Leonardo has announced that the AW609 (Aircraft 5) has flown with Federal Aviation Administration pilots. The flight was a significant milestone, as the AW609 program team will attend the Pre-Flight Type Certification Board Meeting in New York next week to showcase the aircraft's conformity and system readiness.

The event served as a familiarization flight for the crew slated to conduct Type Inspection Authorization (TIA) #1 and this flight marks the first time the FAA has been on-board aircraft 5, following the pilot's prior experience on aircraft 4 in Italy. The AW609 team proactively presented its Risk Management process and existing test risks to the FAA last week, securing the necessary authorization for their Flight Test Pilot and Flight Test Engineer to participate on onboard flights.

Aircraft 5 is a critical asset in the AW609 program, having accumulated 62 flight hours dedicated to pivotal testing phases, including Handling Qualities, Avionics systems performance, and Cold Weather operations down to -10°C OAT. Aircraft 5 is designated as the primary aircraft supporting upcoming FAA (TIA) flights, acting as a linchpin for the remaining Type Certificate activities.

The telemetry control room monitored real-time data from the flights, with the support of the flight test director, flight mechanics engineer, flight control systems engineer, avionics engineer, and telemetry operator ensuring a smooth and successful flight.