Agustawestland AW-609
The Leonardo AW609 is a tiltrotor designed to combine helicopter-style vertical takeoff with the speed and range of a turboprop aeroplane. It originated as the Bell XV-15-derived BA609 and was intended for civil search-and-rescue, offshore, and executive transport rather than military assault missions. Unlike the V-22, it has a pressurised cabin and is designed around civil certification rules. The long development programme and limited number of prototypes make the AW609 one of the rarest modern aircraft types.
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Did you know?
A civil tiltrotor combining helicopter-style vertical takeoff with turboprop-aeroplane speed, pressurised unlike the military V-22.
Specifications
| Length | 13.3 m (44 ft) |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 18.3 m (60 ft) |
| Height | 5.1 m (17 ft) |
| Rotor diameter | 7.9 m (26 ft) |
| Maximum passengers | 9 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Maximum take-off weight | 7.6 t |
| Range | 700 NM (1,296 km) |
| Maximum speed | 275 kt (509 km/h) |
| Service ceiling | 25,000 ft (7,620 m) |
| Optimum ceiling | 16,000 ft (4,877 m) |
| Rate of climb | 1,500 ft/min (7.6 m/s) |
| Fuel capacity | 1,400 l |
| Engines | 2x Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6C-67A |
| Units built | 3 |
Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.
In CatchFlights
In CatchFlights the Agustawestland AW-609 starts as a Legendary catch. The tier is an editorial judgement of how special a sighting of this type is. The more often you catch it, the closer it moves to Common for you. The first catch of a legendary type pays a bonus of its own.
A catch counts for the manufacturer Agustawestland, the AW-609 family and the model in your collection, and the daily Type Rating quiz asks about the types of each family.
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