Two companies are competing against one another in a program called FARA (Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft) to create the whirlybird that will fill that role. Mosthelicopters have a ?disc? To replace the Armys current Black Hawk transports, an aircraft needs to be able to land quickly in tight spaces under fire, drop troops, and then take off again ideally flying backwards so it doesnt have to wait to turn around. Sign up to receive Popular Science's emails and get the highlights. The FVL competitors havent flown yet, but the Bell V-280 is designed to go 280 knots (320 mph), while the Sikorsky-Boeing SB>1 is derived from the Collier Trophy-winning X2 demonstrator, which reached 250 knots (287 mph). But how? And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com. ?Weinitiated X2 Technology convinced that the most productive and flexiblehelicopter is a helicopter which is capable of a significant increase in speed,?said Stephen Finger, then-president of Sikorsky Aircraft. Presidential transport helicopter also known as Marine One Sikorsky internal model designations S-70A. These two ideas were combined into an aircraft with an armor fuselage and an ABC rotor system. This set the program back for over a year while the cause of the accident was determined. Sikorskybuilt the X2 Technology Demonstrator in collaboration with subsidiary SchweizerAircraft, and funded the project entirely by itself. is their ability to take off and land vertically.However, compared with fixed-wing aircraft, they are slow. Auxiliary propulsion was envisioned to provide horizontal propulsion. S-70A-1 Desert Hawk; variant for Saudi Arabian military S-70A-1L Saudi Desert Hawk Medevac variant S-70A-5 Variant for Philippine Air Force S-70A-9 They were refined in the S-97 Raider and now the SB>1. Designs were prepared for the rotor, drive system, and controls, and preliminary designs of mission aircraft were studied. Controls: Synchropters A compound helicopter is a little less efficient than a tiltrotor flying long distances, Sikorskys VP for innovation, Chris Van Buiten, admitted to me. Meanwhile, over at Bell, their FARA candidateboth companies refer to the aircraft they are working on as a competitive prototypeis the 360 Invictus, which in March was reported to be 87-percent finished. When it comes to the fastest helicopters, the V-22 is by far the fastest- except it isn't really a helicopter at all. The contract is worth $1.3 billion and could accelerate as additional helicopters are bought by the U.S. and other countries. That cannon is attached to a turret. In a more developed design, a single propulsion system would power both the rotor and an auxiliary propulsion propeller or ducted fan. By the 1960s the Russians had a coaxial helicopter in production. However, the direction chosen seems to depend on where the helicopter is designed and built. This project involved both Army and company funds over a two and a half year period. While its unclear when the Army will make a decision as to which aircraft it wants to go with for the FARA program, the FLRAA competition is further along. Design and development [ edit] Sikorsky developed the X2 helicopter on a $50 million budget. What does an independent expert think? Space is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Controls: Coaxial Helicopters This design consists of two main rotor systems mounted on a common mast, but rotating Examples of this design are the Sikorsky ABC and the MIL-29. The hubs spin in opposite directions, whicheliminates the torque effect. AARV display model Sikorsky Global Helicopters was created in early 2009 as a business unit of the company to focus on commercial aircraft. One of the concerns with the coaxial rotor arrangement was how to provide aircraft yaw control. The. This can get so unbalanced that it threatens to tip the helicopter over altogether if you don't stay beneath a defined maximum airspeed. Boeing said it supports the protest filed by its partner. In an unconventional approach, a concept was proposed to build a helicopter fuselage with this armor, rather that simply adding the armor parasitically around sensitive areas of the vehicle. By the 1960s Sikorsky believed that technology had progressed to the point that a practical application of the concept was possible. About the develemental phase when you already have a proven concept, insane. Igor Sikorskys predictions for air travel in general and for helicopters in particular have been largely realized or surpassed. By The XH-59A was a unique design built strictly as a test vehicle for the advancing blade concept rotor system. Part 2 of a narrative series illustrating how Elbit Americas USA-manufactured products enable customers to successfully accomplish their most demanding missions. The other is Sikorsky, whose flying machine is called the Raider X. Sikorskys candidate features coaxial top rotors: The two large rotors on top of the helicopter, which give it lift, spin in opposite directions, negating the need for a traditional tail rotor. AMARILLO, TEX. Sikorsky hopes the X2 will fly nearly twice as fast as today's helicopters. The Bell-Boeing V-22s now in service, for example, cruise comfortably at 270 knots, about 310 miles per hour, with a mission radius of 428 nautical miles, about 490 miles (and that, of course, is without being refueled). Sikorsky is pitching the funky, fast S-97 Raider as a replacement for today's light attack and scout helicopters, via the Army's Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft program. The Sikorsky S-97 Raider has an unusual configuration, with two coaxial main rotors on top and a pusher propeller in the rear. At low speeds, the difference between the advancing and retreating blades is negligible. This prototype Sikorsky's pitch for the. At takeoff, this means the aircraft can lift off and move away quickly without needing to tilt forward. The upper and lower counter-rotating gear 62 u, 621 drive a respective upper and lower rotor shaft 64 u, 641 which rotates the counter-rotating rotor systems 28 a, 28 b about an axis R. Input power is transmitted from the powerplants 22 through the driveshafts 54 A, 54 B to the upper and lower counter-rotating gear 62 u, 621 and the drive shaft 38. Sikorsky and Boeing are protesting the Armys decision to award a lucrative defense contract to replace the services Black Hawk helicopters with a tiltrotor aircraft manufactured by Bell Textron. It also negates the need for a regular tail rotor, as yaw can be managed using just the top rotors. The Army set up the Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System (UTTAS) program to develop this new transport helicopter. Primarily among these was the use of separate engines for rotor power and auxiliary propulsion. Sikorsky says that the S-97 Raider has a cruising speed of 253 mph (407 km/h, 220 kn), which is more than double the speed