AW609 Tiltrotor Ship Trials: Commanders Gianfranco Cito and Luca Moro share their experience.

I'm Gianfranco Citto, I'm the head of the flight test department for the Alfa Whiskey 609. I have flown the 609 in all different scenarios, in different places, but I've never flown the 609 before on a ship. Flying on a ship is a very difficult environment because the wind is sometimes unpredictable and you can have extreme conditions. The fact that 609 performs well in this condition gives us the confirmation that the handling qualities of this aircraft are good and the possibility to operate with the Italian Navy gave us the possibility to test the flexibility of this aircraft. The aircraft performed well according to what we have seen during the simulation. We have worked for six months in Leonardo to prepare this campaign. We have simulated the shipborne operation in our simulator and what we found during the campaign is what we have tested. The simulation was fundamental for the safety but also to put in place the best procedure to operate with this type of aircraft. Aircraft, helicopters, they are different so we need to develop specific procedures and the simulation had a key role in this phase. I'm commander Luca Moro, Italian Navy experimental test pilot and commanding officer of the Naval Aviation Testing and Evaluation Center. The AW609, thanks to its tilt rotor technology, represents a paradigm change and summarizes both the benefits of the rotary wing and fixed wing flight characteristics. Mainly when in helicopter mode, the ability to take off and land in limited spaces and areas where traditional runways are not available. In upper mode, on the contrary, the high speed and the altitude that can be reached are very peculiar, greater than traditional helicopters and are related to an increase in operational effectiveness in terms of reduced flight time and long distance coverage. The Italian Navy is closely looking at the tilt rotor technology because, thanks to its characteristics, it could represent a suitable option for the requirements of offshore logistical support. In particular, the test of the AW609 air vehicle on board aircraft carrier Cavour could represent a first step in evaluating the interoperability of the mentioned aircraft on board Italian Navy ships. The flight activity carried out by Leonardo Helicopter experimental operation with the collaboration of ITS Cavour was very interesting and, by first analysis, highlighted the flight characteristics of the AW609 tilt rotor. As I mentioned before, a military warship is an excellent mean to verify the ability to take off and land in limited space and on a moving platform. The flight activity carried by Leonardo Helicopter Division, that the Italian Navy supports, has the primary purpose of data acquisition in order to verify the AW609 capability to be employed on board ships. In this regard, we will be waiting the result of this analysis in order to have an initial assessment of the correspondence of the AW609 characteristics and the Italian Navy's requirements that are focused to enhance logistical support for a platform deployed at sea.