Leonardo AW609 progresses

The AW609 TiltRotor programme is expected to start icing trials soon following recent ground and flight testing activities. These advances have been made in support of FAA certification, which remains on track for 2018. The third prototype, based at Leonardo’s facility in Philadelphia, performed several weeks of unrestrained ground testing and, more recently, flight trials that allowed avionics and all systems to be fully tested. During initial flights, the aircraft performed basic hovering and maneuvering and patterns around the airport, concluding with hover landing.