Bell has decided to switch from a ducted tail rotor design to an open tail rotor for its 360 Invictus helicopter that is competing in the U.S. Army’s Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft competition.
The company decided “months ago” to use a design based on its familiar 525 helicopter open tail rotor, Jayme Gonzalez, Bell’s program manager for the Invictus, told Defense News in an Aug. 4 interview.
Likewise, the open tail rotor on 525 aircraft is very mature from both a technological and manufacturing standpoint because of the development work on the 525, she emphasized.
When the Invictus was unveiled in October, it had a design based on the 525, but with several key differences, such as 40-foot rotor blades, which the Army has requested. Also, the aircraft has a four-bladed main rotor, while the 525 has five blades.
As it builds the 360, the company also conducts tests in its drive system test laboratory and its system integration laboratory.
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