AW609 Civil Tiltrotor Drive Train Torsional Stability Analysis and Certification Test Campaign

The certification of the Leonardo Helicopters AW609 tiltrotor includes certifying, for the first time, the tiltrotor drive train architecture in a civilian aircraft. This paper presents a Simulink-based linear analysis that predicts torsional stability across the flight envelope as well as sensitivity to important design parameters. The paper also describes the ground and flight-test methodology carried out in the certification test campaign. The post-processing of experimental data is summarized, and results from the certification test campaign are presented as model correlation.