Bell V-280

Bell V-280
Vertical take-off at Alliance Air Show 2019, Fort Worth (Texas)
Type:	VTOL - Transporter
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	Bell helicopter Lockheed Martin
First flight:	18th December 2017

The Bell V-280 Valor (dt .: courage; bravery ) is a tilt rotor - convertible aircraft that was developed by the American helicopter manufacturer Bell Helicopter and the American armaments and technology group Lockheed Martin Corporation . The technology demonstrator is being developed as part of the Joint Multi Role Technology Demonstration (JMR TD) program. Which is part of the United States Army Future Vertical Lift (ATCO) program. The Valor competes against the Sikorsky / Boeing SB-1 Defiant. The first flight was originally planned for September 2017 and then took place in December 2017. The “V” in the name stands for “vertical” and the number “280” for the target cruising speed of 280 knots .

development

A V-280 Valor with vertical rotors.

On September 9, 2013, Bell announced that it would manufacture the V-280 in cooperation with Lockheed Martin Corporation. Lockheed will supply computer electronics units as well as sensors and armaments. In the months that followed, further partners were announced, such as Moog Inc. for the control system, GE Aviation for the engines, GKN for the tail section and Spirit AeroSystems for the composite fuselage.

On October 2, 2013, the United States Army announced that it had offered Bell a technology investment agreement for the JMR program. The three competitors of the ATCO program also received this agreement. It has a volume of 6.5 million dollars and concerns phase I of the JMR program, which includes the further development of the technology and the interface.

On October 21, 2013, Bell presented a full-scale mock-up of the V-280 at the Army Aviation Association of America (AAAA) exhibit in Fort Worth , Texas.

In September 2015, Sprit AeroSystems Inc., a subcontractor of Bell Helicopter, handed over the first fuselage of the Bell V-280 after 22 months at its plant in Wichita, Kansas. The composite fuselage is then transferred to Bell in Amarillo , Texas, for final assembly . Ground tests of the assembled prototype began in early September 2017, followed by the maiden flight on December 18, 2017.

On May 11, 2018, the Bell V-280 flew for the first time with the rotors fully swung forward. A speed of 350 km / h was reached. By the end of 2018, a top speed of 460 km / h, a maximum altitude of 3500 meters and a rate of climb of 22.8 m / s were achieved in almost 85 hours of flight time. By March 2019, 300 kn (345 mph; 556 km / h) and 100 flight hours had been achieved.

construction

According to Bell, the V-280 is expected to reach a cruising speed of 520 km / h (280 kn, 320 mph). The top speed will be 560 km / h (300 kn, 350 mph) and the range will be 3900 km (2100 nautical miles, 2400 miles). The effective combat range will be between 930 and 1480 kilometers and the payload will be around 4500 kg. The crew will be four men, with an additional eleven fully equipped soldiers being able to be transported.

A big difference to the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is that the two GE Aviation T64-419 engines are installed horizontally in the wings, while the rotors are tiltable. The drive shaft extends over the entire span and connects both rotors. Should one of the engines fail, the engine that is still working can drive both rotors. The V-280 will have a retractable landing gear, a triple redundant fly-by-wire system and a V-shaped tail. The wing consists of a single carbon fiber reinforced plastic component . When landed, the wing of the V-280 will be about 2.10 m above the ground. This not only enables the soldiers carried along to easily get out of the 180 cm wide doors on both sides, but will also offer gunmen a wide field of fire.

The V-280 is to be equipped with a single-screen instrument . When it was announced in May 2015, such a screen was built into the mock-up. The screen, which extends over almost the entire width of the aircraft, was developed by Bell together with its partners Lockheed Martin and Inhance Digital over an 18-month period.

Technical specifications

Parameter	projected values (flown values)
crew	0004th
Passengers	0012
length	050.5 ft (15.4 m)
span	081.79 ft (24.93 m)
height	023 ft 0 in (7 m)
payload	010,000 lb (4500 kg) at 150 knots (170 mph; 280 km / h)
Empty mass	033069 lb (15000 kg)
Max. Takeoff mass	057,320 lb (26,000 kg)
Marching speed	0320 mph (520 km / h, 280 kn)
Top speed	0560 km / h (460 km / h)
Service ceiling	04600 m
Max. Hover altitude	01800 m outside the ground effect
Rate of climb	0(22.8 m / s)
Max. Operational range	01480 km
Transfer range	02400 mi (3900 km, 2100 nmi)
Engines	2 × GE Aviation T64-419
Rotor diameter	035 ft 0 in (10.7 m)
Rotor surface loading	016 lb / sq ft (78 kg / m²)
Armament

See also

• List of aircraft types
• List of helicopter types

Web links

Commons : Bell V-280  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Official Bell V-280 website
• Bell V-280 Valor on YouTube
• Data sheet of the V-280 from Bell Helicopters

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Bell preparing to affix V-280 wing as 'Valor' takes shape - Flightglobal.com, January 20, 2016
2. ↑ Bell Helicopter and Lockheed Martin team on V-280 Valor
3. ↑ Army awards JMR-TD program technology investment agreement with Bell Helicopter for next-generation tiltrotor demonstrator
4. ↑ Jon Hemmerdinger: Bell unveils V-280 Valor mock-up. In: flightglobal.com. October 21, 2013, accessed on September 13, 2017 . 
5. ↑ Fuselage of the Bell V-280. In: European Security & Technology 1/2015. P. 77.
6. ↑ ^{a b} V-280 Valor: Complete test aircraft. In: Flugrevue.de. September 7, 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2017 . 
7. ↑ Bell V-280 Valor takes off for the first flight. In: Flugrevue.de. December 19, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017 . 
8. ↑ ^{a b} Karl Schwarz: Tilt rotor test model: Bell V-280 in flight test. In: Flugrevue.de. December 20, 2018, accessed December 23, 2018 . 
9. ↑ https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/bell-v-280-valor-tiltrotor-reaches-300kt-457496/
10. ↑ ^{a b} Bell Unveil's single-screen V-280 cockpit. AINonline, May 21, 2015, accessed on September 13, 2017 . 
11. ↑ Bell V-280 Valor. In: bellflight.com. Retrieved December 23, 2018 . 
12. ↑ https://vtol.org/files/dmfile/JMR_Bell-Vertiflite.pdf