After years of asking, Agusta might get more work on 609

Bell Helicopter in July at the Farnborough 2008 airshow strongly hinted it is about to transfer more work to partner AgustaWestland in the protracted BA609

By Thierry Dubois • Writer

September 24, 2008

Bell Helicopter in July at the Farnborough 2008 airshow strongly hinted it is about to transfer more work to partner AgustaWestland in the protracted BA609 tiltrotor program. “We are looking for the most efficient way to get the aircraft certified and we’ll possibly find some efficiencies in Italy,” said Mike Blake, Bell’s executive v-p for customer solutions. Speaking at another press conference during the show, AgustaWestland CEO Giuseppe Orsi commented, “We are working with Bell to optimize the program; our goal is to certify the tiltrotor as soon as possible.”

Earlier, a Bell spokesman denied speculation that the company planned to pull the plug on its Bell/Agusta BA609 civil tiltrotor program or sell its entire stake in the program to Italian development partner AgustaWestland. The speculation about Bell’s future in the program escalated in July when Bell CEO Richard Millman told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, “We designed the 609 for a new U.S. market, and unfortunately we are not seeing that materialize, so we are looking at all options that make sense for the future of this program.”

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