An aviation company in Amarillo is in talks for a deal with the federal government that could bring as much as $100 billion to the region, reports Amarillo.com.Bell Helicopter could possibly soon begin producing as many as 4,000 aircraft for the United States Army. The deal hinges on Bell’s parent, Textron, beating out Boeing for the contract.
As a possible manufacturing site for the V-280, Amarillo has a large stake in the Army’s decision. Bell Helicopter Employees have been assembling a portion of the latest technology in tiltrotor aircraft for the last few weeks. The aircraft is known to many simply as the “Valor.” The tiltrotor mechanism combines the vertical lift capability of a helicopter with the speed and range of a conventional fixed-wing aircraft.
This function allows the aircraft to fly more rapidly than a traditional helicopter, but still land vertically. The Amarillo Economic Development Corp is in negotiations about where the V-280 will be manufactured.