Helicopter market intelligence consultants Parapex Media have identified a group of interesting flights from their continuous monitoring of rotary wing operations around the world. Yesterday, one of the Leonardo AW609 tilt-rotor aircraft was ferried from the manufacturer’s development base at Cascina Costa – adjacent to Milan’s Malpensa Airport – to the Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare Italiana) base at Pratica di Mare, 15 miles south east of Rome’s Fiumicino Airport

Today, the aircraft (registered N609PH) has performed two flights, each of around 40 minutes and flying at speeds up to 216 knots at altitudes below 1500ft.  Both flights followed the coast south-east bound before turning back to Pratica di Mare.

Pratica di Mare air base is the home of the Flight Experimental Department of the Italian military – Reparto Sperimentale Volo in local language.

We thus assume that these flights are evaluations of the AW609  by Italian Air Force.  The aircraft has had a minor repaint since the image below was taken and is now white and grey only.