Page 16 - AAA SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 Online Magazine

Italy, have clocked over 1,700 flight hours to date. The entire train- shipwrecks at distances of almost 500 km from
ing syllabus with advanced flight simulators and technical support the coast much faster. At present, these mis-
services for customers has also opened. Bristow, one of the larg- sions involve both aircraft and helicopters. In
est helicopter operators in North America and other parts of the some cases, using a single vehicle would offer
world, will be the launch customer for the new tiltrotor in the US clear cost savings and greater operational flex-
for commercial use. Bristow will use the AW609 for various tasks. ibility and a significant reduction in time and,
Company officials also state that there exists significant interest in consequently, a higher probability of mission
areas such as Australia (especially for relief operations to support success. In medical rescue, the pressurised
the population in the country’s most remote areas) and Japan (to cabin and reduced vibrations in forward flight
connect small islands that today are not served by fast means of make it easier to stabilise the patient before
transport to the main cities). Mazzoni states that Leonardo already arrival at the hospital.”
has a larger model in development.
Multi-Mission Capability
Unmatched Utility The AW609 has a cylindrical cabin with nine
“It can behave both as a helicopter – it takes off and lands in a small seats plus two pilots, which is similar to business
space, without the need for runways or prepared areas – and as jet cabins. The cabin size allows it unmatched
an airplane: you fly more comfortably and at twice the speed of a utlility in various configurations such as VIP
helicopter. Furthermore, with a pressurized cabin, it can pass over roles where the number of seats is reduced to
perturbations and follow particular routes, such as overflight of the increase comfort; medical evacuation, where
Alps. For urban mobility, the point-to-point connection decongest there is sufficient space for stretchers and
areas with high traffic density and reduce commuting time. All to operators; search and rescue, with sophisti-
the advantage of sustainability,” says Mazzoni. The AW609 takes cated vision and lifting tools.
approximately two hours to travel from the centre of Milan to the
centre of London. “It can take off from a modular infrastructure
This he says will be key to optimize the fleet: for example, in north- that has no equal, a terminal that can be assem-
ern Alaska, where people can be transported to the coast and to oil bled and disassembled in any area, even in the
platforms in a single vehicle. In Australia, simulations have shown city centre, and that also includes services
how flying doctors could reduce the time to recover a patient in you would have at the airport,” says Mazzoni.
rural inland communities by an hour or two with a tiltrotor. “The This terminal concept – called Casa Agusta,
AW609 will be able to serve islands that today can only be reached will support the development of a network
by sea, such as the Japanese Ogasawara, which can be reached of point-to-point connections for both urban
in 24 hours,” explains Mazzoni. transfers and connections between cities, while
meeting the growing demands for sustainable
A tiltrotor provides better performance in terms of altitude as and modern vertical lift mobility, as well as
compared to a helicopter, which cannot remain in operation for greater access to urban areas. The travellers’
extended periods at high altitudes or high speeds. It can cover spaces are designed to house showrooms
greater distances in a unit of time while retaining the ability to take- where commercial and cultural activities can
off and land vertically. “The AW609 is the perfect vehicle to support be offered, within a structure built with sustain-
and supplement search and rescue (SAR) operations, maritime able materials. They can easily be remodelled
patrols and other public utility tasks to extend area coverage in or reallocated as the needs of urban transport
migration control missions and to counter illegal trafficking,” says and the city itself changes.
Mazzoni. In SAR operations, the AW609 can locate and recover
The AW609 tiltrotor is the world’s only tiltoro-
tor to have obtained civil certification and can
change the position of its two drive shafts in
less than 60 seconds, allowing it to take-off
vertically like a helicopter while flying with the
performance of an aeroplane. The AW609 can
fly at speeds of over 500 km/h and has a range
of almost 1,400 km, which can be increased to
over 2,000 km with auxiliary tanks. Leonardo is
currently developing configurations for different
uses of the AW609 tiltrotor. Its unique perfor-
mance, particularly speed, range, agility and
flexibility make it ideal for passenger transport
missions, offshore transport in support of the
energy supply industry, patrol and surveillance,
search and rescue, medical transport, disaster
relief and other government and military tasks.

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