Tiltrotor Airframe and Landing Gear Development – XV-3, XV-15, 609, and Beyond

In the development of the airframe and landing gear of the XV-3, XV-15, and the BA609, numerous challenges were encountered by a succession of designers at Bell Helicopter Textron. Lessons learned were applied successively as each new tiltrotor was developed. The XV-3 pioneered the tiltrotor airframe and landing gear, with many challenges met and overcome. Most of these challenges were addressed with “patches” instead of proper design solutions, due to the research nature of the early tiltrotor programs. The XV-15 incorporated many of the design solutions found on the XV-3; however, as with all programs, greater issues were found as this type of aircraft became more sophisticated. The BA609 was the culmination of the previous tiltrotors designed at Bell. The lessons learned on the BA609 are still being discovered and will add to the catalog of best practices for tiltrotor airframes and landing gear. The major challenges discovered will be highlighted in the following paper to ensure that these design solutions are incorporated on future tiltrotors.