Hover Assault Transport - Bell X-22

[@stankakol5195]

That's my dad and Paul Miller flying the X-22A. My dad was Chief Test Pilot for the Bell X-22A program.

[@AkshayKumar-vg2pi]

wooow

[@bigal1863]

Man of steel...nerves! Blessings to your Pop

[@stankakol5195]

@@bigal1863 Thanks, Big AL!!

[@frankwilson1776]

My grammpy was a they chief engineer with Nolo.

[@timbrwolf1121]

This design would probably work exponentially better with our current materials. Lightweight materials and a proper understanding of airflow over and around the ducts could make this a ridiculously capable aircraft.

[@scottstewart5784]

and more power from modern engines, through CAD designed, AI optimized gearing, which equals more speed and carrying capacity

[@zingwilder9989]

True, however, the driveshaft set up would still appear to be a limiting factor in overall performance.

[@DAndyLord]

@@zingwilder9989 Seems like in-hub electric motors would solve the drivetrain issue. Make it gas/electric hybrid.

[@RavenWolffe77]

With advances in engine tech, it'd also have MUCH higher payload capabilities, top speed, and handling. It's a travesty this beauty never saw mass production.

[@zingwilder9989]

@@DAndyLord Indeed, I was thinking the same thing. That would be far more efficient and safer.

[@plasnoid]

With all the Drone tech around today this thing looks remarkably contemporary.

[@johnserrano9689]

Can't believe how rude. You hurt bells feelings, nowadays that's all that matters I smell a lawsuit😜

[@henrybleisch9025]

its interesting i feel it would need a lot more development to be truly modern or even viable for its suggested role but it was was quite advanced for its time... Maybe it was used as a guide for others that followed?

[@jasonm949]

It's like they experimented and did Science stuff, and built things.

[@Hawk1966]

I think we need to give this airframe a relook in this day, we've got way more technology now.

[@iberiksoderblom]

Bell V-280 Valor

[@andrewbacon7042]

This seems like a great aircraft and it's also hella cool

[@lexioncombine9403]

F-35

[@alwayscensored6871]

Yep and every drone has a tiny flight controller.

[@techwithdave]

There are a number of companies building similar prototypes today. Like you were saying, they got better tools to work with. Joby Aviation is a good example kzbin.info/www/bejne/aqjFd6pna5qUqJI

[@spency787]

After years of posters commenting on how fast you narrate your videos may I be the first to thank you for obviously slowing down in this video. It does make a real difference. Well done 👍

[@SunRedRX7]

As someone that grew up in the area, was awesome to see the old footage of what Bell looked like back in the day.

[@garyp1672]

I grew up in WNY and witnessed the flights of the X-22 many times. It was loud and distinct, you knew it was approaching. I've been to the museum a few years back, but unfortunately the X-22 was not on display. It is still in storage in the old Bell Aerospace warehouses. Another Bell project I got to witness as a kid fishing with my dad on Lake Erie, was the Bell Hydro craft. Another odd and loud craft, but real cool to see on a day out on the lake.

[@tommanseau6277]

This aircraft reminds me of a lot of things: 90% of the project is straight forward. But that last 10% to reach full potential requires 90% of the work. The engineers @ Bell solved 90% of the problems, but getting that last 10% proved insurmountable.

[@ProfessorMAG]

I saw this unique aircraft up-close and personal during an open house when my dad was working there. (missed a ride in a hovercraft after the tarmac started flying apart when the first batch had to shutdown)

[@Gigas0101]

Command and Conquer fan here. This design and modern tech, we can finally start on the Orca line.

[@lucasworden1017]

Please all I want is orca

[@HollywoodMarine0351]

Narriator: V.S.T.O.L. Military: We just call it “V/STOL” for short.

[@kd4pba]

Sadly the museum does not even list it as part of their collection. This thing needs way more attention. It is painful to see such wonderful test aircraft just vanish from public eye.

