In my opinion however the most amazing V-280 achievement was meeting a very aggressive customer program schedule that few in the industry thought possible. Not even the “Dream Team” comprised of the two largest defense contractors in the world came close to what Bell achieved in 5 years.
Hats off to the Bell team, definitely. I do laugh when anyone suggests a partnership of equals like Boeing and Sikorsky (or Boeing and Bell, for that matter) accelerates anything. I’ve worked in such partnerships several times... I value what’s left of my career enough to not do it again.