Nav8tor
Line Up and Wait
After a two year delay, the BA-609 has resumed test flights...
"Bell/Agusta test pilots reaching milestones on BA609 flights
[size=-1]Fort Worth Star Telegram 06/16/05[/size]
author: Bob Cox
Copyright 2005
Test pilots for Bell/Agusta Aerospace Co. have begun the long process of flight tests on the BA609 aircraft, the long-awaited tilt-rotor aircraft that Bell Helicopter hopes will find a lucrative niche in commercial aviation.
The plan, a Bell official said Wednesday, is to finish the tests and have the BA609 certified for delivery to customers by late 2008.
Test pilots achieved a significant milestone during a test flight Monday at Arlington Municipal Airport, when pilots rotated the aircraft's twin engine-nacelles from 90 degrees, or vertical, to 60 degrees for increased forward flight speed and efficiency. The landing gear was retracted for the first time.
"Everything worked just like it was supposed to," said Don Barbour, a senior executive of Bell/Agusta, the joint venture of Fort Worth-based Bell and Italy's AgustaWestland.
Barbour is part of the Bell/Agusta contingent at the Paris Air Show this week.
During the next couple of weeks, he said, test officials plan to lower the nacelles to the 0 degree mark, parallel to the fuselage, for full forward flight capability.
The flight tests are being conducted at Bell's XworkX research and development facility at the Arlington airport.
"We're trying to go forward a little bit further each time," Barbour said.
Like its larger predecessor, the V-22 Osprey military transport, the BA609 can take off and land vertically like a helicopter and fly with the greater speed and range of an airplane.
The V-22 is undergoing an extensive round of tests that could lead to a Pentagon decision later this year to increase production.
The goal for the BA609 is 275 knots cruise speed, or nearly twice that of a conventional helicopter.
Bell/Agusta hopes the BA609, which will be able to carry six to nine passengers, will garner sales from customers who now use airplanes and helicopters.
The BA609 has been under development since 1998. The program has suffered at times from lack of development funds and attention, as Bell focused on resolving problems with the V-22.
A number of BA609 test flights were performed in March 2003, with the nacelles at or near 90 degrees for vertical flight.
Follow-up tests were to have occurred later in 2003 or 2004, but Barbour said the initial tests showed numerous changes needed to be made to the aircraft and the flight control software.
Barbour said the test program is event-driven, designed to meet specific objectives rather than a time schedule.
Most of the prospective customers who originally signed up to buy the BA609 are still waiting patiently, Barbour said, because they want the capabilities of the aircraft"
"Bell/Agusta test pilots reaching milestones on BA609 flights
[size=-1]Fort Worth Star Telegram 06/16/05[/size]
author: Bob Cox
Copyright 2005
Test pilots for Bell/Agusta Aerospace Co. have begun the long process of flight tests on the BA609 aircraft, the long-awaited tilt-rotor aircraft that Bell Helicopter hopes will find a lucrative niche in commercial aviation.
The plan, a Bell official said Wednesday, is to finish the tests and have the BA609 certified for delivery to customers by late 2008.
Test pilots achieved a significant milestone during a test flight Monday at Arlington Municipal Airport, when pilots rotated the aircraft's twin engine-nacelles from 90 degrees, or vertical, to 60 degrees for increased forward flight speed and efficiency. The landing gear was retracted for the first time.
"Everything worked just like it was supposed to," said Don Barbour, a senior executive of Bell/Agusta, the joint venture of Fort Worth-based Bell and Italy's AgustaWestland.
Barbour is part of the Bell/Agusta contingent at the Paris Air Show this week.
During the next couple of weeks, he said, test officials plan to lower the nacelles to the 0 degree mark, parallel to the fuselage, for full forward flight capability.
The flight tests are being conducted at Bell's XworkX research and development facility at the Arlington airport.
"We're trying to go forward a little bit further each time," Barbour said.
Like its larger predecessor, the V-22 Osprey military transport, the BA609 can take off and land vertically like a helicopter and fly with the greater speed and range of an airplane.
The V-22 is undergoing an extensive round of tests that could lead to a Pentagon decision later this year to increase production.
The goal for the BA609 is 275 knots cruise speed, or nearly twice that of a conventional helicopter.
Bell/Agusta hopes the BA609, which will be able to carry six to nine passengers, will garner sales from customers who now use airplanes and helicopters.
The BA609 has been under development since 1998. The program has suffered at times from lack of development funds and attention, as Bell focused on resolving problems with the V-22.
A number of BA609 test flights were performed in March 2003, with the nacelles at or near 90 degrees for vertical flight.
Follow-up tests were to have occurred later in 2003 or 2004, but Barbour said the initial tests showed numerous changes needed to be made to the aircraft and the flight control software.
Barbour said the test program is event-driven, designed to meet specific objectives rather than a time schedule.
Most of the prospective customers who originally signed up to buy the BA609 are still waiting patiently, Barbour said, because they want the capabilities of the aircraft"
