"The Pointer", A New Concept For RPV Air Vehicles

The requirement to operate RPV's from small deck vessels and from confined, unprepared areas on land has led to the need for vertical take off/landing (VTOL) capability. The tilt rotor concept demonstrated by NASA, the Army, Navy, Bell XV-15 and now the V-22 Marine Corps assault vehicle, being developed by Bell Helicopter and Boeing Helicopter Companies, has been applied to a small RPV of approximately 600 lbs gross weight for concept demonstration. The "Pointer" will make its first flights early in the second quarter of 1988 and be demonstrated to potential users later in the year. This paper presents the concept, describes the control methods, discusses performance and operational usages and shows the schedule for development of the concept into a flight vehicle.