LEONARDO HELICOPTERS US PHOTO


SEE


the maiden flight of the 1st production AW609


AW609 A


FTER MUCH ANTICIPATION, Leonardo Helicopters US appears on the verge of completing its 20-year pursuit of FAA certification for the world’s first certificated civil tiltrotor and putting that aircraft, the AW609, into service with inter- national air services giant Bristow Group.


Te manufacturer in recent years stopped forecasting a certification


date, but Bill Sunick, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania–based Leonardo’s head of tiltrotor marketing, says “we can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel.” For 16 years, the US Marine Corps and the US Air Force Special


Operations Command have been flying the AW609’s military prede- cessor, the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, around the globe. Its demonstrated


30 ROTOR MARCH 2023


Expanding the Vertical Aviation Fleet The


The remarkable tiltrotor promises advantages conventional helicopters can’t match.


speed, range, and vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capabilities have converted tiltrotor skeptics and spurred American military, diplomatic, and humanitarian aid officials to change how they conduct their operations. Osprey missions have evacuated troops at distances far beyond the


reach of single helicopter flights and sped them to faraway hospitals, greatly expanding the Golden Hour’s umbrella for patients. Tey’ve extended the range and shortened the time to get relief supplies to disaster victims. Tey’ve enabled the United States to swiftly protect and extract American citizens abroad from harm’s way. On Oct. 31, 2020, USAF CV-22 Ospreys, paired with Lockheed


Martin MC-130Js and other aircraft, flew US Navy SEALs more than 1,500 nm to rescue an American kidnapped along the Niger–Nigeria


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