Bell V280 Valor hybrid tiltrotor helicopter has just completed dedicated testing low-speed evolutions, after showing significant performance in terms of speed and rate of climb.
There was little doubt that the V280 would achieve high performance, with Bell having a proven track record in tilting rotors with the V22 Osprey. Thus, the V280 reached an air speed of 300 knots, or 555 km / h, in straight horizontal flight, like the V22, a rate of climb of 4500 feet per minute and a ceiling of 11.500 feet. In addition, the device has already completed a transit flight of 370 miles, or almost 600 km. On the other hand, the Bell aircraft still had to prove itself at low speed, following the numerous accidents which marred the career of the V22 Opsrey.
The V280 is opposed to the SB>1 Defiant from Sikorsy/Boeing for the US Army FVL[efn_note]Futur Vertical Note[/efn_note] program, and has a lead of more than a year over its adversary, which only made its first flight in March 2019, while the V280 had flown for the first time in December 2017. However, while the FLV program initially concerned the replacement of the UH-60 Black Hawk maneuvering helicopters , the American general staff decided in October 2017 to extend the initial consultation to light reconnaissance and attack helicopters, expecting from the two American manufacturers a prototype in flight for 2023. However, the double tilting rotor configuration of the V- 280 seems much less suitable than that of the contra-rotating and propulsion rotors of the SB>1 Defiant for a light helicopter.