[@ghostsofVTurbexSkysthelimitvid]

this has so much potential, its a fantastic design, and modernized would be crazy Good !!! in my opinion

[@near--zero]

getting some serious command & conquer vibes

[@RiceKillaz]

This seems perfect for the Coast Guard on ocean rescues.

[@dawsonburrell9754]

I believe a lot of the experimental aircraft of that era would work well with our current technology and materials. I know that most of those experimental crafts have paved the way for our current aircraft. The X22 is no exception.

[@WonderfulAircraft]

You guys seem to be on a V/STOL kick lately and I love it

[@rocketremity9571]

Why would someone not want this in a museum, it is such a cool aircraft

[@Grarder]

This is one of my favorite unconventional aircraft ever! Such an absolutely brilliant design and I'm sure it'll be revisited.

[@MadBrit26]

Another great well produced video 👍

[@WonderfulAircraft]

Much as I love the V-22, it certainly would've been extremely cool to see this thing in the skies in its stead. She looks straight out of a sc-fi movie.

[@Salvavideocrack]

6:12 Computer imagery in 1967 was pretty amazing, these planes may have been not a success but they generated many advances in computing.

[@northprime_unlimited]

Yeah my jaw dropped when I saw that!! We’re talking 1967 and that HUD looked amazing!!

[@Salvavideocrack]

They used like a mix of oscilloscope and vector graphics even whitout any microprocessor, as you said, its shocking.

[@jubjub7101]

Reminds me of the helicopter craft from the movie Avatar. And I wonder why we don’t have those currently.

[@mithrandir1313]

the original "Quad"!! thanks again!

[@olsmokey]

At last. Someone else who doesn't call a quad, a "drone".

[@Dizzledude2012]

Thank you for this video! My grandfather worked at Bell Aerospace and on this project. There are pictures of the crashed plane.

[@jasonneugebauer5310]

I saw an aircraft similar to this in a very remote area in central Nevada in around 1986 it was painted yellow and was moving slowly with very bright lights searching for something along the foothills. I had never seen anything like it before or after until now. We just figured it belonged to the Navy. The Navy used to fly around that area all the time until the mid nineties.

[@bastadimasta]

A technical note for anyone who thinks this design could be revived by modern technology. 1. Quadcopters are extremely inefficient. 2. Replacing shafts with electric motors is a horrible idea. 3. Electric motors are heavy. 4. Copper cables feeding the motors are heavy too. 5. Electric generator attached to turbine is heavy too. 6. You also need batteries to make the design stay airborne during an emergency. Guess what they are heavy too. 7. Ducts around the fans increase efficiency at the cost of weight. No gain here.

[@RIPPEDDRAGON40k]

I would just go with high bypass micro jet engines and only need to feed it fuel rather than have drive shafts.

[@SIDisTHE]

I'm guessing that this is where they got the inspiration for the Orca in Command and Conquer.

[@michealoflaherty1265]

Seeing that Bell were able to build and test this aircraft and get it working it is surprising that the V22 Osprey had such a troubled development. They're not exactly the same but they are quite similar and would have had similar roles.

[@tarmaque]

It isn't a matter of design deficiencies that plagued the Osprey. The early prototypes that lead to the Osprey worked pretty well and had no more problems than the X22 prototypes. Much of the problem with the Osprey was with the control interfaces, and the rapidly changing world of computers during its development. Also, it wasn't nearly as problem-plagued as the media would have you believe. Every new system that is as radical as the Osprey is has difficulties during development. Probably the biggest problem was that he developers didn't allow for that fact. It also suffered from the same problem the F-35 suffered, in that it was conceived and approved to the point of mandate before it was ever fully developed.

[@johnparnell9488]

@@tarmaque Would you say that concerns about the high pressure hydraulic systems were overblown?

[@michealoflaherty1265]

@@tarmaque Thanks for your well considered reply and you make a lot of good points. But the Osprey should have been in service much earlier and should have cost much less. The fact that X22 and even Dynavert had gone before should have eased the process. That being said the V22 is now a remarkable aircraft.

