BELL BOEING HAS REMOVED more than 900kg of empty weight from the V-22 tilt-rotor transport, compared to the prototype, which had its first public appearance at Paris. The first of four production-representative aircraft, scheduled to fly in December 1996, is projected to be 160kg under its weight target, the team says. Bell Boeing says that it has cut the flyaway price of the US Marine Corps' MV-22, from the original $41 million to $33 million, and has identified ways to meet its target price of $29.4 million.
Source: Flight International
