Transforming Civil Vertical Lift If the 9- to 12-seat AW609 achieves success similar to the V-22 in civil air ambulance, search-and-rescue, offshore support, corporate transport, and VIP operations, it may transform civil vertical lift operations everywhere. Te all-weather tiltrotor is designed to fly
at 270 kt. and 25,000 ft. With an 18,000-lb. maximum takeoff weight, 6,000-plus-lb. useful load, and 750-nm range, the fly-by-wire AW609 “is poised to change the face of civil aviation” by giving operators “a huge speed and range advantage over a conventional helicopter,” says David King, Leonardo’s chief engineer for tiltrotor technologies. Te FAA could foster that transformation
through its pending review of “powered lift” aircraft regulations. (Te term “powered lift” refers to heavier-than-air aircraft that can take off or land like an airplane or a helicopter and transition between both those modes in flight.) In particular, the agency could streamline how pilots are approved to fly the AW609. Leonardo two years ago opened its Northeast
Philadelphia Airport (KPNE) academy to train pilots, among others, for AW609s entering service. Te facility includes a Level D flight simulator. But under FAA rules, pilots can’t be cleared to fly a tiltrotor unless they log enough time in such aircraft. Te only way to do that currently is to fly military V-22s. “Training in the two-pilot AW609 requires
By James T. McKenna
border. Te air force says it was the longest hostage rescue mission flown at night. Te mission, requiring flying 11 hours nonstop, was completed within 48 hours. For it, the air force in January 2023 awarded the CV-22 crew members the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medals. In December 2021, the navy made operational
its CMV-22B, which is to replace the Northrop Grumman C-2A Greyhound in resupplying aircraft carriers at sea. Navy leaders had resisted employing tiltrotors for that purpose until the mid-2010s.
US Army leaders, likewise, long resisted adopting tiltrotor technology, instead pursuing faster, compound helicopters to speed up vertical lift operations. Last December, the army awarded Bell $232 million to develop a virtual prototype of its V-280 Valor tiltrotor under the multibillion- dollar Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft program to replace approximately 2,000 Sikorsky H-60s. (Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, and Boeing, which partnered on the Defiant compound helicopter contender, have protested the award.)
at least a private powered lift license; no pilot holds one. Today’s ex-military powered lift pilots (roughly 350) hold FAA commercial licenses; high-paying airlines want them. Unless the FAA revises rules, the industry can’t produce nonmilitary commercial powered lift pilots,” says Bryan Willows, Bristow’s AAM program manager. “It’s a showstopper.” Other hurdles remain. Te AW609’s certi-
fication goal has been a moving target for years. Its order book has shrunk with those recurring delays, from up to 80 units in the 2000s to an unspecified number today from Bristow, an unnamed European operator, and perhaps the United Arab Emirates. Te FAA has pushed back repeatedly on requests for exemptions from regulations that specify “airplanes” or “rotorcraft” with no mention of “powered lift,” a term developed to cover the AW609.
MARCH 2023 ROTOR 31
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