XV-15 litho - NASA's History Office

5 December 1979 Uneventful landing of XV-15 N702NA following sudden
in-flight engine failure.
5 June 1980 Major William S. “Bill” Lawrence, USMC becomes first
military pilot to fly the XV-15.
9 June 1980 Major Ron Carpenter becomes the first U.S. Army evaluation
pilot to fly the XV-15.
17 June 1980 XV-15 N703NA flown in the airplane mode, level flight at
a record true airspeed of 301 knots (346 mph).
13 August 1980 XV-15 N703NA airlifted to DFRC from Bell.
30 October 1980 Formal Government acceptance ceremony of XV-15
N703NA held on at Dryden Flight Research Center.
28 April 1981 XV-15 N702NA transported to Farnborough, England,
onboard an Air Force MAC C-5A and a C-141 aircraft.
4-14 June 1981 XV-15 performs daily flight exhibitions at the Paris Air
Show, Le Bourget, France. First tilt rotor aircraft public
demonstration.
September 1981 Army/NASA TRRA Project Office declares that the primary
proof-of-concept project objectives have been successfully
completed.
28 September 1981 Army/NASA TRRA team at Ames provides first guest
pilot demonstration for General Story Stevens,
Commander, U.S. Army Aviation and Troop Command.
26 October 1981 XV-15 N702NA ferried back to the Bell Flight Test Center
at Arlington, Texas, from California to allow Bell to continue
flight research and to conduct military applications
evaluations. Longest cross-country flight to date covered
1700 statute miles with an average ground speed of
334 mph.
30 October 1981 U.S. Senator Goldwater becomes the first non-test pilot to
fly in Tilt Rotor aircraft in Bell’s guest pilot program. At
end of flight he said, “The tilt rotor is the biggest advance
in aviation in a quarter of a century.”
December 1981 Deputy Secretary of Defense establishes Joint Services
Advanced Vertical Lift Aircraft (JVX) Program.
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