Its flown
 

https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news/20...h-first-flight

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....6840ad6e0f.jpg

cheers

News about the certification date
 

At last the news about the certification date !!!!

Just kidding !!! :E
But "The metallic grey finish, paired with a petrol-blue line, gives the AW09 a distinctive and refined presence, underscoring both the maturity of the program and the meticulous attention to detail behind its design" .:}

Kopter: AW09 S6 flies in new livery, customer demonstration flights set to begin - Vertical Mag

.

But it has a working engine and it is flying... :ok:

The article says they've just finished their first *production* AW09, as opposed to prototype, and customer demo flights are about to begin. So that's something.

Hello CGP,
Sorry to disappoint you but their first production AW09 is already flying for 6 months now, they've just repainted her in grey and blue ( to give her a distinctive and refined presence).
About the customers demo flights, well I remember a press release from Bell saying that the final prototype of the 525 has joined the program and will be used to complete customers flights, it was 6 or 7 years ago so ...
.

And the 525 is currently doing cold weather testing up in yellowknife...

Leonardo Helicopters is confident it will complete certification of its new light single-engine AW09 this year, and deliver the first aircraft to customers in Europe :
Leonardo confident AW09 will be certified and enter service this year - Vertical Mag
.

"The latest round of flight tests conducted by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) marks another important milestone in the certification journey of the Leonardo AW09."

https://verticalmag.com/press-releases/easa-advances-aw09-evaluation-at-mollis-facility/
.

Now I know why Robinson is reviving the comparaison, R88 vs AW09,
its time to lock some pre-orders, as the competition might be the first out of the chute.

Metro Aviation pilot flies AW09
 

Metro Aviation pilot flies the AW09


cheers

experienced helicopter pilot flies helicopter- what a newsworthy event!

Let me at her, then!!! :E:E

Didn't realise that Leonardo kept the Glaris operation running. Thought they would move the project. Good on them.

Clockwise rotor?

Aren't the other Agusta/Leonardo products ACW/CCW?

It's a Swiss design; when the company ran out of money (again) they were acquired by Leonardo and rebranded as the "AW09".

Excuse my colossal engineering ignorance, but, between the prototype and the production aircraft, how difficult would it have been to change the rotor direction?

I noted with interest last year that the US Army require its next trainer for Flight School Next to have 'a counterclockwise-rotating rotor system' - understandable given that all of the platforms these future Army pilots will graduate to are thus configured.