Rotorcraft R&D Continues to Faster Horizontal Flight as Prototypes Meet Milestones. By Paul Pitts. | The JetAv Blog
As the AW609 Civilian Tiltrotor development program (formerly the joint venture between Bell and Agusta Westland) continues to move forward, other large players in the rotorcraft industry have used the 609 program delays to develop their own entries into this market space. Sikorsky and Eurocopter both have flown their aircraft to speeds beyond what we know as helicopter cruise flight.
Eurocopter’s X3 high-speed hybrid helicopter demonstrator, which performed its maiden
flight on September 6, 2010, reached on November 29th the program’s Step 1 speed objective: attaining a true airspeed of 180 kts (333 km/hr) in level flight at a reduced level of engine power. This performance was obtained at the DGA Flight Test base in Istres, France. In the flight testing performed thus far, the flight envelope has been opened with and without autopilot to validate the basic hybrid demonstrator aircraft’s stability and handling characteristics. The X3 has reached an altitude of 12,500 feet and performed maneuvers with left and right turns at bank angles of up to 60 degrees. The X3 is expected to arrive in the US in late June as the company continues to tout the capabilities of the aircraft.
The Sikorsky X2 TECHNOLOGY™ demonstrator aircraft incorporates several new
technologies and has successfully demonstrated them in a flight environment. These technologies include an integrated Fly-by-Wire system that allows the engine/rotor/propulsion system to operate efficiently, with full control of rotor rpm throughout the flight envelope, high lift-to-drag rigid blades, low drag hub fairings, and Active Vibration Control. In addition, the aircraft was used as a ‘flying wind tunnel’ to determine the main rotor to propulsion aerodynamic interaction, shaft angle optimization for performance, and blade tip clearance for a range of maneuvers. This will allow optimization of the X2 TECHNOLOGY™ suite for future products.
Having achieved its goal of flying the X2 Technology™ demonstrator helicopter at more than 250 knots (287 mph) — twice the average top speed of a traditional helicopter — Sikorsky will design, build and fly two more X2 Technology aircraft, and offer one of the aircraft to the U.S. Military for flight test and evaluation. Both prototypes will become the first of an all-new light tactical helicopter category — the Sikorsky S-97 — and will carry the designation S-97™ Raider™ helicopter.
Last month the CEOs of the major rotorcraft companies sat together in Dallas, TX at a forum sponsored by the American Helicopter Society. At this meeting, these industry senior leaders agreed the future of the industry required collaboration and partnering to bring future products to market which are affordable and timely. The presence of larger, faster rotorcraft is clearly in the future the question is which one will prevail.
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