BELL BOEING HAS selected Rockwell-Collins to supply avionics for its Model 609 civil tilt-rotor. The team has chosen Collins' Pro Line 21 integrated digital avionics, already selected for Raytheon's Premier 1 business jet.
The cockpit of the six- to nine-passenger 609 will have three 250 x 200mm, liquid-crystal displays. Rockwell-Collins will also supply the radio suite, including a Mode S transponder, standard equipment, including engine-indication and crew-alerting system, and options including a flight director.
Bell Boeing plans to fly the 609 in mid-1999, leading to certification and first deliveries in 2001. The 609 will be an all-composite aircraft, powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6C-67s and equipped with a Lear Astronics triplex digital, fly-by-wire, flight-control system.
Source: Flight International
