Bell-Boeing Tactical Tilt-rotor

[Antonio]

From Flight International 23-29 May 1990

Bell-Boeing Supersonic combat tilt-rotor. Dual-mode engine incorporating folding rotors and employing jet exhausts.
A high speed subsonic version also proposed.

In the same page (29) there is information about US Army beyond LH program for an advanced aerial attack vehicle to be built before the year 2000. May be this Tilt-rotor would be targeted to this program?

 

[flateric]

In addition to previously posted in this thread 'Boeing supersonic tiltrotor' here go other members of this Bell-Boeing folding tiltrotor high-speed family from ca1982.

 

[GTX]

Hi folks,

One I just stumbled across. Couldn't find it on-site already and couldn't identify an existing thread for it - if there is one, mods, please feel free to merge into.

Regards,

Greg

 

[hole in the ground]

They had a hard enough time flying this thing

They were really dreaming with this project. I would think that blades capable of operating in a helicopter fasion would be pretty useless supersonic, and vice versa... There looks to be so pretty interesting weight balancing issues going on there too.

 

[Sundog]

They were really dreaming with this project. I would think that blades capable of operating in a helicopter fasion would be pretty useless supersonic, and vice versa... There looks to be so pretty interesting weight balancing issues going on there too.

You've misinterpreted the concept. It's a folding tilt rotor design. At higher speeds jet engines provide the thrust required while the rotors stop rotating and fold back along the nacelles. Which, IMHO, is a bit to Rube Goldberg like for an operation vehicle.

 

[hole in the ground]

Ah ok, my bad. Guess KISS doesnt enter into it then

 

[AeroFranz]

It's a folding tilt rotor design. At higher speeds jet engines provide the thrust required while the rotors stop rotating and fold back along the nacelles. Which, IMHO, is a bit to Rube Goldberg like for an operation vehicle.

Agreed. This ranks up there with the Variable Diameter Til Rotor as far as masochistic engineering.

 

[yasotay]

Actually I think there is still work going on with folding tilt-rotor. Another picture of the idea.

 

[MihoshiK]

Actually I think there is still work going on with folding tilt-rotor. Another picture of the idea.

That doesn't look like a complex set of gearing AT ALL. Nothing to go wrong with that, no sirree!

 

[flateric]

Cross-posted from LHX thread - beautiful drawings posted by CammNut

...here are two Boeing folding-tiltrotor images (or maybe it was tilt-stop-foldrotor). This was actually intended to go supersonic, unlike McDonnell Douglas's cigar-shaped LHX (no propulsion system).

 

[Howedar]

It's a folding tilt rotor design. At higher speeds jet engines provide the thrust required while the rotors stop rotating and fold back along the nacelles. Which, IMHO, is a bit to Rube Goldberg like for an operation vehicle.

Agreed. This ranks up there with the Variable Diameter Til Rotor as far as masochistic engineering.

Terrifying, yeah, but not as bad as those old Rotodyne-like ideas that had a full-sized rotor and dynamic system fold completely into the fuselage!

 

[XP67_Moonbat]

Oh wow! The art in Flateric's post, the cockpit scene, just needs WINGMAN slapped across the front!

 

[Bgray]

I've seen some pictures of this craft on this board and elswhere, evidently being a til-rotor with folding rotors to transition into supersonic flight, so giving you a true 'helicopter that turns into a fighter."

The older thread is here.

They also evidently also considered troop-carrier versions

But the problem is, outside of the pictures and interviews, I've never been able to track down any written material by the cmopany. No pamphlets, no interviews, no nothing, which is odd for a project that ran from the mid-1980s to 1990.
So has anyone ever found more written information on this project and it's likely uses? If so, I'd be very appreciative of a link.

 

[hesham]

Hi Bgray,

you can ask my dear Yasotay,in reply # ,

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/lhx-program.1062/

 

[yasotay]

The concept in question is indeed a Sikorsky tilt-wing effort called "CLVA".
I am going to guess that CLVA is "Carrier Launched Vertical Aircraft" It was
developed during the 1990's when Sikorsky was considering all sorts of VTOL
platforms. It was designed to have both a two seat attack version (see pic of model
below) and an assault version (see pics of 3d graphic by our very own LemonFox)
with considerable commonality. I would suspect it was intended to be a
replacement for the USMC H-1 series, that would complement the MV-22. The
six bladed prop-rotor is pure conjecture on my part, to allow for slowing
the rotor system in airplane cruise mode. There was no plans for this concept to have stop - fold capability.