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Bell XV-15 TRRA (Tilt Rotor Research Aircraft), Ship 2
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Bell XV-15 TRRA (Tilt Rotor Research Aircraft), Ship 2
-
Usage Conditions May Apply
- Usage Conditions Apply
- There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
-
Usage Conditions May Apply
- Usage Conditions Apply
- There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
- IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu
- View Manifest
- View in Mirador Viewer
Bell XV-15 TRRA (Tilt Rotor Research Aircraft), Ship 2
-
Usage Conditions May Apply
- Usage Conditions Apply
- There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
- IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu
- View Manifest
- View in Mirador Viewer
Bell XV-15 TRRA (Tilt Rotor Research Aircraft), Ship 2
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Bell XV-15 TRRA (Tilt Rotor Research Aircraft), Ship 2
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Bell XV-15 Tilt Rotor
The Bell XV-15 Tilt Rotor, the last remaining of two ever built, on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
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Bell XV-15 Tilt Rotor Lands at Udvar-Hazy Center
The experimental XV-15 tilt rotor, on its final flight, prepares to touch down at the National Air and Space Museum's new Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Sept. 16, 2003. Donated by NASA and the U.S. Army, the aircraft is featured in the museum's peerless vertical flight collection and was on display when the new facility opened to the public Dec. 15, 2003.
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Bell XV-15 Tilt Rotor Research Aircraft at the Udvar-Hazy Center
The XV-15 Tilt Rotor Technology demonstrator was the culmination of efforts begun in the early 1950s to produce an aircraft that could take off, land, and hover like a helicopter, but could fly with the speed of an airplane.
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Bell XV-15 TRRA Panorama
Panoramic view inside the Bell XV-15 Tilt Rotor Research Aircraft (TRRA).
Display Status:
This object is on display in the Boeing Aviation Hangar at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.

Collection Item Summary:
The XV-15 Tilt Rotor technology demonstrator was the culmination of efforts begun in the early 1950s to produce an aircraft that could takeoff, land, and hover like a helicopter, but with the speed of an airplane. The rotor pylons tilt from vertical to horizontal to eliminate the speed barriers imposed on conventional helicopters by retreating-blade stall and allowed the XV-15 to operate at speeds of 550 kph (345 mph TAS).
This is the second of the two XV-15s built by Bell under a joint NASA/US Army program. It served from 1979 through 2003, demonstrating operations under a wide range of conditions and logged 700 hours in testing. Its success encouraged Bell and the US Marine Corps to develop a scaled-up Tilt Rotor, the MV-22, as a replacement for Marine transport helicopters. In association with Agusta Aerospace, Bell also developed the Model 609 Civil Tilt Rotor with experience gained from the XV-15 program.