is typically accompanied by a pilot, Toby Wilson, whose primary job is to fly the helicopter to New York to collect the mayor, or fly it back to New Jersey once the mayor has gotten off.
The helicopter can come in handy during the work day.
On the morning of March 16, a thick fog shrouded the city, causing huge delays at La Guardia Airport, where the mayor and several lawmakers were waiting to travel to Albany for a news conference on state pension reform. So Mr. Bloomberg offered to fly his guests, who included James P. Molinaro, the Staten Island borough president; Thomas M. Roach, the mayor of White Plains; a mayoral aide, Micah C. Lasher; and a security officer, in his helicopter instead.
As the mayor took the controls and steered north, he pointed out the Catskills and asked his passengers if they felt airsick. Mr. Molinaro, who previously flew Navy helicopters, said he was impressed with the mayor’s skills, especially during the landing.
“He came down nice and slow,” Mr. Molinaro said. “It was like you were just sliding. There wasn’t even a bounce.”
When Mr. Molinaro told Mr. Bloomberg how much smoother the flight was than some he had taken with the military, the mayor replied: “It’s not the plane. It’s the pilot.”
Things have not always gone perfectly. Back in 1976, when Mr. Bloomberg was training to become a pilot, he nearly encountered disaster as he flew alone off the coast of Connecticut.
“I wasn’t sure what was going on in the engine compartment behind me, but I certainly knew I was falling and couldn’t breathe. I was going down,” he wrote in his autobiography. He landed on an island and ultimately put out the helicopter fire himself.
“Was I scared?” he wrote. “Well, there’d been no time for any emotion when I was in the air, and on the ground I was safe. So the answer is no — unless of course you count the internal shaking I couldn’t stop for the rest of the day.”
There have been other hiccups.
In October 2004, officials with the Meadowlands Sports Complex denied Mr. Bloomberg’s request to fly his helicopter to a Jets game and encouraged him to take the bus from the Port Authority Bus Terminal. In January 2002, when he was criticized for taking the controls of a police helicopter to attend Adolfo Carrión Jr.’s inauguration as borough president in the Bronx, he defended himself, saying, “I fly helicopters more sophisticated than that all the time that I happen to own.”
Mr. Bloomberg declined to be interviewed for this article. But Ms. Cornwell, the crime author, said he “made it very clear to me that he doesn’t like to give up the controls to anyone else.”
Some public officials, like Representative Jerrold L. Nadler, fear that Mr. Bloomberg’s passion could cloud his judgment on how he handles issues of helicopter safety in the crowded New York airspace. After a fatal crash in the East River in October, the mayor defended the safety record of helicopters.
“There’s three or four deaths in automobile accidents every single week in this city,” he said then. “Nobody’s suggesting you’re going to ban automobiles.”
Mr. Ford, the actor, said the mayor once lent him his AgustaWestland helicopter to pick up his daughter from summer camp; the favor was in return for once borrowing Mr. Ford’s Gulfstream jet.
Mr. Ford and Mr. Bloomberg also shared a relationship with Mr. Wilson: the mayor’s frequent co-pilot had given flying lessons to Mr. Ford. (Mr. Wilson also has flown Malcolm Forbes’s helicopter off his yacht.)
The mayor is a gracious host aboard his helicopter. One passenger said that on a flight, the mayor asked his passengers if they wanted coffee, and then proceeded to pour some from a Thermos into a Styrofoam cup. He then said, “Do you need milk with that?” before returning to speaking flight jargon with his co-pilot.
A sense of superiority can creep into the way the mayor speaks about helicopter flying versus other forms of travel. Hours after he arrived in Albany last month with Mr. Roach and the other passengers, he held a news conference and thanked Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo for signing the pension reform legislation. He then singled out two people on his staff: Mr. Lasher, who accompanied the mayor on the helicopter, and Timothy F. Mulligan, the mayor’s fiscal director, who did not.
Mr. Mulligan, the mayor dryly noted, was “still, last I checked, No. 44 in line at La Guardia to try to get off and come here.”
Between $5 million and $30 million??? Don't think so...
So one of these esteemed journos now calls it "a helicopter plane."
Frock me, I need get a drink and go lie down. The stupidity seems to be increasing without limit.
The term "tilt rotor" has been in common usage for well over twenty years for this type of aircraft. What the hell is it with journos?
