Bell helicopters new folding rotor system

[NutLoose]

Designed for the likes of a tilt rotor where the rotors will fold flush with the engine nacelles when sufficient forward speed is obtained and it will then fly like a normal aircraft with a separate thrust supply.

https://youtu.be/htBDBH6p5RA?feature=shared



more information.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/erictegler/2024/02/09/heres-what-bells-new-folding-rotors-look-like-in-action/?sh=119fd083e821

.. (https://www.forbes.com/sites/erictegler/2024/02/09/heres-what-bells-new-folding-rotors-look-like-in-action/?sh=119fd083e821)

[SASless]

What is it I am seeing Wiley Coyote sat in the Cockpit?:oh:

What could possibly go wrong with this concept?

Interesting concept however.

[SplineDrive]

Video of 1972 wind tunnel test

Bell has been pursuing stop fold tilt rotor technology for almost as long as the tilt rotor itself. The link above is an unpowered XV-15 sized stop fold rotor in the 40 x 80 wind tunnel tested in 1972, several years before the XV-15 flew. This current testing goes beyond what could be done in a wind tunnel (where the airspeed is imposed on the rotor by the tunnel) and demonstrates the transfer of thrust from one propulsion type to another while managing the fold in a less controlled environment.