Originally Posted by
The Sultan
By the end of the XV-15 v XH-59 demo effort similar effort had been expended on each concept. The ABC was inferior in all aspects and had numerous design issues and was shelved in favor of the superior tilt rotor.
Right... and as a result, in the intervening years, several generations of tiltrotors have been designed, with some being qualified and placed into service. The tiltrotor is obviously the more mature design concept, hence my position that the Sikorsky Boeing team, despite their theoretical resources, can be viewed as the underdog. The onus is on them to show that the conclusions of the XH-59A and XV-15 programs has been overcome.