Second BA609 Prototype Takes Flight

The second prototype of Bell/Agusta’s BA609 civil tilt-rotor made its maiden flight today at AgustaWestland’s test facility on the Italian air force base at Cameri, Italy. Pilot Pietro Venanzi and co-pilot Herb Moran successfully completed the 52-min flight of aircraft 60002 at 1507 local time, having performed left and right peddle turns, forward and aft flight maneuvers, several take-offs and landings, nacelle position changes and stability testing. The third prototype, aircraft 60003, is already at Cameri and the fourth, aircraft 60004, is on Bell Helicopter’s assembly line in Fort Worth, Tex. Aircraft 60001 is continuing to undergo flight test activities at Bell’s Flight Research Center in Arlington, Tex. It has accumulated more than 100 hrs of flight test time and has operated at 25,000 ft and speeds up to 304 kt. European and FAA certification of the civil tilt-rotor is planned for 2010. Bell/Agusta claims more than 60 civil and government orders for the aircraft. More