Leonardo AW609 Tiltrotor completes carrier trials
It was recently announced by Leonardo, that one of their AW609 Tiltrotor aircraft successfully completed a series of deck landings on the Italian Navy Fleet Flagship ITS Cavour (CVH550). These tests took place from 3 to 12 April, flying the fourth prototype N609PH (c/n AC4). This aircraft, although a prototype is fully representative of the final production configuration.
N609PH was flown from the Leonardo’s facility based in Cascina Costa (Samarate) to Maristaer.
Grottaglie Naval Base. The tiltrotor, with test pilots and flight test engineers from Leonardo (supported by Italian Navy personnel for the embarked operations), took off from the base inbound to the Italian aircraft carrier.
Deck landing and take-off procedures were performed in over fifteen different conditions (including wind conditions), featuring straight-in and lateral approach, vertical landing, vertical take-off, and lateral exit.
Being the first tiltrotor to achieve a civil certification, the AW609 is ideally positioned to meet a range of government and public service needs, in Italy and globally. The demonstration trials are the latest step taken under the activities carried out by a joint working group established in 2022 including Leonardo, the Italian Navy, the Italian Army, and Guardia di Finanza (Italy’s
Customs Police). The working group is intended to evaluate the potential of tiltrotor technologies.
Photos: Leonardo