Spirit AeroSystems completes first fuselage for Bell V-280 Valor

Spirit AeroSystems has completed the first fuselage to Bell Helicopter for the Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR-TD) program. The unit was designed and assembled in Spirit’s rapid prototyping facility in Wichita, Kan., in just 22 months. The composite fuselage is being prepped to ship to Bell’s Amarillo, Texas, facility for final assembly. The V-280 is scheduled to make its first flight in the second half of 2017.