Last June Bell/Agusta completed initial testing of its BA609 civil tiltrotor at Bell’s Fort Worth, Texas flight-test center. At the time, project test pilot Roy Hopkins said he was particularly impressed by the tiltrotor’s handling qualities. Over nine flights of the BA609, Hopkins, accompanied by flight test pilot Dwayne Williams, logged 14 hours in helicopter mode. Hopkins and Williams are still in post, currently evaluating reconfigurations to the aircraft in the associated vehicle management system integration laboratory, which replicates all the components and software found on the actual aircraft.
However, technical director John Magee, who had spent much of his life’s work on tiltrotors, retired just as the initial flight-test phase came to an end. Ross Menger took over his post. Since then, the tempo of work on the aircraft has been maintained, although not all of the activities are taking place on U.S. soil. Explained Menger, “We had an extensive reorganization and restructuring of the entire program, renegotiating the work split with Agusta.
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