First V-280 fuselage rolled out, page 1

Spirit Aerosystems in Wichita rolled out the first V-280 tiltrotor fuselage for Bell. The fuselage was developed under a rapid prototyping system used by Spirit. The method is designed to keep the costs down on the aircraft. Costs were compared to a well equipped AH-64E, or SOAR MH-60. The next step is to transport the fuselage to the Bell Amarillo facility where the V-22 is built, to complete it.

The V-280 is scheduled for a two year fly off against the SB-1 Defiant for the Future Vertical Lift program starting in September 2017. Bell is using new technology to try to make tiltrotor technology affordable for military use.

Spirit AeroSystems rolled out the first fuselage for the Bell Helicopter V-280 tiltrotor demonstrator on 22 September, revealing much about how the team hopes to make tiltrotor technology affordable for widespread military application.

The V-280 features several design innovations as a generational improvement on the tiltrotor technology used with the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, including a potential breakthrough with a straight wing that replaces the dihedral and swept swing on the V-22.

But Bell chief executive John Garrison tells Flightglobal in an interview that the most critical breakthrough on the V-280 is also manufacturing process intended to dramatically lower the price point and operating cost of tiltrotor technology.