Bell D-292

The Bell D-292 was an experimental helicopter built in the United States by Bell Helicopter for the Army Advanced Composite Airframe Program, known as ACAP, which supported studies for the Light Helicopter Experimental program. The programme aimed to show that an all-composite fuselage could be lighter and cheaper to build than a largely metal airframe. Bell reused the engines, transmission, two-bladed main and tail rotors, tailboom, vertical fin and rotor pylon of its Bell 222 and fitted a new airframe made from graphite, Kevlar, fiberglass, epoxy and polyimides, with the fuselage produced in two halves to reduce the number of major assemblies. Contracts went to Sikorsky and Bell in February 1981, and the D-292 flew for the first time on 30 August 1985 after delays caused by funding and industrial problems.