The Aviationist
Tom Demerly
May 16, 2018
Second Milestone in 30 Days as New Light Tiltrotor Progresses to Max Speed Test.Bell’s V-280 Valor light tiltrotor aircraft has flown in level flight with its tiltrotors in the horizontal/cruise mode for the first time this week. The aircraft reached 190 knots (218 MPH) during the flight.
The new Bell V-280 Valor is a medium, tactical tiltrotor aircraft designed for the U.S. Army Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR-TD) program. The JMR-TD program is a precursor for the Army’s overall Future Vertical Lift (FVL) co-development and evaluation of possible replacements for existing rotorwing aircraft in five different roles. The V-280 Valor is a proposed candidate for a new JMR-Medium utility and attack helicopter to potentially replace the UH-60 Blackhawk utility helicopter and the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter.
The Bell V-280 is reportedly capable of a maximum speed of 300 Knots or 350 MPH. That is significantly faster than the U.S. Army’s existing UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters’ max speed of 222 MPH and even faster than the existing MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor at a top speed at sea-level of 316 MPH.
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https://theaviationist.com/2018/05/16/bell-v-280-valor-conducts-first-cruise-mode-test-flight-as-program-advances/Demerly is giving
reported maximum speeds. Bell named this V-280 for a 280 knot (322 mph) capability.
