Bell V-280 Valor

[robunos]

It'll be the nipples on the transmissions . . . ;D


cheers,
Robin.

 

[fredymac]

First Army pilot checkout.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kALIS6SlaFs

 

[Archibald]

Since it is painted black, it should be called the Dark Valor (runs for cover)

 

[AeroFranz]

I bet the transmission is blurred because other companies might have IP that this could be seen as infringing.
I can already see lawyers sharpening their knives...

 

[Sundog]

Since it is painted black, it should be called the Dark Valor (runs for cover)

Well, perhaps if they painted it black. Propellers, hubs, and fuselage stenciling are black. The V-280 flying in the videos appears to be the standard color the Army paints the Blackhawks; Dark green or Dark Olive Drab, I'm not sure what the actual color is, though. If it was black you wouldn't be able to read the black stencils on the fuselage.

 

[sferrin]

I bet the transmission is blurred because other companies might have IP that this could be seen as infringing.
I can already see lawyers sharpening their knives...

If something can be proven to be independently developed can it still be considered infringing?

 

[AeroFranz]

I'm not an IP expert by a long stretch, but yeah, i think as long as you're first to file, the IP is yours, regardless of whether someone else arrives at it entirely independently at a later date.
In my company we've come up with ideas on our own that looked promising, only to find out someone had already patented it or had a patent written broad enough that it covered our idea, even if it was slightly different. As a matter of fact, a thorough patent search is one of the required steps of our internal IP process. It's pretty hard, you can start going down the rabbit hole looking at what has been done in the field, although the internet makes it less daunting than it used to be. If we find something substantially similar, we don't bother filing an application. You really have to make the case that it's significantly different for it to stick. and of course the definition of substantially different is kind of subjective.
Maybe someone else with more IP knowledge can confirm?

 

[VTOLicious]

I bet the transmission is blurred because other companies might have IP that this could be seen as infringing.
I can already see lawyers sharpening their knives...

Good point!

https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pdfs/US6276633.pdf

https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pdfs/US20150048213.pdf

 

[marauder2048]

I bet the transmission is blurred because other companies might have IP that this could be seen as infringing.
I can already see lawyers sharpening their knives...

Good point!

https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pdfs/US6276633.pdf

https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pdfs/US20150048213.pdf

The convergence between first patent's expiration date and the second patent's filing date is interesting.

To AeroFranz's point: I've seen it such that there's a firewall between the idea originators and the patent searchers
to protect the company from accusations of willful infringement.

 

[flateric]

Can anyone explain me wtf is Rotor Turn Time (RTT)?

 

[VTOLicious]

Can anyone explain me wtf is Rotor Turn Time (RTT)?

In the case of helicopters, RTT is the time from the moment the rotor starts to rotate until it stops again. RTT is recorded in the pilot logbook.

BR Michael

 

[flateric]

Much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[fredymac]

Latest update.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH4HWPDFbsE

 

[Triton]

"Bell V-280 Passes 140 Kt. On Way To ‘Cruise Mode’"
Apr 26, 2018 James Drew | Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

Source:
http://aviationweek.com/vertical-flight/bell-v-280-passes-140-kt-way-cruise-mode

NASHVILLE, Tennessee—As the Bell V-280 Valor continues cruising through test cards in Amarillo, Texas, the company now expects to meet all the key performance parameters set by the U.S. Army under the Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR-TD) initiative “by the end of summer.”

Jeffrey Schloesser, Bell’s executive vice president of strategic pursuits, tells Aerospace DAILY the next-generation tiltrotor prototype so far has achieved a speed of 140 kt. (half speed) with proprotors 60-deg. forward. Valor first flew on Dec. 18, 2017.

“We’re at the point now where we’re switching to an L-39 chase jet rather than a chase helicopter, because we’ll be going faster than helicopter speeds,” he says. “During the summer, we plan on reaching most of the required performance parameters that were part of the test program. One of those is cruise mode, also known as ‘airplane mode’ or ‘zero-degree pylon.’”

Once the company has met the Army’s requirements under JMR-TD, it will begin working through its own test objectives, including autonomous flight and potentially going above 300 kt. (the objective speed is 280 kt.). Bell will install a mission equipment package provided by key supplier Lockheed Martin, including a Pilot Distributed Aperture System. Just like the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II’s AAQ-37 Electro-Optical Distributed Aperture System, Valor’s “PDAS” will provide V-280 operators with 360-deg. unobstructed visibility.

Bell won’t give an exact month for when it expects to hit cruise mode, nor will it confirm flying autonomously this year or next.

