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Bell/Agusta BA609Type (Muster)Multi-purpose civil tilt-rotor (executive transport, natural resource exploration, medical transportation, search and rescue, law enforcement, maritime surveillance) Country (Land) USA/Italy (USA/Italien) Manufacturer (Hersteller) Bell Agusta Aerospace Company PO Box 901073 Fort Worth, Texas 76101 USA Phone: 001-817/280-6440 Fax: 001-817/280-8221 The programme was originally started by Bell and Boeing. In September 1998, Agusta (now AgustaWestland) joined as a partner in the programme, and a joint venture company was set up. General (Allgemeine Angaben) Crew (Besatzung): 1 - 2 Passengers (Passagiere): 6 – 9 in executive or standard configuration Baggage compartment (Gepäckraum): 1,4 cu m (50 cu ft) Power plant (Antrieb): 2 x Pratt 6 Whitney Canada PT6C-67A Maximum power per engine (max. Leistung): 1447 kW (1940 shp) Dimensions (Abmessungen) Length (Länge): 13,31 m Fuselage width (Rumpfbreite): 1,76 m Wingspan (Flügelspannweite): 10,0 m Width over turning rotors (Breite über alles): 18,29 m Height (Höhe): 4,5 m Rotor diameter (Rotordurchmesser): 7,93 m Wheeltrack (Spurbreite): 3,0 m Cabin length (Kabinenlänge): 5,33 m Cabin width (Kabinenbreite): 1,52 m Cabin height (Kabinenhöhe): 1,42 m Cabin volume (Kabinenvolumen): 15,84 cu m Weights (Massen) Empty equipped weight (Leermasse): about 4765 kg Useful load (Nutzlast): 2500 kg Fuel (Kraftstoff): 1400 litres Max. take-off weight (Max. Startmasse): 7630 kg Performance (Flugleistungen) Max. cruise speed (max. Reisegeschwindigkeit): 510 km/h (275 kts) Long range cruise (Langstrecken-Reisegeschwindigkeit): 465 km/h (250 kts) Max. climb rate (max. Steigrate): 7,6 m/s Service ceiling (Dienstgipfelhöhe): 7620 m (25000 ft) Hover out of ground effect (Schwebeflughöhe ohne Bodeneffekt): 1525 m Max. Range, no reserves (Reichweite ohne Reserven): 1390 km (750 NM) with 2500 kg payload at 460 km/h cruise Range with additional fuel (Reichweite mit zusätzlichem Kraftstoff): 1850 km (1000 NM) Max. endurance (Max. Flugdauer): 3 h without reserves Customers (Kunden) In March 2003, Bell said there were "nearly 70 advance orders” from 40 customers in 18 countries. In July 2001, Bell had claimed 80 orders from 42 different customers in 18 countries, apparently down from the November 2000 figures of 83 aircraft from 44 customers in 23 countries. At the Farnborough Air Show in September 1998, Bell had put the total at 68 aircraft from 40 customers in 17 countries. Buyers identified at one time or another are:
Costs (Kosten) For the first customers, Bell offered the 609 at 8 to 10 million US-Dollars (1996 value), with a downpayment of 100000 US-Dollars. Orders from 1999 were said to be prized 18 months before delivery, presumably higher. Competitors (Konkurrenz) none Remarks (Bemerkungen) The BA609 is a civil tiltrotor for the business market, combining turboprop cruise speed with the ability to take-off and land vertically like a helicopter. It is a completely new design, although the experience gained with the V-22 Osprey is of course heavily leveraged. Apart from the civil market, Bell is also targeting military roles for the 609. This could include a trainer for the V-22 Osprey in Marine Corps service. Also, Bell teamed with Lockheed to compete for the US Coast Guard Deepwater Program that would consider the 609 as a potential replacement for the USCG current fleet of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Besides Bell and Agusta, major suppliers for the BA609 include:
