New Aviation Tech to Take a Look At

 Bell's Tilt Rotor Aircraft With Jet Engines

                                            Source:  Bell

Flying Like a Helicopter But With Speed

Aircraft manufacturer Bell, a subsidiary of Textron,  is developing a hybrid aircraft concept that takes off and lands like a helicopter and flies at the speed of a jet.  The new vehicle would pair tilt-rotor aircraft with jet engines.  Bell just unveiled three new designs, including a small, autonomous plane that takes off and lands like a helicopter, which could be especially valuable in rescue operations.  There are also a medium sized and large version of the concept that require a pilot.  These are concept planes that point to the future of flight - particularly military aviation - in the 2030's.

Tilt Rotor + Jet Engine

Tilt rotor aircraft like the Marine's V-22 Osprey have fixed wings with a rotor on each wing.  It allows them to take off and land like a helicopter and then fly like a propeller plane.  Adding jet propulsion would bring the vehicle's speed to a whole new level.  Bell thinks the potential is 460 mph which would qualify it as a high speed vertical takeoff and landing aircraft or HSVTOL.  The trick to achieving this is getting the rotors to retract and lie flat at the tip of the wings and then allow the jet engines to engage.  The uses of these vehicles are fascinating including robotic search and rescue with the small autonomous aircraft that could hold several injured patients carried onboard by a robot from a difficult to reach accident scene. The piloted medium and large aircraft are being designed for use by the military for intelligence, surveillance and more.