[@tarmaque]

@@johnparnell9488 I couldn't say. I don't have that detailed of knowledge about the program.

[@tarmaque]

@@michealoflaherty1265 Personally I think the X22 was a better concept than what we got with the Osprey, but I'm not an engineer.

[@17-.]

Keep up the VSTOLvideos! I've been loving them. I hope I get the privilege to fly them someday

[@bobkohl6779]

Good coverage and footage. Best video in awhile.

[@dash8465]

Shortly after the next leap in battery tech I’d expect to several versions of this basic design showing up along with the current crop of smaller 1/2/4 seaters becoming common.

[@josron6088]

I can't believe they were designing these all the way back to the 60s. Now I see where James Cameron got his inspiration for the military planes Avatar.

[@wallybrown9509]

I’m just glad the aircraft wasn’t scrapped, and now in museum. Never scap history.

[@MyCaptainPugwash]

I was looking at this somewhere and thinking, man I wish Dark Skies would do this. Like two days ago

[@schwags1969]

Cool video, thank you for presenting it.

[@bobpowers9862]

I'd be curious how much of the development results were subsequently applied to the V22 program. One thing I observed: both craft use systems to power all the props on just one engine, complex but necessary for reliability.

[@pizzagogo6151]

Great footage I hadn’t seen of this before. Always thought this was a brilliant concept craft..just shame it wasn’t developed further. Thanks!

[@Kj16V]

7:36 Now this HAD to have accounted for a fair few ufo sightings back then...

[@zingwilder9989]

Yeah, I wonder what else Bell had floating around Buffalo and Niagara Falls👍 ?

[@danielt.8573]

It actually looks like a Vectrex console.

[@davidrobertson5700]

Beautiful aircraft, Thank you for the video. From, Brighton, Great Britain

[@sim.frischh9781]

It´s another one of those vehicles that were ahead of their time, i would say. Today you can buy quad-propeller reomte-controlled drones in the super market, i cannot help but wonder, how much impact did the research done on the X-22 have when those RVs were developed? Because i doubt that it is zero.

[@Hulatwig]

At the 6.04 time in this presentation discussion begins regarding a variable stability system developed by CalSpan/Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory while the video portion shows the control console for a NASA AN/FPS-16(V) precision tracking radar used on the 3 Apollo Tracking Ships USNS Vangard (T-AGM 19), USNS Redstone (T-AGM 20), and USNS Mercury (T-AGM 21. A little 'artistic license' perhaps?

[@garyhamman8934]

We have appropriate footage. Thoughout the video! Well done!

[@robertthompson728]

Thank you Rob!

[@nagaimichael3193]

and imagine if we engineer something like that in todays technology, propellers would be smaller and faster, made out of carbon fibers ,and a very very fast duct inputs would be amazing to see one today

[@davidrendall7195]

In 1982 the crippling deficit in Royal Navy Aviation was a V/STOL airborne early warning platform. Something that could work from the Invincible class carriers for extended periods carrying a big enough radar to look over the horizon. The X-22 was still flying then and should have been a contender for that requirement.

[@michaelhart7569]

2:50 forwards "A payload of 540kg....or six commercial passengers with a crew of two" Hmm... yes, I can see why that went nowhere.

[@tachyon8317]

Me - (lloks at thumbnail) "Hey! That's an early ISSCV from 'Space:Above and Beyond'"! Neat!

[@TPQ1980]

Very cool. Impressive stuff for the 1960s. The X-22 with modern materials, engines (or motors), computers and software would make this much better. Can this concept be be integrated into a flying wing design?

[@billcolmer473]

Cool aircraft. Very unfortunate it never reached production status.

[@oneproudbrowncoat]

Differential thrust for yaw control? ...so it's double-clutch steering for an airframe.

[@agingmillennialmainer]

New vocal EQ! I like it. Less compressed and your delivery is a little slower and easier to digest.

