| Aircraft | |
|---|---|
| Registration / Serial: | 54-148 |
| Alternate Serial: | 4148 |
| Aircraft Original Type: | Bell XV-3 |
| Aircraft Generic Type: | Bell XV-3 |
| Aircraft Version: | Bell XV-3 |
| C/n (msn): | [ 54-148 ] |
| Operator Titles: | USA - Army / NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| City / Airport: | Dayton - Wright-Patterson AFB / Patterson AFBMap |
| Region / Country: | Ohio, United States |
| Airport Codes: | ICAO: KFFO IATA: FFO Local: FFO Other: - |
| Collection: | National Museum of the United States Air Force |
| Photo Date: | 10 March 2015 |
| Photo by: | Gary Vincent |
| Photo ID: | 231186 |
| Photo Comment |
|---|
|
Bell Aircraft began studying the tilt rotor concept in the 1940s. The XV-3 was the first hardware to come out of the design work and led to the V-22 Osprey (via the Bell XV-15 tilt rotor). Two XV-3s were built between 1952 -55, with the first (54-147) crashing in 1956 during testing. The cause was in-flight instability and the remaining aircraft continued extensive flight and wind tunnel testing. This aircraft was retired in 1966 after being damaged during the last wind tunnel test. It was transferred to the National Museum of the US Air Force in 2007 after a two year restoration by Bell. This photo is copyright © Gary Vincent, and may not be used or published in any way without permission. It was added on 5 April 2020, and has since been viewed 391 times. |