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Pilotless Bell prototype?
Greetings, all, from a newbie to the forum.
I ran across this photograph recently, and was wondering what the aircraft in question might be. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...714WFO2384.jpg Looks like a pilotless mini-Osprey! Can anyone help? |
Not sure but you could go through the FAA web site of N-reg numbers & put in the N number that is on the tail into the seach tab & see what comes up.
It would be interesting to see. HF |
Reg
That reg has now been cancelled, but it was registered to Bell as an R&D aircraft..
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Thanks for the prompt response! The FAA search turns up the following:
Deregistered Aircraft 1 of 1 Aircraft Description Serial Number 91801 Type Registration Corporation Manufacturer Name BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON INC Certificate Issue Date 03/28/2005 Model TR 918 Mode S Code 51722111 Year Manufacturer 2005 Cancel Date 05/19/2006 Reason for Cancellation Cancelled Exported To The first tiltrotor UAV to be used by any military, the Eagle Eye will be able to loiter three hours on-station at a location 100 nautical miles from its launch ship and return with a sufficient fuel reserve. The Eagle Eye will extend the sensor reach of the Coast Guard’s future cutters and make more efficient use of its manned helicopters, greatly reducing the time they devote to ocean and port surveillance. . . . With its two 10-foot-diameter rotors in the vertical position, Eagle Eye can take off, hover and land like a manned helicopter within a confined area on a ship. By tilting its rotors 90 degrees forward to the horizontal position, the air vehicle can fly with the speed and range of a fixed-wing turboprop aircraft, akin to the much larger Marine Corps Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey troop-transport aircraft to which it bears a superficial resemblance. The Coast Guard’s 18-foot-long TR-916 Eagle Eye will cruise at 185 knots, compared with 100-110 knots for a helicopter, and will have a dash speed of 220 knots. |
Could be the cure for the pilot shortage in Nigeria....far less headaches for the company than manned aircraft.;)
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That aircraft – the first full-scale TR918 TRUV – was written-off in an April 5th crash after only five hours total flight time, due to an errant RF signal from the ground which trigged its self-destruct mode. The TR918 will be offered for military, paramilitary and civil apps. The TR916 is the version being developed for the Coast Guard under the Deepwater program, though this effort has now been delayed by at least three years due to funding issues, meaning that EIS is pushed back to FY-11 (vs. an original FUE date of 2006). The Marine Corps were also planning to buy some aircraft from the Guard’s line, but this plan now seems to have been dropped in favor of a competitive selection of a Pioneer replacement in the 2008-10 timeline.
The Eagle Eye concept has been flying since 1993, when the 85% scale TR911 prototype first flew. This aircraft was itself preceded by the Bell-Boeing D-340 Pointer TRUV, flown in 1993. I/C |
Self destruct mode.......thats handy !
I wish my old boss had one of those !!! HF |
Self destruct mode.....sounds like a Robbie!
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:E snicker snicker ...
There are always going to be sly Robbie jokes isnt there ?? !! I guess thats the up shot of saving those few extra pennies Not brand bashing here just laughing on my own, to myself. :E snicker snicker HF |
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