Frock me, I need get a drink and go lie down. The stupidity seems to be increasing without limit.
The term "tilt rotor" has been in common usage for well over twenty years for this type of aircraft. What the hell is it with journos?
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AW609 Updates
AgustaWestland Names Three Key Suppliers For AW609 Civil Tiltrotor
Farnborough Air Show » July 12, 2012
by Chad Trautvetter
July 11, 2012, 6:05 PM
AgustaWestland signed three key supplier agreements for its AW609 civil tiltrotor program here at Farnborough yesterday, with Pratt & Whitney Canada, Rockwell Collins and BAE Systems. These major agreements follow a trail of contracts signed with AW609 component suppliers since AgustaWestland acquired the tiltrotor program last November. FAA and EASA certification of the AW609 is projected to occur in the first half of 2016.
Under its agreement, Pratt & Whitney Canada will provide the PT6C-67A, a new turboshaft derivative of the venerable PT6A with increased performance capabilities, which is slated for certification in the 2014 to 2015 time frame. While -67A engines have been flying on the AW609 prototypes for the past 10 years, the certified powerplant will incorporate several upgrades, among them being core design changes that will increase efficiency, P&WC vice president of engineering Walter Di Bartolomeo told AIN. He added that the turboshafts are also specially designed for “rotating vertical operations,” meaning they can withstand the AW609’s transitions between vertical and airplane modes.
Rockwell Collins will supply integrated avionics for the AW609 based on its touchscreen Pro Line Fusion embedded display system (EDS). Fusion EDS is a scaled-down version of Fusion for turboprops and light jets, with the processing hardware and software integrated into the “smart” touchscreen displays instead of in a cabinet-based architecture like it is for larger jets.
The new avionics system, announced last October, offers touchscreen control on the 14-inch primary flight displays, head-up guidance system capable of displaying synthetic-vision imagery, “autonomous backup flight control modes, MultiScan weather threat detection and full integration with Ascend flight information solutions,” according to Rockwell Collins.
With Fusion EDS, the AW609 will be capable of single-pilot operations under instrument flight rules conditions, a Rockwell Collins spokesman told AIN. The new cockpit will be installed on the fourth airframe, which is scheduled to fly in 2014. Certification of Fusion EDS is planned for late 2013.
Finally, BAE Systems will provide an upgraded flight control computer for the AW609’s triple-redundant fully digital fly-by-wire flight control system. The computer, which is expected to receive TSO certification in 2014, will include the AgustaWestland control laws and flight-control software, as well as the Fadec digital engine control system.
According to AgustaWestland, the vendor base for the civil tiltrotor is being renewed, “providing opportunities for cost-reduction initiatives, upgrades and improvements.” In line with this, the company is holding a presentation to key suppliers tomorrow at its Cascina Costa, Italy facility, which will include an update on the certification program. A single integrated development team in Cascina Costa is managing the AW609 program, but much of the flight testing for the tiltrotor prototypes will take place at its Arlington, Texas subsidiary.
Farnborough Air Show » July 12, 2012
by Chad Trautvetter
July 11, 2012, 6:05 PM
AgustaWestland signed three key supplier agreements for its AW609 civil tiltrotor program here at Farnborough yesterday, with Pratt & Whitney Canada, Rockwell Collins and BAE Systems. These major agreements follow a trail of contracts signed with AW609 component suppliers since AgustaWestland acquired the tiltrotor program last November. FAA and EASA certification of the AW609 is projected to occur in the first half of 2016.
Under its agreement, Pratt & Whitney Canada will provide the PT6C-67A, a new turboshaft derivative of the venerable PT6A with increased performance capabilities, which is slated for certification in the 2014 to 2015 time frame. While -67A engines have been flying on the AW609 prototypes for the past 10 years, the certified powerplant will incorporate several upgrades, among them being core design changes that will increase efficiency, P&WC vice president of engineering Walter Di Bartolomeo told AIN. He added that the turboshafts are also specially designed for “rotating vertical operations,” meaning they can withstand the AW609’s transitions between vertical and airplane modes.
Rockwell Collins will supply integrated avionics for the AW609 based on its touchscreen Pro Line Fusion embedded display system (EDS). Fusion EDS is a scaled-down version of Fusion for turboprops and light jets, with the processing hardware and software integrated into the “smart” touchscreen displays instead of in a cabinet-based architecture like it is for larger jets.
