Look Inside the Sleekest Helicopter That Will Never Fly

At the helicopter industry’s largest trade show last week, dozens of aircraft were parked over 7 acres of Dallas convention center space. Yet only one generated a constant crowd as more than 1,000 people gathered around Bell’s FCX-001 chopper.

Just as carmakers roll out concept vehicles at auto shows, Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. decided last summer to build a helicopter to display its most cutting-edge technologies, said Scott Drennan, director of innovation at Fort Worth, Texas-based Bell. Widely known for the UH-1 “Huey” helicopters flown by the military in Vietnam, Bell’s research today is likely to appear in choppers many years from now.