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.”
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.”
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.”
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. but very much outclassed by Valor. for manned rotorcraft the PRC is very much conventional.
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.
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.”
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.”