The new avionics system, announced last October, offers touchscreen control on the 14-inch primary flight displays, head-up guidance system capable of displaying synthetic-vision imagery, “autonomous backup flight control modes, MultiScan weather threat detection and full integration with Ascend flight information solutions,” according to Rockwell Collins.
With Fusion EDS, the AW609 will be capable of single-pilot operations under instrument flight rules conditions, a Rockwell Collins spokesman told AIN. The new cockpit will be installed on the fourth airframe, which is scheduled to fly in 2014. Certification of Fusion EDS is planned for late 2013.
Finally, BAE Systems will provide an upgraded flight control computer for the AW609’s triple-redundant fully digital fly-by-wire flight control system. The computer, which is expected to receive TSO certification in 2014, will include the AgustaWestland control laws and flight-control software, as well as the Fadec digital engine control system.
According to AgustaWestland, the vendor base for the civil tiltrotor is being renewed, “providing opportunities for cost-reduction initiatives, upgrades and improvements.” In line with this, the company is holding a presentation to key suppliers tomorrow at its Cascina Costa, Italy facility, which will include an update on the certification program. A single integrated development team in Cascina Costa is managing the AW609 program, but much of the flight testing for the tiltrotor prototypes will take place at its Arlington, Texas subsidiary.
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Sat, Oct 20, 2012
UK Government Funds AgustaWestland Civil Rotorcraft Projects
Program Will Support Development Of Civilian Tilt-Rotor Aircraft, Among Other Programs
AgustaWestland has been selected to go forward to the contracting phase for their bid of up to £46 million ($73.3 million) from Round 3 of the Government’s Regional Growth Fund (RGF). The combined RGF and AgustaWestland investment of more than $160.5 million (US) will create a brand new industry sector in the UK with the establishment of a Civil Helicopter Hub. The projects will create and safeguard over 3000 jobs across the UK and create hundreds of new opportunities for the UK supply chain.
The funding will also support the design and development in the UK of advanced technologies in the field of tiltrotor systems integration and for increasing the performance of tiltrotors, which combine the benefits of a helicopter and an aeroplane in one aircraft.
“Advanced manufacturing is important to the future of our economy and the Government is determined to get behind it through our industrial strategy," said Business Secretary Vince Cable. "Our work with industry through the Aerospace Growth Partnership has identified boosting exports and growing high value jobs as priorities. Targeted support through the Regional Growth Fund can really help world leading companies like AgustaWestland to continue to compete with the very best.”
“Today’s announcement marks the start of a new era for Britain’s rotorcraft industry," said Ray Edwards, Managing Director, AgustaWestland. "This funding and the investment being made by AgustaWestland will enable the UK to become a key player in the growing commercial rotorcraft sector. We welcome the support of the RGF and Government as we are committed to helping develop further the UK Civil Aerospace industry through the work undertaken by the Aerospace Growth Partnership. It is this type of positive collaboration of industry and the Government that will help create a long term strategy and a shared vision for UK aerospace.”
The Civil Helicopter Facility will include a commercial helicopter final assembly line, helicopter maintenance facility, helicopter training academy in conjunction with the Aerohub at Newquay Cornwall Airport, and a helicopter Research and Development (R&D) Center in conjunction with industry and academia.
RGF funding will support design and development work for the AW609 TiltRotor and future tiltrotor designs. AgustaWestland will work with the National Composites Center, University of Liverpool and a number of key UK suppliers on this program. This project will allow UK industry and academia to be involved in the most advanced and innovative aerospace programme of today. The AW609 TiltRotor is set to revolutionise flying by combining the benefits of a helicopter and an aeroplane and it will be the world’s first high speed commercial rotorcraft to enter the market following certification in 2016.
These projects will provide long term sustainability and growth of highly skilled engineering and manufacturing jobs across the UK and create hundreds of new opportunities for the UK supply chain. It will also support a wide range of research projects for future commercial rotorcraft programmes, keeping the UK at the very forefront of rotorcraft technology.
