AgustaWestland’s AW609 civil tiltrotor prototype set a speed record on a 1,161-km “point-to-point” journey, covering the 627 nm from its factory in Yeovil, UK, to its Cascina Costa, Italy facility in 2 hours 18 minutes, the company reported this week. Prototype No. 2 started with a vertical takeoff from Yeovil, then climbed to its en route cruising altitude of 25,000 feet, passing north of Southampton, just south of Paris, over the Alps and Piemonte in Italy before descending and landing at Cascina Costa, near Milan.

The Italian aircraft manufacturer claims that flying the AW609 on the route was more time efficient that using a combination of car, helicopter and business jet from central cities at either end of the route. A tiltorotor typically provides a time saving of between 30 and 50 percent on trips of up to 700 statute miles, compared with the car, helicopter and private jet combination, the company claims. AgustaWestland is currently building test ships No. 3 and No. 4 and is in the process of transferring most flight test and continuing development work on the AW609 to its plant in Philadelphia, where the aircraft will be produced after anticipated FAA certification in 2017. It is expected to release a price for the AW609 late this year.