“We’re following our test cards, as you’d expect for an all-new, clean-sheet design,” Schloesser says. “Eventually you’ll see us flying autonomously; that’s something we’ve set as a goal for the program. That won’t be this summer, but it’s not years away—it’s imminent. If not this year, early next year.”

As confidence in the V-280 swells at Bell, the company is actively encouraging government test pilots to come and fly it. Many service members have already visited Bell’s facilities in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, to fly the simulator and see the systems integration laboratory, but the company also wants government experimental test pilots at the controls during the test program.

Schloesser confirms that an Army pilot already has flown the V-280 during testing and provided a debriefing to the JMR-TD program team at Huntsville, Alabama’s Redstone Arsenal. The warrant officer is an experimental test pilot from the “Night Stalkers” 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.

Now that an Army aviator has taken the reins, Schloesser also encourages the Marine Corps to get involved. Valor is one of several candidates for the Pentagon’s Future Vertical Lift-Medium, an Army-led, multiservice acquisition program aimed at eventually replacing the Army Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk and Marine Corps Bell H-1 Huey. Since JMR-TD is a risk-reduction exercise for FVL, Bell encourages both services to monitor testing, review the data, and fly.

“We’d like to invite other experimental test pilots from the Marine Corps to also play a role,” Schloesser says. “The more they get to fly the aircraft in all its modes—hover through cruise—the better. As much as the test data will prove out what we believe to be the facts, having service test pilots who can give a subjective analysis from the reality of them flying is really important.”

While the Marines are already believers in tiltrotor technology, having adopted the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey, Bell has a ways to go in convincing the Army that tiltrotors are safe, affordable, producible in large numbers, and as agile as a helicopter.

“While speed and range are absolutely critical to this program, I can’t overemphasize that the agility at hover, near-hover, and slow speeds is absolutely critical. We’ll prove that, too,” Schloesser explains. “The Army is the one we have to convince, and they have very stringent requirements for operations on the ‘X,’ in the objective area. Level 1 handling is going to be critical to demonstrate.

“I don’t expect the Army to trust our word, but take a hard look at the test results. We’re going to prove this aircraft is every bit as agile as a helicopter on the 'X'."

 

[Mark Nankivil]

Good Day All -

Some nice pics of the V-280 in flight and the nacelle pivots aren't photoshopped either!

https://www.yellowshoephotos.com/Bell-V-280-Valor-Test-Flight-582018-KAMA/

Enjoy the Day! Mark

 

[TomcatViP]

Fascinating pictures. Many thanks for sharing.

What do you actually think is the twin outlet at the back of the nacelles?

 

[yasotay]

V-280 flew for the first time with the nacelles full down at 190 knots.

 

[marauder2048]

Film at 11.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=723vkZxfqSU

 

[seruriermarshal]

;D

 

[fredymac]

Those oversized tails are reminiscent of the YF-22. V-280 art work shows much smaller ones so it will be interesting to see how production versions wind up.

 

[yasotay]

Those oversized tails are reminiscent of the YF-22. V-280 art work shows much smaller ones so it will be interesting to see how production versions wind up.

Given that the requirements document has yet to be put on the street you are 100% correct.

 

[seruriermarshal]

;D

 

[seruriermarshal]

Bell Helicopters has a lot to show off; high and low-speed and run-stand work. “Everything is going toward ... continuing to mature technology and reduce risk for future vertical lift.”

 

[fredymac]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dhhth8N0gw

 

[Stargazer]

Those oversized tails are reminiscent of the YF-22. V-280 art work shows much smaller ones so it will be interesting to see how production versions wind up.

It is not unusual through the course of aviation history to see optimistic artist's concepts with small tails becoming production aircraft with enlarged tails. It happened quite often in fact... Once a paper design has been thoroughly tested in wind-tunnels and/or in flight, modifying the tail is often a way to fix some aerodynamic or stability problems that were not envisaged in the drafting stages. So my opinion on this is that the enlarged tail is here to stay...

 

[Archibald]

That video is awesome. It only lacks the Airwolf theme as background

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8syGlAMTKA

 

[Moose]

Those oversized tails are reminiscent of the YF-22. V-280 art work shows much smaller ones so it will be interesting to see how production versions wind up.

It is not unusual through the course of aviation history to see optimistic artist's concepts with small tails becoming production aircraft with enlarged tails. It happened quite often in fact... Once a paper design has been thoroughly tested in wind-tunnels and/or in flight, modifying the tail is often a way to fix some aerodynamic or stability problems that were not envisaged in the drafting stages. So my opinion on this is that the enlarged tail is here to stay...

Very possible. Also possible these prototypes are taking no chances, and after compiling a bunch of data from the flight test program they'll be able to shave a bit off.

