Mar., 11/Providence, Rhode Island - Further validating the versatility of its tiltrotor technology, Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) today announced a major milestone in the development of the world's first commercial tiltrotor aircraft manufactured by its Bell Helicopter unit and Agusta, an AgustaWestland company. The Bell/Agusta Aerospace 609 (BA609) achieved its maiden flight Friday at Bell's Flight Research Center in Arlington, Texas.

The BA609 hovered at an altitude of 50 feet, performed left and right peddle turns, both forward and aft flight maneuvers, four take-offs and landings, nacelle position changes and stability testing for 36 minutes before setting down. The first flight follows seven weeks of ground runs and taxi testing for the BA609 conducted at the Center.

"The first flight of the BA609 is truly an historic occasion. It marks the first flight of an aircraft that will be available to the public that can not only fly with the high speed and range of an airplane, but can take-off, hover and land with the versatility of a helicopter," said Bell Helicopter Chairman and CEO John Murphey. "Until now, commercial helicopters were limited to a top speed of about 150 knots. The BA609 smashes through that barrier with a top speed approaching 300 knots. This achievement is as remarkable as when the Bell X-1 first broke the sound barrier over 50 years ago," he added.

"With nearly 70 advance orders from customers around the world, there is no doubt the BA609 will revolutionize air transportation," added AgustaWestland's CEO Amedeo Caporaletti.

With its rotors in the vertical position, the tiltrotor is able to take-off, land and hover like a traditional helicopter. When the rotors are tilted forward to the horizontal position, the aircraft is able to fly similar to a turboprop fixed wing airplane. The transition from helicopter mode to airplane mode takes 20 seconds, as does the transition from airplane mode to helicopter mode.

The BA609 will be used in a wide variety of commercial and civil operations ranging from off-shore oil exploration to corporate transport, emergency medical service and small air carrier operations. It seats six to nine passengers and is expected to be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration in 2007, with first deliveries to begin immediately following.
Bell/Agusta will produce a total of four prototype tiltrotor aircraft for flight-testing. Final assembly for production aircraft will take place at Bell's Amarillo, Texas, facility with another assembly line to be established at the Agusta plant in Italy.

"The first flight was flawless, the 609 performed exactly as we knew it would," explained Bell/Agusta Senior Flight Test Pilot Roy Hopkins who is the world's high time tiltrotor pilot with over 1,000 flight hours in the V-22 Osprey and XV-15 tiltrotor aircraft. Bell test pilot Dwayne Williams flew as co-pilot.

Headquarters for the Bell/Agusta Aerospace Company (www.bellagusta.com) is located at Alliance Airport in Fort Worth, Texas.

AgustaWestland (www.agustawestland.com), a Finmeccanica and GKN Company, with primary operations in Cascina Costa, Italy, and Yeovil, United Kingdom, is a commercial enterprise, offering an unrivaled range of products designed to satisfy the most diverse requirements of civil and military customers. With turnover in 2001 exceeding $2.5 billion, AgustaWestland is committed to delivering outstanding products and services in globally competitive markets.

Bell Helicopter is a $1.6 billion, leading producer of commercial and military helicopters, and the pioneer of the revolutionary tiltrotor aircraft. Globally recognized for customer service, innovation and superior quality, Bell's global workforce of over 7,500 employees serves customers flying Bell aircraft in over 120 countries.

Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) is an $11 billion multi-industry company with 49,000 employees in 40 countries. The company leverages its global network of businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services in industries such as aircraft, fastening systems, industrial products and components and finance. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO and Greenlee, among others. More information is available at www.textron.com.