Bell V-280 Valor

[Triton]

Full-scale mockup of Bell V-280 Valor on display at the 2013 Maneuver Warfighter Conference and Tactical Expo in Fort Benning.

Source:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=691901910837788&set=a.139252566102728.20844.137576202937031&type=1&theater

 

[hesham]

My brief opinion about that aircraft,


it'll be going to loss in hard tests,as Boeing/Bell V-22.

 

[Sundog]

Lockheed-Martin and Bell Team up on V280.

 

[Triton]

"Bell to team with Lockheed Martin on V-280 tilt-rotor"
Posted Monday, Sep. 09, 2013
by Yamil Berard

Source:
http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/09/09/5147576/bell-to-team-with-lockheed-martin.html

FORT WORTH — Lockheed Martin will join Bell Helicopter to build a new tilt-rotor aircraft, officials said Monday.

Three of Lockheed Martin’s business units will join Bell in developing the V-280 Valor, a “third-generation” tilt-rotor able to reach altitudes over 6,000 feet, company officials said. The company’s larger V-22 Osprey flies at 5,700 feet and is designed for a different set of missions, Bell officials said.

Lockheed’s part of the deal is to equip the Valor with a mission equipment package, officials said. The package will reflect many of the technological advancements that produced Lockheed Martin’s F-35 joint strike fighter Lightning II, being built at its west side factory.

“We are very excited,” Bell President and CEO John Garrison said in a statement Monday. Lockheed Martin’s “experience and innovation ... will help us provide the highest levels of maturity and technical readiness required for future vertical lift missions.”

Bell’s V-280 Valor is expected to compete for an Army contract in a Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator program. The contract is expected to be awarded this month, according to Bell.

AVX Aircraft Company of Fort Worth is also a contender in the competition, spokesman Mike Cox said Monday.

The Washington D.C.-based Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training division will take the lead for Lockheed on the project, with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Fort Worth and Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control in Grand Prairie also involved, Lockheed spokeswoman Melissa Hilliard said Monday.

In April, a model of the Valor was unveiled to hundreds of spectators at the Fort Worth Convention Center during the 2013 Army Aviation Association of America’s exposition.

Valor’s “clean sheet design” reduces complexity compared with previous generations of tilt-rotors, with fewer parts, as well as nonrotating, fixed engines, Chris Gehler, Bell’s business development manager for future vertical lift, told the Star-Telegram during the exposition.

Garrison also touted the benefits of the tilt-rotor during the exposition conference.

“The name itself makes an important statement of its own,” Garrison said, “V representing vertical lift, 280 representing its unmatched speed, and Valor as a tribute to the servicemen and women who approach their jobs with valor every day.”

Models of the Bell V-280 Valor.

 

[F-14D]

My brief opinion about that aircraft,


it'll be going to loss in hard tests,as Boeing/Bell V-22.

.?.

 

[F-14D]

Models of the Bell V-280 Valor.

Is it an optical illusion, or does the attack version seem to have a shorter fuselage?

 

[yasotay]

I believe that they are the same size ... right now.
More from Fort Benning GA

 

[Jemiba]

I believe that they are the same size ... right now.

Think so, too. Have a look at the windows in the cockpit roof

 

[F-14D]

I believe that they are the same size ... right now.

Think so, too. Have a look at the windows in the cockpit roof

Thanks

 

[Triton]

I believe that they are the same size ... right now.
More from Fort Benning GA

Nice, thank you for sharing, yasotay. B)

 

[Triton]

The Bell V-280 Valor mock-up on display at Fort Benning.

Source:
http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?163663-V280-Bell-Valor&p=2496880

 

[Jemiba]

Am I wrong, or are there still two basic versions of the Valor around ? One with the nose of the S-70
and a fixed landing gear, the other with a distinct Bell design ?

 

[ADVANCEDBOY]

I am excited. Although I was a bit scared that the nose section might be a derivative of S-70, After a closer inspection it seems not to be the case. IF it had a segment from S-70 installed I would never support this VTOL aircraft. Never. The same way I never supported X3 helicopter which was also not a clean-sheet design. I am allergic to rebadges and regrilles Remember, Airbus also wanted to use a lipstick on a pig strategy for their A350, but facing protests from potential customers it went the clean sheet all the way. I applaud such a strategy. Always! Until the day I die!
P.S. What seems interesting that the door handles on the front door seem eerily familiar. Looks like they have been taken from a certain GM product

 

[yasotay]

The original views of the V-280 had a very H-60 look, but was really a new design. The mock-up appears to draw from the 525 design more in the front end. The real reason why it appears similar to an H-60 is in that the primary mission it is designing to is indeed similar, primarily acting as an assault transport for a squad of troops with enablers (communications, mortars, machine-gun teams).

