Bell V-280 Valor Prepping for Flight-test Program | Aviation International News

Bell V-280 Valor Prepping for Flight-test Program

Bell's next tiltrotor design is 93 percent done and conducting ground testing in preparation for first flight around September 2017.

Though smaller than its predecessor V-22, Bell’s next-generation military tiltrotor affords several advantages. Because its engines remain fixed and only the proprotors pivot, the mechanism is simpler, and there is no exhaust downwash on takeoff and landing.

By Matt Thurber • Editor-in-Chief

February 10, 2017

In a well-guarded hangar tucked away on the Bell Helicopter campus at Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport in Texas, a tightly knit team of dedicated technicians and engineers is putting the final touches on Bell’s next-generation tiltrotor, the V-280 Valor. If all goes as planned, the V-280, which was about 93 percent complete in late January, will fly sometime around September this year.

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