XV-15 litho - NASA's History Office

Figure 71.
XV-15 at the New York
Port Authority
downtown heliport.
(Bell Photograph 02704)
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The first destination was Ft. Rucker, Alabama,
where the XV-15 was evaluated in nap-of-the-earth
(NOE) flying, that is, following the contour of the
terrain at low flight levels (figure 70). In addition to
the Army Aviation Development Test Activity
(ADTA), pilots (including one marine pilot) who
flew the XV-15 NOE course, several other Army
aviators, including the Commanding General of
Ft. Rucker, Major General “Bobby” Maddox, were
given guest pilot evaluation flights. The timing of
this series of evaluations was important in that it
allowed the attributes of the tilt rotor aircraft to be
considered for the Army’s new LHX program,
although a later decision influenced by aircraft cost
and weight resulted in the selection of a conventional
helicopter for the program.
After the Ft. Rucker demonstrations, the XV-15 was
ferried to the U.S. Navy flight test center at Patuxent
River, Maryland, where it was evaluated in air-to-air
maneuvers against a jet (A-4 Skyhawk), a turboprop
(OV-1 Mohawk), and a helicopter (CH-46). In each
case the XV-15, with its ability to maneuver by vectoring
the proprotor thrust independently of the fuselage
attitude, demonstrated that the tilt rotor aircraft
had effective evasive maneuver capability against these aircraft types at a range of
speeds up to 450 knots. Also while at Patuxent River, the XV-15 made sloped
landings at up to 14-degree nose-up attitude and simulated refueling operations,
all without difficulty.
The next series of demonstrations used the Quantico Marine Corps Air Station
(MCAS), Virginia, as a base for operations. Flight demonstrations for the
Washington, D.C., area military and congressional personnel were then performed
at Bolling Air Force Base, Ft. Belvoir, Virginia, the Pentagon, and at Quantico.
The XV-15 was then flown to the New York Port Authority downtown heliport at
the base of the World Trade Center in Battery Park, Manhattan (figure 71), where
it was placed on static display. The return flight, from downtown New York to
downtown Washington, D.C. was completed in 66 minutes with Bell’s President
Jack Horner flying co-pilot. This demonstrated tilt rotor city center-to-city center
capability as a civil transport. After landing at the Bolling AFB heliport, Bell
conducted a briefing for congressional and news media personnel gathered for
the event. The XV-15 was subsequently ferried back to Arlington, Texas.
In all, 55 flights in 20 flying days were accomplished, including 21 evaluation
flights by five military pilots, 19 guest pilot flights, and demonstration flights in