V-280 & other current (non V-22) Tilt Rotor Aircraft

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
There are fundamental differences between the V280 concept and the V22, as well as Critical Challenges. V280 can not be priced any near as high as V22 and must be more flexible in roles it also must be more heavily armed well still being lighter and more suited to flying closer to trouble spots. especially since Bell seems to want to use the same basic hull for their attack version.
 

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
Bell preparing to affix V-280 wing as ‘Valor’ takes shape

  • 20 JANUARY, 2016

  • BY: JAMES DREW
    WASHINGTON DC


Bell Helicopter begins 2016 with final assembly of its V-280 next-generation tiltrotor 23% complete and on target for first flight in September 2017, with the next major milestones being mating of the wing and fuselage in April.

The company’s VP of advanced tiltrotor systems Vince Tobin says the straight, composite wing for the US Army technology demonstrator is almost fabricated, including the electrical wiring and hydraulics, and the fuel bladders will go in last. The 11-member industry team is also preparing the nacelles to receive gearboxes and eventually GE Aviation T64-419 engines.

“Twenty-fifteen was really the transition from designing it and setting up teammates to assembly,” Tobin tells Flightglobal in an interview. “This year is essentially everything short of being able to turn the rotors on the airplane.”

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In 2015, Spirit AeroSystems delivered the V-280 composite fuselage to Bell’s Amarillo, Texas plant for final assembly.

Spirit AeroSystems

The team aims to “turn rotors” on the Valor and verify all the subassemblies in the first half 2017.

“We’ll do the restrained ground run, and that essentially says you have an airplane that could fly,” he says. “That will be April of 2017, and then the wheels will actually break ground.”

The company is looking at different ways to speed up the assembly process, since it’s an advanced concept demonstrator and not the exact, final design. Tobin says the "model performance specification" file of the ultimate V-280 continues to be refined as the army ponders its requirements for the follow-on Future Vertical Lift programme.

Once flying starts, Tobin wants the army to move quickly and transition to a development programme, given the significant industry investment.

“Our expectation is that we would be able to enter the acquisition cycle at Milestone B and go right into engineering and manufacturing development (EMD),” he says. “We would be ready to do that as soon as a few months after we go fly.

“There are very few of our technologies that are below technology readiness level six (TRL-6) at that point, so by definition we’re ready for EMD.”

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Bell Helicopter

The V-280 is one of two next-generation rotorcraft designs being demonstrated for FVL, which aims to introduce a new high-speed, long-range aircraft to succeed the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk and Boeing AH-64 Apache. Valor is competing against the Sikorsky-Boeing SB-1 Defiant – a rigid coaxial-rotor compound helicopter derived from the Sikorsky X2.

No funding has been allocated for FVL thus far, but the army expects to firm its performance requirements once the demonstrators fly.

FVL might not surface in the army’s upcoming fiscal year 2017 budget submission, but Bell hopes funding will be made available in 2018 or 2019 to get things moving.

“Sooner is better,” Tobin says. “We’re in the philosophy of ‘build it and they will come’. If we build it and they don’t come, the opportunity to get companies to feel comfortable about doing this again in the future will be diminished, so we really hope this works.”
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TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
The raider concept art changed about three times before they built the prototype. I expect the revisions of Defiant and Valor to continue until they have actual articles in trials. You can even see some differences vs the fuselage of the prototype seen in photos.
 

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
Does China have any tiltrotor projects in the pipeline?
Bit OT but as we are a sino centric forum, The only program I can think of was the Avic Blue Whale concept Which was a 60 ton quad rotor concept with a 20-30 ton payload putting it in the same lift class as the Mi 26 but That's at least a decade away.
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but very much outclassed by Valor. for manned rotorcraft the PRC is very much conventional.
 

Scratch

Captain
The competitors from Sikorsky-Boeing are also well on track with their product.

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Sikorsky-Boeing wrap up SB-1 design review as Defiant takes form
  • 17 February, 2016
  • BY: James Drew
  • Philadelphia
Sikorsky and Boeing are weeks away from completing the final design review of their jointly developed high-speed SB-1 Defiant prototype as Swift Engineering works toward delivery of the core airframe this summer.

Conceived as a next-generation replacement for the UH-60 Black Hawk and AH-64 Apache, SB-1 is being pursued along with the Bell Helicopter V-280 for the US Army’s Joint Multi-Role (JMR) programme, which funds competing X-planes as a precursor to a Future Vertical Lift (FVL) acquisition.