 

[ADVANCEDBOY]

Designwise I would have wished for smaller front tires. Of course retractable front landing gear in this configuration would be desirable, such as the ones installed on Ka-60/62. Also I would like the wings to made in more organic shape, that would represent thicker and wider at the fuselage and thinner and more narrow when moving towards the engines and rotors. And it is still very similar to H-60, could it be that they did clay modelling on top of an existing chopper? Who knows. It seems most likely not, as H-60 has bigger fuselage. Just my guess. I might post an updated pic of what I am talking about.

 

[Triton]

The Bell V-280 Valor mock-up on display at Fort Benning.

Source:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.691987927495853.1073741843.137576202937031&type=3

 

[TomS]

Designwise I would have wished for smaller front tires. Of course retractable front landing gear in this configuration would be desirable, such as the ones installed on Ka-60/62.

The front gear do retract. They fold inward under the fuselage, while the tail gear folds up as well. This is why you see the other model with no exposed landing gear.

As for their size, you want relatively big tires for lower ground pressure when operating in the field, especially if you anticipate doing a lot of rolling STOs.

 

[F-14D]

Jemiba and Advancedboy. The gear do retract on both version (utility and attack)--you don't get 280 knot cruise with fixed gear.

As to why the cabin resembles the H-60, that's because it's H-60 sized, and this particular model is designed to perform the H-60 role. That basic cabin design is very efficient, so it's not surprising that different air vehicles would have similar appearance. For example, although the nose was quite different and the aircraft didn't work nearly as well, the cabin of the YUH-61A resembled that of the YUH-60. Other sizes/missions would look different.

Another thing to consider: This is America if Bell's design was really thought to be derivative of the H-60/S-70, don't you think Sikorsky's lawyers would already be parachuting in?

 

[Jemiba]

Starting with the last point:

...don't you think Sikorsky's lawyers would already be parachuting in?

Yes, thought so and actually the nose is just as similar to the S-70, as the Chinese Z-20. But there may have been things like license
fees and maybe attempts to sell something as "using well known, proven and existing components". And a way to save or share development
costs and maybe time wouldn't have been to unrealistic, I think.

The gear do retract on both version (utility and attack)--you don't get 280 knot cruise with fixed gear. ...

Had another look at one of the videos and yes, it's shown there (see below). It's just hard to see on the model, was much easier on the
earlier version with a nose wheel landing gear (e.g.#35). In #22 it is shown in cruising configuration with the gear down and that made
me think of a fixed gear. But on the pictures of the attack version, the wheel well doors are visible.

Sorry, should have put on my glasses earlier ... :-\

 

[F-14D]

Starting with the last point:

...don't you think Sikorsky's lawyers would already be parachuting in?

Yes, thought so and actually the nose is just as similar to the S-70, as the Chinese Z-20. But there may have been things like license
fees and maybe attempts to sell something as "using well known, proven and existing components". And a way to save or share development
costs and maybe time wouldn't have been to unrealistic, I think.

The gear do retract on both version (utility and attack)--you don't get 280 knot cruise with fixed gear. ...

Had another look at one of the videos and yes, it's shown there (see below). It's just hard to see on the model, was much easier on the
earlier version with a nose wheel landing gear (e.g.#35). In #22 it is shown in cruising configuration with the gear down and that made
me think of a fixed gear. But on the pictures of the attack version, the wheel well doors are visible.

Sorry, should have put on my glasses earlier ... :-\

Aww, you could have saved your glasses, Triton posted Bell's drawings here that show retracted gear:

http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,19036.msg183930.html#msg183930.

Regarding "using well known, proven and existing components", keep in mind that Bell is competing with Sikorsky for this and FVL. If you're trying to sell your concept, the last thing you're going to want to do is say, "You can trust us because we use only the best. That's why we use the technology of the guy bidding against us for this award".

For that same reason it's highly unlikely that Sikorsky would grant a license to help out someone bidding against them. And if it was thought that those design concepts were being used without a license...Duck! Here they come!

