Bell has announced a tilt rotor to take the place of the Black Hawk. It is smaller than the v-22, and featured fixed wingtip engines: the proprotors tilt, but the engines do not. This leaves a clearer line of sight out the side during hover, both for ingress and egress, as well as door gunners.
An attack version is also contemplated.
Bell Helicopter Introduces the Bell V-280 Valor Tiltrotor at AAAA.
FORT WORTH, TX (April 10, 2013) – Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company (NYSE: TXT), revealed today the Bell V-280 ValorTM, its offering for the Joint Multi Role/Future Vertical Lift (FVL) Technology Demonstrator (JMR/TD), at the 2013 Army Aviation Association of America’s (AAAA) Annual Professional Forum and Exposition in Fort Worth.
- Speed: 280 KTAS cruise speed
- Combat range: 500-800nm
- Strategically Self-Deployable – 2100nm Range
- Achieves 6k/95
- Non-rotating, fixed engines
- Triple redundant fly-by-wire flight control system
- Conventional, retractable landing gear
- Two 6’ wide large side doors for ease of ingress/egress
- Suitable down wash
- Significantly smaller logistical footprint compared to other aircraft
Please enjoy this Bell PR video featuring decent computer graphics and some rather painful acting:
[youtube 1O3Onyas984]
The official Bell V-280 website, with more images and such.