Bell develops tiltrotor aircraft with a flight speed of up to 832 km/h
Bell is allowed to develop a demonstrator for a fast tiltrotor aircraft as part of the Pentagon's SPRINT-X-Planes program.
The picture shows an artist's impression of the planned X-Plane from Bell.
(Image: Bell)
On behalf of the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), US aircraft manufacturer Bell, which is part of the US conglomerate Textron, is creating a demonstrator for a tiltrotor aircraft that can take off and land vertically and reach speeds of up to 517 mph (around 832 km/h) by tilting the rotors in level flight. The aircraft, developed as part of the SPRINT-X-Plane program, is also intended to be extremely robust and also function under harsh environmental conditions.
A tiltrotor aircraft combines the vertical take-off and landing capabilities of a helicopter with the speed and range of fixed-wing aircraft. During take-off and landing, the rotor blades are in a horizontal plane. This allows the aircraft to take off and land in a small space – on an aircraft carrier, for example. The rotors are tilted after take-off. In the final position, the rotor blades are in a vertical plane and thus provide maximum thrust for horizontal flight with fixed wings.
In the first two phases 1A and 1B of the project, which started consecutively in November 2023, Bell initially competed with Aurora Flight Sciences. Following the completion of the two phases, Bell has now been awarded the contract for the construction, design, ground testing, and certification of an X-Plane demonstrator. According to Bell, it took extensive measures to minimize risks in preparation for the development. These included testing various technologies for the folding rotors, the integrated drives, and the flight control system. They were demonstrated at Holman Air Force Base. Bell also carried out wind tunnel tests at Wichita State University.
Experienced tiltrotor aircraft manufacturer
Bell already has some experience in building VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) aircraft in the high-speed range. They developed the X-14, X-22, XV-3, and XV-15 for the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the U.S. Army and Air Force. The V22 Osprey, a joint project between Bell and Boeing from the 1980s, is in service with the air force. The tiltrotor aircraft reaches maximum speeds of 565 km/h in level flight. With the X-Plan, the speed limits of a military tiltrotor aircraft in aviation would be pushed significantly upwards.
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Now that Bell has approved the continuation of the program, the second phase of the project has begun. The aircraft will be designed and built in detail. Flight testing will then take place in the subsequent third phase.
(olb)
