Bell completes first MV-75 Cheyenne nacelle structures

Work on the first Cheyenne test aircraft has progressed across four Texas sites, covering critical structures, drive system testing and software integration ahead of flight tests.

Bell Textron has completed the first nacelle structures for the MV-75 Cheyenne test aircraft and commenced testing on the first gearboxes, as Bell and Team Cheyenne move closer to completing the build and beginning flight tests.

The nacelle structures were completed and are in Bell’s Amarillo Assembly Center in Amarillo, Texas. Following their completion, Bell initiated its wing and nacelle assembly process by fitting the two together. Bell credits the application of digital engineering for advancing the work through engineering, tooling, detail part manufacture and assembly of critical structures.

The gearboxes form part of the overall drive system and power the electrical power generators, hydraulic pumps and cooling blowers for the engine and nacelle. They are designed, manufactured and tested by Bell, with both the gears and cases manufactured at the Manufacturing Technology Center (MTC) in Fort Worth. The complete system was instrumented and assembled for test in Bell’s MV-75 Drive System Test Lab (DSTL) in Grand Prairie, which broke ground in 2023.

In parallel, Bell is maturing the MV-75’s software and digital backbone in the Weapon System Integration Lab (WSIL) in Arlington, opened two years ago. Systems integrated onto the corresponding benches and undergoing testing include the flight control computers, general purpose computers, actuator drive unit, electrical components and large area displays. The facility allows software and systems to be integrated and validated before the test aircraft flies, reducing technical risk and enabling safe, rapid and efficient execution of the MV-75 flight test programme.

Bell and its teammates are working closely with the US Army throughout the build process to ensure the MV-75 meets programme requirements. The work is being carried out under contract W58RGZ-23-C-0001 with Army Contracting Command-Redstone Arsenal.