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Photo Info
Two tiltrotors in flight

V-280 technology demonstrator keeps pace with aircraft development

By Elan Head | October 5, 2016

Estimated reading time 3 minutes, 16 seconds.

As the Bell Helicopter V-280 Valor tiltrotor progresses toward its first flight in 2017, the technology demonstrator that Bell is using for customer demonstrations is keeping pace.

Two tiltrotors in flight
The V-280 is Bell’s offering for the U.S. Army’s Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstration, the precursor to the Army’s planned Future Vertical Lift program. Textron Photo

Developed by Bell’s sister company under Textron, TRU Simulation + Training, the technology demonstrator has been at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C., this week, having recently been updated to reflect the latest advancements in the aircraft’s design — specifically in the areas of flight performance and control laws.

The updates are part of an ongoing effort to ensure that the simulator accurately reflects the current version of the aircraft, explained TRU vice president of business and military simulation Troy Fey.

“It’s a joint engineering effort,” he told Vertical in the run-up to AUSA. “We continually stay engaged with the development [of the aircraft], to include the flight control laws.”

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The technology demonstrator has recently been updated to reflect the latest advancements in the aircraft’s design — specifically in the areas of flight performance and control laws. Textron Photo

The V-280 is Bell’s offering for the Army’s Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstration (JMR TD), the precursor to the Army’s planned Future Vertical Lift program. Along with a Sikorsky-Boeing technology demonstrator, the SB>1 Defiant, the V-280 will be evaluated as a possible medium-lift replacement for the Army’s existing fleet of Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawks and Boeing AH-64 Apaches.

Although the V-280 technology demonstrator has now appeared at a number of expositions — including the 2016 Army Aviation Association of America (Quad-A) Summit in April — the frequent updates allow Bell to demonstrate the aircraft’s capabilities as they evolve.

According to Fey, the feedback has been positive. “It really demonstrates the speed [of the aircraft] and when you cover a lot of ground very quickly, you get a feel for the range, too.”

A demo flight for Vertical at Quad-A earlier this year also highlighted the aircraft’s maneuverability in both high-speed and low-speed modes, including confined areas in urban environments.

With the first V-280 prototype scheduled to begin flight testing next year, the technology demonstrator will continue to undergo further development and refinement. Although created primarily as a customer demonstration tool, it has also laid the groundwork for an eventual flight training simulator, Fey said.

“That fundamental core is established,” he said. “We have a strong basis [for a production simulator].”

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