News
AW609 test pilots receive Iven C. Kincheloe Award
November 4, 2014 By Carey Fredericks
Nov. 4, 2014, Farnborough, U.K. - AgustaWestland has announced that three of its AW609 test pilots have received from the Society of Experimental Test Pilots the prestigious Iven C. Kincheloe award and were recognized at the Society’s annual gala.
The Kincheloe Award recognizes outstanding professional accomplishment
in the conduct of flight-testing by a test pilot member of the Society
of Experimental Test Pilots and is the most visible recognition of the
Society's contribution to the aviation community.
The award was given to recognize the achievements of experimental test
pilots Dan Wells, Paul Edwards and Pietro Venanzi, for the successful
power-off conversions and autorotation trials that were completed
between March and April of 2014.
The tests were conducted as part of FAA civil certification activities
and covered the full wind-milling and autorotation envelopes, which
earlier in 2014 marked another major achievement for the development of
the world’s first civil tiltrotor.
The AW609 flight testing aircraft have so far logged over 1,000 hours,
and a third aircraft now in final assembly will soon join the program as
development continues towards FAA civil certification.