Weighing in at 13.6t, SB-1 will have enough carrying capacity to transport four aircrew and 12 fully equipped troops in high, hot environments. Its pusher propeller will drive it to a top speed of 250kt.

In an interview at Boeing’s H-47 Chinook plant in Philadelphia last week, Boeing future vertical lift chief Pat Donnelly said most components of the rigid-rotor coaxial compound helicopter are already under construction and will start coming together later this year.

Donnelly says Swift Engineering of San Clemente, California will ship the core composite structure to Boeing's AH-64 Apache production plant in Mesa, Arizona by mid-year for design limit testing, before it continues east to Sikorsky’s rotorcraft facility in West Palm Beach, Florida in the September timeframe.

“The aircraft will be stuffed with all the hydraulics and mechanical components,” says Donnelly. “It’ll undergo final assembly and we’ll fly it down there.”

[...]

In terms of building the actual structure, the Sikorsky-Boeing team appears to be lagging Bell, which took delivery of its V-280 composite fuselage from Spirit AeroSystems last year and is almost done assembling the wings and nacelles of its third-generation tiltrotor. The fuselage and the wings of the V-280 currently sit at opposite ends of Bell’s Amarillo, Texas plant where it completes assembly of the military AH-1Z, UH-1Y and V-22, as well as the commercial Bell 525.

However, Donnelly says SB-1 remains on track and will fly as planned in late 2017. “Team Defiant” has already established a fully functional systems integration laboratory and cockpit in Connecticut to test the software and flight controls and is beginning construction of the propulsion system test bed, or “Iron Bird”, at West Palm Beach. ...

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TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
and adding to it.
Boeing upbeat as US Army moves on Future Vertical Lift

  • 15 FEBRUARY, 2016

  • BY: JAMES DREW
    PHILADELPHIA


The US Army has moved forward with an ambitious project to introduce a next-generation family of rotorcraft designs with funding sought for Future Vertical Lift (FVL) in its fiscal year 2017 budget submission.

Future Vertical Lift-Medium is listed among 15 other “new start” projects in the budget submission sent to Congress on 9 February.

The proposed high-speed rotorcraft initiative has already inspired a competitive fly-off between the coaxial-pusher Sikorsky-Boeing SB-1 Defiant and Bell Helicopter V-280 Valor tiltrotor. But the budget submission market the first time FVL-Medium received seed funding to create a programme office at the army's aviation headquarters in Fort Rucker, Alabama.

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Boeing/Sikorsky

Boeing executives have welcomed the news, saying it allows the army to formulate an actual procurement plan and begin an analysis of alternatives (AOA). A so-called materiel decision document (MDD) will be considered and potentially signed by the US under-secretary of defence for acquisition sometime around October, giving life to what could become second largest joint procurement underneath the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.

“Certainly from industry’s perspective, it’s a good step,” says Patrick Donnelly, director of Boeing future vertical lift. “Up until now, industry has been investing heavily and the fact they’re establishing a budget line is giving some excitement and relief to industry that this plan is going forward. There’s still a long way to go before it becomes a production programme, but this is certainly a very promising first step.”

If approved by Congress, FVL could initially produce mid-weight replacements for the long-serving Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk and Boeing AH-64 Apache types. It might also spinoff a Bell OH-58 Kiowa Warrior armed aerial scout follow-on or heavy-lift Boeing CH-47 Chinook replacement.

“There are now five FVL mission sets,” says Donnelly. “We’ll learn which mission set they intend on developing.”

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Bell Helicopter

Sikorsky and Boeing are pursuing their SB-1 Defiant compound coaxial helicopter, based on Sikorsky X2 and S-97 Raider technology, as a precursor for FVL under the army’s Joint MultiRole (JMR) technology demonstration. Bell, meanwhile, is pressing forward with its third-generation tiltrotor, which was also selected for the demonstration.

Both sides aim to achieve first flight in the third quarter of 2017.

“[FVL] is going to be one of the largest programmes we undertake [in the Office of the Secretary of Defence] minus the F-35 when you talk about the sheer number of aircraft we’re going to be replacing,” US army aviation centre of excellence commander Maj Gen Michael Lundy said at a conference in January.

“It’s going to continue to get a lot of visibility and right now the support’s pretty good. We have looked at our future investment strategies and FVL is affordable. As long as the budget doesn’t get any worse.”
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strehl

Junior Member
Registered Member
Heli-Expo 2016 opened yesterday. Someone already posted a walk through of Bell's display area and it includes a quick look at the V-280 mockup which now conforms to the latest drawings (see 1:11 mark).

 
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