History (Geschichte) Bell and Boeing are teamed for the military V-22 Osprey tiltrotor transport and extended their link for this civil project, which should pave the way for larger models as well. Bell took 51 per cent of the project. At the NBAA convention in November 1996, the companies announced that they intend to build four prototypes of the Bell Boeing 609. A preliminary design review was completed in May 1997. By June 1997, orders stood at 29 form 20 customers. First parts were manufactured in Boeings Philadelphia plant in August. By the beginning of 1998, however, Boeing decided to leave the civil helicopter market and was withdrawing from the programme with effect from March 1. By that time, 61 sales to 36 customers were claimed. Bell then set about to seek new partners to take on design and manufacture of the parts originally assigned to Boeing. At the Farnborough Air Show in early September 1998, a joint venture agreement with Agusta was signed covering the 609 (now called BA609) and a new conventional helicopter, the AB139. Agusta will invest and participate in the development of the BA609. It will manufacture parts as well as perform final assembly for aircraft delivered in Europe and other parts of the world. The disturbance caused by changing partners has impacted heavily on the development schedule. Also, some problems with birdstrike regulations led to design changes. First flight was pushed back to late 2000 instead of mid-1999 and later slipped further. In May 2000, Fuji Heavy Industries was selected to build the production fuselages for the BA609, replacing the US company Aerostructures. Fuji will invest its own money in the programme. In July 2000, it was said that a first flight of August 2001 was the new target. Wing and fuselage of the first prototype were mated on November 29, 2000 at the Bell Flight Research Cente in Arlington, Texas. By July 2001, Bell said that prototypes No 1 and No 2 were nearing completion, and that No 3 and No 4 were to be completed in 2002. First flight was scheduled for late 2001, but in October it emerged that this will slip to mid 2002 at the earliest. At that time, certification and first deliveries of the BA609 were predicted for 2004, after previous targets of 2003, April 2002 and earlier plans of mid-2001. A flight test programme of 1500 hrs was planned, lasting some 18 months. Due to the serious problems with the V-22 Osprey military tiltrotor, resources (both engineering and financial) were withdrawn from the 609 programme. In March 2002 there were even roumours that work on the BA609 had stopped. This forced Bell CEO John Murphey to state that the program has not been cancelled. "We have slowed the development and certification schedule. This was my decision. It was not Textron directed. We simply need to make sure that any commercial introduction follows the V-22s sucess," he declared. The first BA609 began its ground tests on December 6,2002 at the Bell Flight Research Center in Arlington, Texas. 40 to 50 hours of ground runs were planned prior to first fight, but 100 per cent of the necessary test conditions were accomplished in 32 hours of rotor turn timer over five weeks of testing. Taxi tests were also conducted in late January 2003, with speeds of up to 90 km/h achieved on the runway of Arlington airfield. Nacelle angles between 95 and 75 degrees were evaluated. At that time a first flight of mid-April was planned. Maiden flight of the world's first civil tiltrotor, the Bell/Agusta Aerospace BA609, was achieved on 7 March 2003. At Arlington, Texas, the prototype hovered at an altitude of 50 feet, performed left and right peddle turns, both forward and aft flight maneuvers, four take-offs and landings, nacelle position changes and stability testing for 36 minutes before setting down. "The first flight was flawless, the 609 performed exactly as we knew it would,” explained Bell/Agusta Senior Flight Test Pilot Roy Hopkins who is the world's high time tiltrotor pilot with over 1,000 flight hours in the V-22 Osprey and XV-15 tiltrotor aircraft. Bell test pilot Dwayne Williams flew as co-pilot. A second aircraft is expected to join the programme in 2003, with two more prototypes following in 2004. The BA609 is expected to be certified by the FAA in 2007, after a 3000 hour flight test programme. First deliveries are to begin immediately thereafter. Final assembly for production aircraft will take place at Bell's Amarillo, Texas, facility with another assembly line to be established at the Agusta plant in Cascina Costa, for the European market.
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