XV-15 litho - NASA's History Office

August 1996 Boeing becomes partner with Bell in BB609 program.
February 1997 V-22 production contract awarded to Bell-Boeing team.
February 1997 First flight of first V-22 EMD (Engineering Manufacturing
Development) aircraft (Ship Number 7).
June 1997 First public showing of full-scale BB-609 mockup at Paris
Air Show.
March 1998 Boeing withdraws from BB-609 program.
September 1998 Bell announces a joint venture with the Agusta Helicopter
Company of Italy in the now renamed BA-609 commercial
tilt rotor aircraft program.
14 May 1999 Delivery of first production V-22 Osprey rotor aircraft to
the U.S. Marine Corps.
Post script:
11 July 2003 Completion of the last research flight to be conducted by
the XV-15. The test concluded 26 years of research testing
(1977–2003)—longest research span for any X-plane.
3 September 2003 Mr. Mike Redenbaugh, the new CEO of Bell Helicopter,
becomes the last guest pilot, making him the 419th person
to fly in the XV-15—greatest number of pilots for any Xplane.
10–16 September XV-15 N703NA ferried to the National Air and Space
2003 Museum (NASM) Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles
International Airport, VA. Its arrival was celebrated by a
reception sponsored by Bell and the NASM. The aircraft
was subsequently placed on permanent display at the new
NASM facility.
December 2003 XV-15 recognized by the National Geographic Society as
one of the 47 most important aircraft of the first century of
flight by its inclusion in a fold-out insert in the December
2003 issue of the National Geographic periodical.
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