Final AW159 Lynx Wildcat test aircraft made its maiden flight

The third and final AgustaWestland AW159 test aircraft has successfully completed its maiden flight on November 19 at the company’s Yeovil facility in the UK. During its maiden flight, a range of general handling checks were completed. The aircraft, designated TI3, is the third of three test aircraft that will complete a 600 hour integrated flight test programme. This first flight comes a few weeks after the second AW159, designated TI2, which first flew in mid-October. All the three aircraft flew together for the first time on the same day.

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 on schedule in July 2010.