of conventional helicopters, and pulls three G's in the turns for. The aircraft was designed to fly with or without the auxiliary propulsion J-60s installed. Join PopSci+ to read sciences greatest stories. Sikorsky has recently registered a new helicopter model named the S-100 with the FAA. The two main rotors of the S-97 are coaxial, and they rotate in opposite directions, driving both lift and forward flight. Theyre called compound because they have two sets of blades. The Marine Corps is more than receptive to radically new rotorcraft. Business optimism reigned supreme at Sikorsky Aircraft during the 1980s decade. (This aircraft was designated as the Sikorsky S-73 and is described in another section of this Sikorsky Product History on this website.) Two designs were considered. These useful machines handle everything from tourism to search and rescue. The testing of the full-scale ABC rotor system in the NASA Ames wind tunnel in 1970 was very successful, and the Army and the company decided that a high-speed research aircraft, evaluating the ABCs speed potential, was more productive. Sikorsky's helicopters featured a sophisticated design which outperformed other manufacturers. This design delivers that, plus incredible speed. In the mid-1960s many companies in the helicopter industry were investigating technologies to expand the speed envelope of the helicopter. Nothing political here. The answers lie in the speed limits built into the physics of how a helicopter flies. In September 2010, Sikorsky's similarly designed X2 technology demonstrator reached a speed of 250 knots (287 mph), a feat that the longtime rotorcraft maker at the time said "unofficially shattered the helicopter world speed record." This is not correct. From July 1975 to March 1977 the helicopter configuration was tested. However, in 2011, the company laid off 400 employees at the Hawk Works plant and 570 more in 2012. The CFTD replicates the functionality, flight characteristics, mission profiles and unmatched capabilities of the CH-53K helicopter. The empennage was an inverted V to keep it under the rotor and minimize aircraft size. Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. A composite rotor system, with flexbeams replacing the pitch bearings, would replace the heavy titanium blades on the A version. For example, flights between Bridgeport, Conn. and JFK Airport in New York City would be decreased from 40 minutes to 25 minutes.Also, X2 Technology medevachelicopters would be able to transport people in critical condition tohospitals in significantly less time, potentially saving lives. Click here for Bells argument for accelerating FVL by cancelling other programs, with a mix of tiltrotors, compound helicopters, and traditional helicopters, Against near-peers, unmanned systems must maintain autonomy even when contested, With Indo-Pacific in mind, Army eyeing heavy support ship prototyping competition, Poland signs framework for 1,400 infantry fighting vehicles, Fool Around & Find Out Holistic Situational Awareness & Decision-Making, The Watched Pot Still Boils Expeditionary & Survivable C4I. If this scout helicopter sounds similar in design to another from Sikorsky, thats because it is. The tail contacted the ground first and the aircraft rolled over until the blades struck the ground. Now Sikorsky Aircraft has put that experimental technology into a more mature package, the S-97 Raider. Updated 4:55 pm to clarify Richard Aboulafias remarks on Army preferences. ?Customers aredemanding greater speed but without sacrificing any of the unique capabilitiesthat make helicopters theideal platform for countless civil and military missions.? On the ground, the top rotors can be folded back, allowing it to be stored and transported easily. Sikorsky's compound-helicopter experiments also started in the 1970s with the experimental XH-59, . Igor Sikorsky seems to be the first to settle on using a single rotor mounted at the rear of the helicopter as a way to counter the torque. (203) 386-6086Fax: (203) 386-7300Web site: . The XH-59A exhibited excellent handling qualities. here for reprint permission. Another huge measure of potential stealth for the aircraft likely resides in its ability to manage aheat signatureas well, something about which there may be little information available. ?The X2Technology Demonstrator is an integrated suite of technologies intended toadvance the state-of-the-art, counter-rotating coaxial rotor helicopter. The new heavy lifter will allow the U.S. Marine Corps and international militaries to move troops and equipment from ship to shore, and to higher altitude terrain, more quickly and effectively than ever before. The rigid rotors provided high control power. The CH-53K continues to successfully execute key performance, test, and production milestones. While it did not crash, it did tip over as it sat idling on the heliport atop the Pan Am Building (now the MetLife . Stability and control proved to be excellent. Most of these were "compound" helicopters, adding a wing and auxiliary propulsion to off load the rotor of its lift and forward thrust requirements at high speed. Composite materials technology would soon appear which could produce a better blade, with almost infinite options in geometry, at a substantially reduced cost and lighter weight. When all's said and done, the privately funded S-97 program will cost Sikorsky and its partners $200 million (75 percent from Sikorsky itself) for the construction and testing of two prototypes, the first of which was on display Thursday. Photo courtesy Sikorsky and Boeing. Also, the Invictus has a wing. Elevators were included in the tail. This article first appeared last month. First, like some conventional helicopters, especially Russian designs, a compound helicopter has two coaxial rotors on top that rotate in opposite directions (counter-rotation). Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. Sikorsky is now ground-testing its X2 Technology Demonstrator, a revolutionary helicopter that uses coaxial, counter-rotating blades and a pusher propeller. Move it up to 2023. The basic airframes there, the cockpit doors are installed, the weapons bay doors are installed, the landing gear is installed and serviced, [and] many of the electrical and hydraulic subsystems are fully installed and going through their acceptance test procedures., In the photo above, a few details stand out. Manually foldable composite rotor blades, using Boeing VR-7 and VR-8 aerofoils with cambered leading-edges. It should be no surprise, either, that when I asked Sikorsky to respond to Bells critique, they got a senior executive on the phone in less than 24 hours. From Sikorsky, thats because it is auxiliary propulsion propeller or ducted fan drive,. To the point that a practical application of the helicopter configuration was tested an media. 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