​

 

[Triton]

The Bell V-280 Valor mock-up on display at Fort Benning.

Source:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.691987927495853.1073741843.137576202937031&type=1

 

[Triton]

Can we rename this topic to "Bell Lockheed Martin Future Vertical Lift (FVL) Medium proposal" or something similar?

 

[Triton]

Is this what a passenger seat looks like on a utility helicopter?

 

[Jemiba]

Is this what a passenger seat looks like on a utility helicopter?

Seems to be, at least for foldable seats.
(from http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3273/2654510818_d8fb45ca38.jpg )

 

[Triton]

It's still a project, still not clear, if it will ever fly in reality, so I think, it's still more appropriate
to the projects section.

Fair enough.

 

[F-14D]

Is this what a passenger seat looks like on a utility helicopter?

And here they are in an H-60. The V280 seats look more advanced.

 

[yasotay]

The seats will likely be similar to those in the MV-22, which are at least a generation newer than those in the UH-60. Given all of the evidence from twelve years of "hard landings", I expected to see significant increases in occupant safety as a big driver.

 

[Triton]

The seats will likely be similar to those in the MV-22, which are at least a generation newer than those in the UH-60. Given all of the evidence from twelve years of "hard landings", I expected to see significant increases in occupant safety as a big driver.

I've never seen the inside of a UH-60 or a MV-22, so I was just surprised that the passenger seats inside the Bell V-280 Valor mock-up looked like canvas folding chairs. Certainly very different than the pilot and crew chairs.

 

[F-14D]

The seats will likely be similar to those in the MV-22, which are at least a generation newer than those in the UH-60. Given all of the evidence from twelve years of "hard landings", I expected to see significant increases in occupant safety as a big driver.

I've never seen the inside of a UH-60 or a MV-22, so I was just surprised that the passenger seats inside the Bell V-280 Valor mock-up looked like canvas folding chairs. Certainly very different than the pilot and crew chairs.

The difference is that the crew is not expected to have to be able to jump in and out quickly with full packs. Similarly, troops are not expected to have to sit in their seats through multiple operations, takeoffs/landings.

 

[yasotay]

The seats will likely be similar to those in the MV-22, which are at least a generation newer than those in the UH-60. Given all of the evidence from twelve years of "hard landings", I expected to see significant increases in occupant safety as a big driver.

I've never seen the inside of a UH-60 or a MV-22, so I was just surprised that the passenger seats inside the Bell V-280 Valor mock-up looked like canvas folding chairs. Certainly very different than the pilot and crew chairs.

The difference is that the crew is not expected to have to be able to jump in and out quickly with full packs. Similarly, troops are not expected to have to sit in their seats through multiple operations, takeoffs/landings.

I also doubt that the seats in the mockup are representative of what will ultimately end up in the aircraft. That said F-14D is spot on. I mention the MV-22 seats as they appear to be the "state of the art" for troop seats in US rotorcraft at the moment.

 

[Triton]

Artist's impression of Bell V-280 Valor.

Source:
http://www.flugrevue.de/luftfahrt-militaer/flugzeuge-helikopter/us-army-waehlt-bell-valor-und-sikorsky-x2-modell-fuer-technologieprogramm/524136

 

[Triton]

News Press Releases
Spirit to Manufacture Fuselage for Bell Helicopter's V-280 Valor™
10/21/2013 10:56:00 AM

Source:
http://www.bellhelicopter.com/en_US/News/PressReleases/NewsRelease/NewsRelease.html?ReleaseID=1866365

Fort Worth, TX - October 21, 2013 - Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company (NYSE: TXT), announced today that Spirit AeroSystems (NYSE: SPR) will design, develop and manufacture the fuselage for the Bell V-280 Valor™.

"We are pleased Spirit has made the strategic decision to join Team Valor and will provide the fuselage for the Bell V-280, our third generation tiltrotor," said John Garrison, president and CEO of Bell Helicopter. "Spirit joins our growing team of aerospace leaders who are aligning their interests and resources to deliver the highest levels of maturity and technical readiness to the U.S. Army for their future vertical lift missions."

