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testing talk
lmost six years since Bell’s
V-280 program launched, the
tiltrotor aircraft’s
development is garnering
plenty of attention. The Valor’s development program
offers a glimpse of what the US military’s rotorcraft will
look like in the future. The program is also confidently
achieving milestones and making eye-catching progress.
Development of the V-280 program is running
alongside the Boeing Sikorsky SB-1 Defiant’s in the US
Army’s Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstration (JMR
TD), which is part of the Future Vertical Lift (FVL)
program. The two aircraft are often seen as in
competition by commentators, but the output from both
development programs will feed into the capabilities and
features of the future aircraft.
Aerospace Testing International talked to the V-280
Valor Program’s chief engineer at Bell, Paul Wilson, to
find out how the test program is progressing and how
engineers are pushing the limits of the design for the
future benefit of the US Army.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN AIMS OF THE V
TEST PROGRAM?
It is informing the requirements, capabilities, reducing
the risk and demonstrating the technology for the US
Army’s Future Vertical Lift (FVL) program. We are
specifically looking at the V-280’s capability to provide
the speed, range, agility and payload capacity that is
required of next generation rotorcraft. We are also
demonstrating the affordability of the
aircraft over its lifecycle, including how
we design and build it and how the
aircraft is maintained.
CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE TECHNICAL
EVOLUTION OF THE V?
We leveraged the 450,000 flight hours on
the V-22 into a next-generation tiltrotor
and built a vertical lift platform to meet
the Army’s emerging requirements for a
long-range assault platform. The primary
differences from the V-22, which is
designed for Marine Corps and AFSOC
missions, includes design features like
sliding doors on the cabin for ingress and
egress of troops and fixed, non-rotating
engines so that there is a clear field of
view during ingress and egress. The
engines are fixed and the rotor system is
all that rotates. In terms of size, the V-22
is designed for 24 troop missions whereas
the V-280 is for 12 troop missions.
WHAT IS THE CURRENT STAGE OF
THE TEST PROGRAM?
One of the major accomplishments has
been to execute the program on schedule.
We’ve hit all of our milestones since 2013,
through design reviews, building, initial
testing, first-flight in 2017 and through
the last 18 months of flight testing – 110
flight hours, 225 operating hours and
accumulating over 1200 test points. We’ve
been able to demonstrate the technology
and the performance capability of the
aircraft as well as the ability of the team
in terms of talent and tools to execute a
development program.
WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT
MILESTONES ACHIEVED SO FAR?
First flight has been the most significant
moment for the team. Seeing the fruition
of all those years of development is just
incredible. Recently the team completed
JUNE \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
1 // The V-280 achieved a
speed of 280kt in January, a
year after its first flight
2 // Unlike the V-22 Osprey,
only the tiltrotors change
position for the vertical to
horizontal transition
2
1
“We are looking
at the V-280’s
capability to
provide speed,
range, agility and
payload capacity”
/AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM