Bell’s V-280 Valor reaches 280 knots true airspeed

During tests in January 2019, after a full year’s worth of testing and more than 85 hours of flight time, Bell’s V-280 Valor reached its namesake cruising speed of 280 knots true airspeed. Bell and Team Valor continue to methodically and very successfully expand the flight envelope. The aircraft continues to prove its performance is well beyond legacy rotorcraft and will deliver revolutionary capability for warfighters as part of the Future of Vertical Lift (FVL) programme.

It is a remarkable achievement to achieve this airspeed for the V-280 Valor in just over a year of flight testing. Beyond the exemplary speed and agility of this aircraft, this significant milestone is yet another proof point that the V-280 is mature technology and the future is now for FVL capability set three

said Keith Flail, vice president of Advanced Vertical Lift Systems at Bell.

Purpose-built to conduct long range assault at twice the speed and range of existing medium lift helicopters, the V-280’s technical maturity demonstrates that close collaboration between government and industry can deliver transformational capabilities in a rapid and sustainable process. “Cruising at twice the speed of legacy helicopters, with double the range, really changes the way the US military can enable multi-domain operations. By eliminating forward refueling points alone, leaders can focus on operational goals whilst minimising logistical burdens,” said Ryan Ehinger, V-280 programme manager at Bell. In addition, Bell’s digital design and design-as-built methodology for the V-280 focused on creating a sustainable and affordable aircraft. The team took great care to simplify designs and advance technology readiness to inform requirements for FVL CS3.

As the programme moves into 2019, V-280 flight testing will continue to prove out Bell’s key performance parameters and reduce FVL risk in the US Army led Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator ( JMR-TD) programme. The next stages will expand the performance envelope highlighting further lowspeed agility manoeuvres, angles of bank and autonomous flight.

These milestones continue to demonstrate that the V-280 Valor is ready and that the Future of Vertical Lift has arrived: The latest flight statistics include:

• Forward flight at 280 knots true airspeed

• Over 85 hours of flight and more than 180 rotor turn hours

• In-flight transitions between cruise mode and vertical take-off and landing

• 45-degree banked turns at 200 knots indicated airspeed

• 4500 feet per minute rate of climb and sustained flight at 11,500 feet altitude

• Single flight ferry of over 370 miles (nearly 600 Kilometers)

• Demonstrated low and high-speed agility with fly-by-wire controls