CNN reports that “Fort Worth, Texas-based Bell/Agusta Aerospace Co. is just weeks away from conducting its first test flights of a civilian tilt-rotor aircraft, called the BA 609. For those of you who haven’t heard about tilt-rotors, "A tilt-rotor has engines that pivot 90 degrees so the aircraft can take off vertically like a helicopter then fly horizontally like a plane.” The military has been testing the V-22 tilt-rotor for some time now, although the test program has been plagued with several fatal accidents. I’ve been touting the technology of the tilt-rotor for some time, even writing a really bad point paper on it back in 1987 or so for a high school assignment. 😉 Because a tilt-rotor can transition between vertical and horizontal flight like a helicopter and airplane, respectively, a tilt-rotor does not need a runway to take off or land but has the speed and range of a conventional aircraft. Such flexibility could revolutionize military and civilian aviation alike, but unfortunately the spectre of the accidents has cast a dark shadow on the V-22 program and tilt-rotors in general. I really hope that they can prove the technology reliable and safe, because it would be a shame to see such an innovative aircraft never realize its full potential.
