Compared to the Osprey, the Valor caters more toward the Army assault mission with a straight wing and engines that do not rotate, allowing the inclusion of six-foot-wide sliding cabin doors on the sides.


The Valor is wider but shorter than the Black Hawk, so the Bell experts also say it’s effective in urban warfare. Lazzara said he felt more comfortable landing the V-22 than the CH-53 on a ship deck. He heard criticism about the way the rope flies during fast rope insertion with the V-22, “but the world’s best learned how to do it just fine.” In V-280 testing, the rope “flew very benignly,” he added.


“We’ve just begun to understand the capabilities of a tiltrotor in the operational Army, and I think that once they get it into their hands and start using it, they’re going to expand that envelope exponentially,” Horner predicted.


It’s important to design an aircraft for a variety of missions, Lazzara said. For example as a medevac transport with double the speed and range, it can not only save troop lives, but also their quality of life because it can reach superior medical services in less time. And the cabin will be several hundred cubic feet larger than the Black Hawk, allowing more room for medics to maneuver around the patient, he said. Bell is working with commercial medevac experts on the cabin design, he added.


The Valor also will serve well in disaster relief, Horner said, noting its speed will enable it to be stationed farther away from disasters so local airports will have more room for other support aircraft.


Bell is making sure that it doesn’t design out future opportunities for the Valor, Lazzara added. The Marine Corps and Navy already are using the tiltrotor, and future commercial applications are bright.


64


May/June 2022


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