"Spirit, one of the world's largest composite aerostructures design/build manufacturers, is proud to be a part of Team Valor," said Larry Lawson, president and CEO, Spirit AeroSystems. "This is an important teaming relationship for both our companies to deliver the best value to such a vital customer as the U.S. Army. Designing and building the fuselage on the V-280 Valor centers on Spirit's core strengths, given our proven capabilities in large-scale advanced composite design and manufacturing, derived from both commercial and military platforms. Spirit is excited to bring our high quality, low-cost solutions to bear in support of U.S. warfighters' need for a Future Vertical Lift family of systems with unparalleled range, speed and payload."

Team Valor is comprised of leading aerospace companies, bringing the best engineering resources, industrial capabilities, and critical thinking in the industry to meet the Army's needs. Additional team members will be announced in the coming weeks.

The transformational features of Bell Helicopter's third generation tiltrotor represent the most operationally effective aircraft for the U.S. Army's Future Vertical Lift requirements. With increased maintainability and component and systems reliability, the Bell V-280 is designed to deliver the best value in procurement, operations and support, and force structure. With twice the speed and range of the US Army's current fleet, the Bell V-280 Valor will offer commanders a combat maneuver platform with unmatched operational agility to self-deploy and perform a multitude of vertical lift missions.

About Bell Helicopter
Bell Helicopter, a wholly owned subsidiary of Textron Inc., is an industry-leading producer of commercial and military, manned and unmanned vertical-lift aircraft and the pioneer of the revolutionary tiltrotor aircraft. Globally recognized for world-class customer service, innovation and superior quality, Bell's global workforce serves customers flying Bell aircraft in more than 120 countries.

About Textron Inc.
Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft Company, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Greenlee, and Textron Systems. More information is available at www.textron.com.

About Spirit AeroSystems
Spirit AeroSystems, Inc., headquartered in Wichita, KS, USA, is one of the largest non-OEM designers and manufacturers of aerostructures for commercial, military and business/regional jets in the world. Spirit's people, capabilities and state-of-the-art technologies provide customers with high-quality, high-value, cost competitive products and services. Spirit brings more than 80 years of experience with the world's most successful and admired aircraft manufacturers.

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements which may project revenues or describe strategies, goals, outlook or other non-historical matters; these statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the risk that the U.S. Army will not choose the Bell V-280 for its Future Vertical Lift program; the efficacy of research and development investments to develop new products or unanticipated expenses or delays in connection with the launching of significant new products or programs; changing priorities or reductions in the U.S. Government defense budget, including those related to military operations in foreign countries; changes in worldwide economic or political conditions that impact demand for our products, interest rates or foreign exchange rates; our ability to perform as anticipated and to control costs under contracts with the U.S. Government; the U.S. Government's ability to unilaterally modify or terminate its contracts with us for the U.S. Government's convenience or for our failure to perform, to change applicable procurement and accounting policies, or, under certain circumstances, to withhold payment or suspend or debar us as a contractor eligible to receive future contract awards; changes in foreign military funding priorities or budget constraints and determinations, or changes in government regulations or policies on the export and import of military and commercial products; and performance issues with key suppliers, subcontractors or business partners.

Contact

Bell Helicopter
Susan Gordon
817-280-3100
mediarelations@bh.com

Spirit AeroSystems
Ken Evans
316-523-4070
kenneth.d.evans@spiritaero.com

 

[Triton]

Full-size mock-up of Bell V-280 Valor.

Source:
http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewline/2013/10/the-future-of-army-aviation/

 

[Triton]

Full-size mock-up of Bell V-280 Valor on display at AUSA 2013.

Source:
http://www.janes.com/article/28556/ausa-2013-army-to-downselect-to-two-jmr-td-bidders-in-2014

 

[Triton]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIog8Ekx_eM&feature=share&list=UUNzUMvXNewuUaA9jTzzIhOQ

 

[Triton]

Artist's impressions of Bell V-280 Valor.

Source:
http://bellv280.com/media-gallery/

 

[Triton]

Full-scale mock-up of Bell V-280 Valor.

Source:
http://vk.com/wall-6054817_56959?reply=56972

 

[Triton]

http://youtu.be/inG9QRHxpzk

 

[Triton]

Source:
http://milidom.net/news/4772#prettyPhoto

 

[Triton]

Source:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/ausa-a-look-inside-one-of-the-militarys-largest-trade-shows/2013/10/25/d3023e16-3cd2-11e3-b6a9-da62c264f40e_gallery.html