[@h.cedric8157]

Lol 🤣 i am not a native English speaker and i understood every word the faster speech rate narration did. If people keep on complaining, pretty soon the uniqueness of the Dark Documentary videos will disappear and sound exactly like every other shit channel like Chillz of "Burger King Foot Lettuce" fame.

[@h.cedric8157]

And trust me, folks with below normal comprehension of spoken word(understanding below 600 to 800 words per minute, per scientific research) are in the minority.

[@CBB-dg9jy]

V22 has one hell of a story

[@cabba6915]

With those huge propellers it would have been the dream of every anti-aircraft soldier around the world.

[@stankakol5195]

Another error in this video is at 3:41 and 6:48. That footage is NOT from inside the cockpit of the X-22A.

[@LostSoul-dp6gb]

It kills me we don't have actual production versions of this design seeing that for decades we've seen them used in SciFi and games, C&C's Orca gunships, and Avatar's Scorpion being 2 that everybody recognizes. Today's drones more than prove the slick maneuverability potential and better design ideas.

[@electricaviationchannelvid7863]

It is on the way...

[@joshcanttakeajoke2853]

Was gonna say they nearly invented the quadcopter but to my surprise the first flying quadcopter was invented in 1922.. Looks almost like a huge steel modern day drone

[@Diesel257]

I wonder what the issue with scaling up those little quad copters that are so quick and nimble is...

[@1954shadow]

Quad-copter we see today in drone configuration.

[@delten-eleven1910]

Your'e right...decades of research for a vstol is in some ways actualized in drones today.

[@delten-eleven1910]

Interesting the Bell X-22A was a testbed into the 90s, the decades research was foundational to the V-22s development into a viable VSTOl transport the US branches wanted in the 60s.

[@OffGridInvestor]

VERY glad it didn't just get scrapped.

[@stuzworldz]

it was made in 1962 Only to be saved to a Museum 1n 1998,,crazy story....thanks from California 2021

[@dominicrichardson5546]

I'm glad it made it to a museum. It would be a travesty to have scrapped a design that unconventional yet innovative. If I could own any aircraft it would be this

[@nicholastaylor3031]

Seems crazy that they got rid of it in 1984. After the failure of Eagle Claw there was huge interest in more capable VTOL designs and Osprey R&D started up right around this same time.

[@More-Space-In-Ear]

One thing about these test aircraft is it gives sci-fi films great ideas for future transport….

[@petter5721]

The full size drone 👍🏻

[@My-Opinion-Doesnt-Matter]

8:47 what speed?

[@onionhead5780]

Looks like the aircraft in the Terminator flashbacks except they had jet turbines I think.

[@electricaviationchannelvid7863]

I just watched the movie...aerodynamics rules still apply in the future...

[@digger105337]

Niagara Aerospace museum is now on my list to visit, gotta see this bird up close. Air force museum in Dayton Ohio has some experimental gems too. Lots of weird aircraft floating around the country, just have to find them. A Convair Sea Dart is a small air museum outside Philly. That's an odd duck 🦆🤣

[@michaelfrench3396]

Hope your cold gets better

[@Henkkaassouffle]

Would love to see how it is displayed now at the museum.

[@Cat-y4w]

Probally alot of pictures are online of it

[@Henkkaassouffle]

@@Cat-y4w who is making a video about this plane? If i want to look at pics online i can search all day. If i watch a VIDEO i would like to see it and not have to do the research myself. All im saying that it could be added in the future.

[@jeffroid_tv]

Some Aircraft are simply Ahead of Their Time!

[@jonslg240]

This is an aircraft I'm surprised we don't recreate with today's technology, seems very promising

[@Ushio01]

The cold war is over and budgets for new aircraft are in short supply. There is a reason the SR-71 has held the manned jet speed record for 45 years which it achieved only 64 years after the Wright Flyer showed that powered flight was possible. Look at how few companies even bid on new US military aircraft contracts now Lockheed Martin/Sikorsky, Boeing, Textron/Bell, Northrop Grumman. That's it just four companies that have the ability to realistically fund and develop combat aircraft in the US.

