Tue, Nov 23, 2010
Delivery Of Production Helicopters Expected In Late 2011
The third and final AW159 test aircraft successfully completed
its initial flight last Friday at AgustaWestland's Yeovil facility
in the UK. In a news release, AgustaWestland said the flight
involved a range of general handling checks, and the helicopter
performed as expected. The aircraft, designated TI3, is the third
of three test aircraft that will complete a 600 hour integrated
flight test program. This first flight comes just a few weeks after
the second AW159 (TI2) first flew. All the three aircraft flew
together for the first time Friday.
"This program will deliver unprecedented levels of capability
and cost/effectiveness to the services once the operational
readiness is achieved," said Graham Cole, Managing Director,
AgustaWestland.
Aircraft TI1 continues to perform air vehicle and flight
envelope testing while TI2 is undertaking the flight testing of the
aircraft's core and mission avionics systems, the systems and
software having already been developed and tested on
AgustaWestland's Full Systems Integration Rig (FSIR). TI3's main
task includes undertaking load survey trials and naval development,
including ship helicopter operating limit trials. AgustaWestland
has now also established a new AW159 production facility at its
Yeovil plant that introduces a pulse line production system to
bring significant efficiencies to the final assembly process. The
first production airframe was delivered to AgustaWestland by GKN
Aerospace in July 2010.
The first flight of the third AW159, known as the "Lynx Wildcat"
in UK military service, marks another step in the development of
this new six-ton multi-role military helicopter, 62 of which have
been ordered by the UK Ministry of Defence. The first aircraft will
be delivered at the end of 2011 with the aircraft becoming fully
operational with the Army in 2014 and the Royal Navy in 2015. The
British Army's AW159 Lynx Wildcat will perform a wide range of
tasks on the battlefield including reconnaissance, command and
control, transportation of troops and materiel, and the provision
of force protection. The Royal Navy variant will provide an agile
maritime capability providing anti-surface warfare capability and
force protection and will operate in support of amphibious
operations and be an important element in defending ships against
surface threats. There will be a high degree of commonality between
the Army and Royal Navy helicopters that will mean that an aircraft
can switch roles easily, principally through the changing of role
equipment.
More News
Airbus Racer Demonstrator Makes Inaugural Flight Airbus Helicopters' ambitious Racer demonstrator has achieved its inaugural flight as part of the Clean Sky 2 initiative, a corners>[...]
A little Bit Quieter, Said Testers, But in the End it's Still a DA40 Diamond Aircraft recently completed a little pilot project with Lufthansa Aviation Training, putting a pair of >[...]
Line Up And Wait (LUAW) Used by ATC to inform a pilot to taxi onto the departure runway to line up and wait. It is not authorization for takeoff. It is used when takeoff clearance >[...]
Contributing To The Accident Was The Pilot’s Use Of Methamphetamine... Analysis: The pilot departed on a local flight to perform low-altitude maneuvers in a nearby desert val>[...]
From 2015 (YouTube Version): Overcoming Obstacles To Achieve Their Dreams… At EAA AirVenture 2015, FedEx arrived with one of their Airbus freight-hauling aircraft and placed>[...]
Airbus Racer Helicopter Demonstrator First Flight Part of Clean Sky 2 Initiative
See All