Rotorcraft
Bell V-280 Flies With GKN's Plastic Airframe Parts
The Bell V-280 Valor tiltrotor recently began test flights with thermoplastic parts from GKN Aerospace.
Bell's V-280 is incorporating two new GKN Aerospace thermoplastic composite, induction-welded ruddervators and two compression-molded access panels made from reused thermoplastic waste.
Bell's V-280 is incorporating two new GKN Aerospace thermoplastic composite, induction-welded ruddervators and two compression-molded access panels made from reused thermoplastic waste.

The Bell V-280 Valor tiltrotor recently began test flights with thermoplastic parts. Two new GKN Aerospace thermoplastic composite, induction-welded ruddervators and two compression-molded access panels made from reused thermoplastic waste were delivered to Bell in June 2019. The newly installed components have now flown more than 12 hours on V-280 test flights, including during the recently completed autonomous flight testing.