[@964cuplove]

There seems to so many ways to achieve the same motion, like rotatin the sucks vs varying the pitch individually…. A modern fly by wire version with the use of today’s composite materials and powerplants would be interesting

[@RS-bu1vz]

This seriously looks like something out of either the command and conquer games, or something out of the star wars project(clone troop transports).

[@theodorecorder7337]

It should have been in production It's a really good air craft just like the 16xl and the f23

[@alexmackinnon5810]

i don't see the x-22 in the collection list for Niagara Aerospace Museum

[@mkvalor]

I mean -- there's got to be some lineage between this aircraft and the eventual Bell V-22 Osprey. Right? Right??

[@78.BANDIT]

The future of public transportation.

[@roydrink]

I grew up in the Niagara region and recognized the Bell buildings. Unfortunately closed now.

[@muskreality]

The plane was just too perfect that it threatened the entire aviation industry

[@koldaussie]

Considering we now have the Osprey, I think this would be a great thing to redesign now, and see just how much our new computer software and aircraft materials would benefit it. It would definitely be safer for Special Operations than the Blackhawk or most modern helicoptors because it has more armour and stability. As LostSoul3471 said down below, it is the aircraft design of choice for many computer games.

[@DrDirt-fk5ls]

It looks badass! Way better than the Osprey

[@hvalour1]

Those nozzles would cause a lot of drag, but that aircraft is very cool.

[@nickc1475]

please do the bf-109 k4

[@SteveClark-so9oz]

Why not use a fan disc used in turbo fan jet engines x 4 disc's in 2 ducts counterrotating to compensate for torque

[@Infrared73]

I think there is a mistake. Forward Speed of 507km/h with a top speed of 370km/h.

[@alwayscensored6871]

Yep, noticed that too.

[@nobilismaximus]

@@alwayscensored6871 max speed and cruising speeds?

[@Gavin_G01]

Hey can y’all do a video on the Russian “night witches” that fought the Nazi’s on the eastern front! Thanks

[@mrinalthakur3459]

Mark Felton productions is your friend

[@electricaviationchannelvid7863]

A helicopter has different stability features and more optimized for longer hovers due to disc-load...this design has the advantage of cruise speed/time/pilot workload in different modes/redundancy...

[@sailingbrewer]

How did we end up with the POS osprey when this was flying around.

[@Thomasnmi]

Mission creep

[@Davethreshold]

WOW! I interrupted watching this to say: If you made the body look stealthy or more modern, that plane could have been used in SciFi/comic book films like Ghost In The Machine or Sky Captain. The fact that it has FOUR engines that will do that is far out Man!

[@iberiksoderblom]

Thinking about the current Bell's V-280 Valor vs. Defiant X, this video is great timing :-D

[@oscarthomasson8462]

It’s the great grandfather of all quad copter drones!

[@olsmokey]

These were not "drones" as they had an onboard pilot. A "drone" is not necessarily a quad, and a quad is not necessarily a "drone".

[@Stubby0266]

Used imperial measurements too please.

[@daveherbert6215]

People here are talking about batteries, what about capacitors? I think this design looks so beautiful.

[@Ingens_Scherz]

OK, but is it related to the V-22 Osprey? Or are we just meant to assume that?

[@zingwilder9989]

It would probably be fair to say "in a very remote sense."

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

Bell developed both.

[@regularguy8110]

Using current engines from Thingap Corp would make this design Very viable for transport and multiple other civilian uses. Proven design. Decades of flight use. More stable than the V-22. It deserves a second chance.

[@jayflow7949]

If the remade it with new technology and using Tesla style motors and batteries with duel propeller ducted power units I think with that and light weight carbon fibre material you could make it a massive airship around the size of the large hovercrafts that the UK military has

[@Kj16V]

2:18 It took me a while to work out those guys weren't holding hands.

[@bosoerjadi2838]

The Flying Beerkegs.. nice.

[@Johnny_Cash_Flow]

So... what you're saying is aliens?