 

[Stargazer]

Very possible. Also possible these prototypes are taking no chances, and after compiling a bunch of data from the flight test program they'll be able to shave a bit off.

Yeah. That's also a possibility I guess. Wouldn't hurt from a visual viewpoint!

 

[yasotay]

Those oversized tails are reminiscent of the YF-22. V-280 art work shows much smaller ones so it will be interesting to see how production versions wind up.

It is not unusual through the course of aviation history to see optimistic artist's concepts with small tails becoming production aircraft with enlarged tails. It happened quite often in fact... Once a paper design has been thoroughly tested in wind-tunnels and/or in flight, modifying the tail is often a way to fix some aerodynamic or stability problems that were not envisaged in the drafting stages. So my opinion on this is that the enlarged tail is here to stay...

Very possible. Also possible these prototypes are taking no chances, and after compiling a bunch of data from the flight test program they'll be able to shave a bit off.

I imagine that the small stabilizers are optimistic, since weight is king. That said the current design represents the design stage when the engineering effort was frozen to build the demonstrator/prototype. There are likely a number of changes in the base design just from the ongoing flight testing.

 

[bobbymike]

https://breakingdefense.com/2018/08/bell-pushes-v-280-gunship-shipboard-variants-recon-in-works/

ARLINGTON: How new is Bell Helicopter’s shiny showroom — excuse me, Advanced Vertical Lift Center — minutes from the Pentagon and the Capitol? Between the time I arrived this morning and the time I headed out, they installed two huge mockups of their high-speed V-280 Valor tilrotor. But these aren’t land-based troop transports like the prototype Bell’s already flying for the Joint Multi-Role (JMR) demonstration program. They’re heavily armed gunships.

 

[FighterJock]

https://breakingdefense.com/2018/08/bell-pushes-v-280-gunship-shipboard-variants-recon-in-works/

ARLINGTON: How new is Bell Helicopter’s shiny showroom — excuse me, Advanced Vertical Lift Center — minutes from the Pentagon and the Capitol? Between the time I arrived this morning and the time I headed out, they installed two huge mockups of their high-speed V-280 Valor tilrotor. But these aren’t land-based troop transports like the prototype Bell’s already flying for the Joint Multi-Role (JMR) demonstration program. They’re heavily armed gunships.

Nice find bobbymike, a gunship variant of the Valor would be ideal for Special Forces.

 

[litzj]

what is the missile like cuda? on the pylon

 

[fredymac]

These latest models show small tail surfaces so flight testing might be validating these are viable.

 

[AeroFranz]

Depends how hard they want to make life on the FCS guys. The AW609 people thought they could get away with no rudder, and its absence contributed to the loss of a prototype. I'm not saying it can't be done, but whatever they do, they'd better prove it's a robust solution.

 

[Sundog]

Depends how hard they want to make life on the FCS guys. The AW609 people thought they could get away with no rudder, and its absence contributed to the loss of a prototype. I'm not saying it can't be done, but whatever they do, they'd better prove it's a robust solution.

I hadn't realized the lack of the rudder was related to the loss of the prototype and, until now, I hadn't noticed that they had added a rudder. Thanks for the heads up.

What I find more interesting in those new V-280 models is the LO/Reduced Observability application to the Marine variant.

 

[TomS]

what is the missile like cuda? on the pylon

Looks like a generic SACM stand-in.

 

[litzj]

what is the missile like cuda? on the pylon

Looks like a generic SACM stand-in.

it seems reasonable. thanks!

 

[Moose]

It's pretty interesting how much better Bell has been in pushing this concept than in past projects. Maybe part of it is just how much the Sikorsky effort has vanished of late, but V-280 keeps popping up and staying visible. Wonder if they brought in a new marketing team or if they just figure this is a program that really needs to be sold.

 

[yasotay]

It's pretty interesting how much better Bell has been in pushing this concept than in past projects. Maybe part of it is just how much the Sikorsky effort has vanished of late, but V-280 keeps popping up and staying visible. Wonder if they brought in a new marketing team or if they just figure this is a program that really needs to be sold.

It is the draw down of the H-1 series production line, and (probably) the last Multi-year of V-22 purchase, combined with no US government DoD programs on the books that drives Bell's aggressive media effort. Investors are not known for a willingness to air condition large production facilities, and maintain expensive design teams just in case a need should arise.

If the FVL program comes to fruition, it will not be because the DoD has provided a compelling case to Congress. It will be because the National Industrial Base has made one.

 

[F-14D]

What I also find curious is that the main gear on the Army model appears to be fixed, while on the USMC version it appears retractable. Also, the V-2380 has gone over 190 knots, at least, but AFAIK the gear hasn't been retracted yet. Is that any indication of something?