UK Government Funds AgustaWestland Civil Rotorcraft Projects
Program Will Support Development Of Civilian Tilt-Rotor Aircraft, Among Other Programs
AgustaWestland has been selected to go forward to the contracting phase for their bid of up to £46 million ($73.3 million) from Round 3 of the Government’s Regional Growth Fund (RGF). The combined RGF and AgustaWestland investment of more than $160.5 million (US) will create a brand new industry sector in the UK with the establishment of a Civil Helicopter Hub. The projects will create and safeguard over 3000 jobs across the UK and create hundreds of new opportunities for the UK supply chain.
The funding will also support the design and development in the UK of advanced technologies in the field of tiltrotor systems integration and for increasing the performance of tiltrotors, which combine the benefits of a helicopter and an aeroplane in one aircraft.
“Advanced manufacturing is important to the future of our economy and the Government is determined to get behind it through our industrial strategy," said Business Secretary Vince Cable. "Our work with industry through the Aerospace Growth Partnership has identified boosting exports and growing high value jobs as priorities. Targeted support through the Regional Growth Fund can really help world leading companies like AgustaWestland to continue to compete with the very best.”
“Today’s announcement marks the start of a new era for Britain’s rotorcraft industry," said Ray Edwards, Managing Director, AgustaWestland. "This funding and the investment being made by AgustaWestland will enable the UK to become a key player in the growing commercial rotorcraft sector. We welcome the support of the RGF and Government as we are committed to helping develop further the UK Civil Aerospace industry through the work undertaken by the Aerospace Growth Partnership. It is this type of positive collaboration of industry and the Government that will help create a long term strategy and a shared vision for UK aerospace.”
The Civil Helicopter Facility will include a commercial helicopter final assembly line, helicopter maintenance facility, helicopter training academy in conjunction with the Aerohub at Newquay Cornwall Airport, and a helicopter Research and Development (R&D) Center in conjunction with industry and academia.
RGF funding will support design and development work for the AW609 TiltRotor and future tiltrotor designs. AgustaWestland will work with the National Composites Center, University of Liverpool and a number of key UK suppliers on this program. This project will allow UK industry and academia to be involved in the most advanced and innovative aerospace programme of today. The AW609 TiltRotor is set to revolutionise flying by combining the benefits of a helicopter and an aeroplane and it will be the world’s first high speed commercial rotorcraft to enter the market following certification in 2016.
These projects will provide long term sustainability and growth of highly skilled engineering and manufacturing jobs across the UK and create hundreds of new opportunities for the UK supply chain. It will also support a wide range of research projects for future commercial rotorcraft programmes, keeping the UK at the very forefront of rotorcraft technology.
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Rockwell Collins’ Pro Line Fusion selected for AW609
26 October 2012 - 9:31 by the Shephard News Team
Rockwell Collins has entered new market territory with the selection of its Pro Line Fusion integrated avionics for AgustaWestland’s AW609 TiltRotor aircraft. The selection marks the first European customer for the Pro Line Fusion product.
Pro Line Fusion is a 14 inch (35.5 cm) touch-control primary flight display that enables natural, eyes-forward operation and enhanced situational awareness through all phases of flight. It provides advanced communication, navigation and surveillance systems, and will render the AW609 aircraft capable of single-pilot operations under instrument flight rule conditions.
According to the company, this is the first announced forward-fit application of Rockwell Collins’ touch-control primary flight displays.
Claude Alber, vice president and managing director of Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EuMEA) for Rockwell Collins, said: ‘This is a very important win for Rockwell Collins as it demonstrates the extreme flexibility and advanced capabilities of our newest avionics offering, and deepens relationships with our customers. Pro Line Fusion is a perfect fit for the unique, multi-role characteristics of the AW609’.
Pro Line Fusion entered into service in March 2012 and is now featured on 15 announced platforms ranging from turboprops and light business jets to air transport and military aircraft.
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That "about 80" order figure (with $100K refundable deposit) has been quoted since 2000. Customers previously claimed for the type include Aero-Dienst, Bristow, Helicopter Services (now CHC) and PHI, plus Greg Norman, Wayne Huizenga, Don Carter, Ross Perot Jr. and at least one unnamed Mid East sheik, though some of the other LOI holders are likely to be six feet under by now.
The only recently announced customer is Mike Bloomberg.
I/C
The only recently announced customer is Mike Bloomberg.
I/C
Last edited by Ian Corrigible; 26th Oct 2012 at 17:01.