The Northrop Grumman/Bell Helicopter Fire-X demonstrator is executing a series of flight trials following its first unmanned flight Dec. 10 in Yuma, Ariz., just days after arriving there for flight testing.
Northrop approached Bell and crafted the jointly funded project in early 2010 with the goal of flying within a year. The aircraft, which also retains the ability to be piloted, was ferried from Bell’s Xworx facility in Arlington, Texas.
The Fire-X demonstrator, built on the commercial Bell 407 platform, was modified at Xworx with unmanned controls from prime contractor Northrop’s MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned helicopter. «Our philosophy was to be minimally invasive; says Bob Davis, Northrop’s director of business development for air and land advanced concepts.
Following its arrival in Yuma, the linkages were removed-thus «demanning» the aircraft-and electric actuators were connected for unmanned flight. The flight test plan will cover a handful of flights by year-end, including one for internal cargo carriage.
