army helicoptor replacement?

[sncup]

Bell V 280
Even without takeoff, the movement of those propellers marks a milestone for a new kind of aircraft, the technological successor to the famed V-22 Osprey and a leading candidate to replace the US Army's aging workhorse, the Black Hawk helicopter.
On that concrete ramp, the V-280 Valor tiltrotor started its engines for its first ground tests, with engineers monitoring every possible parameter to be sure each system in this one-of-a-kind prototype is working properly. When fully operational, the V-280 Valor should offer double the speed and range of the conventional helicopters it's aiming to make redundant.
The V-280 is truly something different. It's smaller, simpler, and cheaper than the massively complex V-22, which dates to the late ’80s. Bell designed and built the V-280 from scratch, always with an eye on making it easy to assemble and maintain, with lessons learned from building the V-22, a joint project with Boeing

Bell simplified the V-280 with a setup that swings the propellers but keeps the engines stationary. That takes out a bunch of moving parts, avoids scorching the ground during takeoff and landing, and allows for a side-loading door

 

[tinman]

That looks promising....I do like that configuration. During its development, they used to do a lot of test flights of the V-22 around my place. It was during those development stages that I had the opportunity to attend a conference on the effects of explosives on air frame components (I was a member of the Bomb Squad) at a Bell facility. In the middle of a lecture, a side door to the room opens, and a guy tells the speaker that "they" are conducting an in-flight test of the winch system (mostly seen on Coast Guard copters) on the V-22 right outside the building we were in.....yeah, the room emptied in under a minute with every one of us standing outside gawking like a bunch of 9 year olds. Cool stuff.

 

[Jeepnik]

So, if the Blackhawk is nearing the end of it's career the old joke about the last one being hauled to the junk yard by a Huey might just become a reality.

 

[Fox Mike]

Yep. Send the last Blackhawk to the 'boneyard' and bring the crew home in a Huey.

 

[GunnyGene]

Sooo, where do you mount the guns, missiles and flares? Or is this just a fancy taxi-cab? http://www.bellhelicopter.com/military/bell-v-280

 

[Jeepnik]

Sooo, where do you mount the guns, missiles and flares? Or is this just a fancy taxi-cab? http://www.bellhelicopter.com/military/bell-v-280

Maybe it will be like the Huey. A taxi cab that turns into a meat grinder.

 

[WAYNO]

Wow. I thought the Blackhawk was still relatively new.:? I spent a lot of time in a H-Model Huey. I thought they did a pretty good job.8)

 

[Fox Mike]

Wow. I thought the Blackhawk was still relatively new.:? I spent a lot of time in a H-Model Huey. I thought they did a pretty good job.8)

I was at Fort Rucker attending the US Army Aviation Safety Course in 1976 when they inducted the Blackhawk into the Army inventory. I spoke with one of the mechs and they said that they had to cannibalize three aircraft to get the one 'parade' ready for the flyby. Back then it was know as a very large lawn dart. The horizontal stabilizers were prone to putting the aircraft into a rapid dive unexpectedly. Lots of them were 'broken' before they cured the problem. One plus was that they were much more 'crash-worthy' than the Huey and could also lift more sling load weight.

 

[WAYNO]

Wow. I thought the Blackhawk was still relatively new.:? I spent a lot of time in a H-Model Huey. I thought they did a pretty good job.8)

I was at Fort Rucker attending the US Army Aviation Safety Course in 1976 when they inducted the Blackhawk into the Army inventory. I spoke with one of the mechs and they said that they had to cannibalize three aircraft to get the one 'parade' ready for the flyby. Back then it was know as a very large lawn dart. The horizontal stabilizers were prone to putting the aircraft into a rapid dive unexpectedly. Lots of them were 'broken' before they cured the problem. One plus was that they were much more 'crash-worthy' than the Huey and could also lift more sling load weight.

I sat thru UTTAS and Cheyenne seminars. The Cheyenne was exciting, but the UTTAS which eventually became the Blackhawk, was sacrilege.

If they let old aviators and mechanics choose, we'd still be flying P-51's. :mrgreen:

 

[mohavesam]

In the eighties I built and tested LHTEC T800 engines for the new LHX attack helicopter. It was programmed to be a one-man aircraft, with the pilot being the gunner, etc. The engines were perfected, giving well over 1500 SHP in a package that (almost) would fit inside your kitchen oven.

The aircraft never got deployed. It swelled from 6,000 lbs to over 10K and gained a second seat. It was cancelled after spending close to $7B (7 billion taxpayer dollars) when the budget was examined by third-party auditors, and found to have massive missing funds... ("Massive" in the context of hundreds of millions)

Some programs are merely DoD-funding Trojan horses, never forget that.

 

[Jeepnik]

Eglin AFB used to be Systems Command (not sure what they call it today what with SAC, MAC & TAC being gone). They had/have a huge environmental test hanger there where they could simulate all sorts of weather and altitude conditions.

They were testing the airframes of what would become the Blackhawk and Apache. It seems to me they had two competing airframes being tested side by side. There were differences in them and they weren't marked as to who the manufacturer was.

They would make it snow for the kids at Christmas.

 

[exavid]

It ought to be stronger since it doesn't have to rotate the whole wing. I could be more like a real airplane with more than one spar in the wing. Probably won't kill as many people as the Osprey does.

 

[contender]

I attended my Huey mechanic training in early 1977 at Ft. Rucker,, and there was discussion about the Blackhawk as being the newest, latest & greatest. They were working out the "bugs." I almost re-enlisted to WOC school to fly the Blackhawks.

 

[wunbe]

Why did they portray the new beast taking off from a carrier if it is an " army helicopter"? Are they selling it to the Marines too?

wunbe

 

[Fox Mike]

Members of my old Army Attack Helicopter unit were 'carrier qualified'. They went to Pax River MD then out in the Chesapeake and learned how to land on a moving ship. The pilots said it was a unique experience.

 

[Jeepnik]

Blame Doolittle. :D

 

[graygun]

Make them "forever" craft like the Buffs.

 

[SR1911SHOOTER]

So, if the Blackhawk is nearing the end of it's career the old joke about the last one being hauled to the junk yard by a Huey might just become a reality.

In the '80s when I was working offshore, many of the helicopter companies used Hueys
to haul us back and forth.
Talk about Deja Vu!
Blackie