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Bell Helicopter has finished building the prototype for its newest tiltrotor aircraft...


Bell hopes the V-280 a successor to the V-22 Osprey will lead to a lucrative contract to build the next generation of vertical-lift aircraft for the U.S. Armed Forces...

Like the V-22 Osprey, which is already manufactured in Amarillo, the V-280 is tiltrotor a fixed-wing aircraft with rotors that can be positioned like helicopter blades to take off and hover, then swivel down to become propellers.

The V-280 is supposed to be less expensive and have longer range than the V-22, which is used by the Marines Corps....

Bell faces competition from Sikorsky-Boeing, which is developing the SB-1 Defiant, an aircraft that looks more like a traditional helicopter but with a rear-mounted propeller for extra thrust.

Bell has sought to improve the V-280 to try and appeal to the U.S. Army.

For one, the V-280's engines stay pointed horizontally instead of rotating up and down with the propellers like the V-22.

The engine design allows the V-280 to have side doors and a door gunner, which the Army prefers, and eliminates an issue of hot exhaust being blasted onto landing areas...

V-280 at a glance
Speed: About 321 mph
Range: 500 to 800 nautical miles combat range; 2,100 nautical miles without refueling
Payload: 10,500 to 12,000 pounds
Carries: Four crew and 14 troops

Comparable aircraft
UH 60M BLACK HAWK
Speed: About 174 mph
Range: 276 nautical miles
Payload: 9,000 pounds
Carries: Four crew and 11 troops

V-22 OSPREY
Speed: About 306 mph
Range: 600 nautical miles with 24 troops
Payload: 10,000 to 12,500 pounds capacity
Carries: Two to four crew and 24 troops

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