It is similar to a tandem rotor system when in helicopter mode. The CH-53K Test Flight team has our most experienced and seasoned engineers, pilots, maintainers and support staff. Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation: Counter-rotating rotor system with stationary standpipe US20150139799A1 (en) * 2013-11-15: 2015-05-21: Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation . Its an old joke with a kernel of aerodynamic truth. In another image, below, additional 3D-printed components protrude out of the weapons bay, which is open. Sikorsky Aircraft created the Advancing Blade Concept during the 1970s with the goal of significantly increasing helicopter flight speed. When it comes to the fastest helicopters, the V-22 is by far the fastest- except it isn't really a helicopter at all. Sikorsky would attend schools in Paris and Ukraine, studying the sciences. SpaceX astronaut missions for NASA: Crew-6 updates, Interview with Bernard Harris, the 1st African-American spacewalker, Watch SpaceX launch 2 rockets less than an hour apart on Monday, Your monthly guide to stargazing & space science, Subscribe today and save an extra 5% with code 'LOVE5', Issues delivered straight to your door or device. How many satellites can we safely fit in Earth orbit? Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved. Helicopter main rotor vibration analysis with varying rotating speed. 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." Also, some of the symmetry of the counter rotating blades, closelymirroring each otherin shape and size, will decrease turbulence and therefore improve the airflow and stability of flight. . I am not sure that we are cheaper than [General Atomics] but we are more flexible in the different payloads we can operate, Ron Tryfus, IAI senior vice-president for future growth, said. The extra lift from each rotors advancing blade balances out the diminished lift from the opposite sides retreating blade, which gets rid of retreating blade stall. Sikorsky?sX2 Technology Demonstrator incorporates leading-edge aerospace technologies,including digital fly-by-wire flight controls, counter-rotating rigid rotorblades that spin more slowly as the helicopter reaches higher cruising speeds,active vibration control, an integrated auxiliary propulsion system, and more. A helicopter can be designed to have blades that rotate clockwise or counterclockwise. Huntsville now has a simulation. The abstract of the Army final report summarizes these conclusions: NOE [nap of the earth] flight handling qualities revealed the XH-59A is capable of the intricate, demanding maneuvers required by the tactical NOE environment. 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 X2 Technology Demonstrator has a coaxial rotor system comprised oftwo hubs with blades attached. And why? [4] The armor would represent approximately 1,800 pounds of the aircrafts 6,800 pounds gross weight. | That feat has since been eclipsed -- by a slim margin -- by the Eurocopter X3. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University. A maximum level flight speed of 240 knots was achieved, making this the first rotary wing aircraft to achieve this speed without the use of an auxiliary wing, thus proving the basic advancing blade concept. 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. By 1981 the development program was complete. Theyve learned a lot since they built the V-22, said V-280 program manager Chris Gehler, and theyve radically upgraded the low-speed handling qualities, he told reporters in Amarillo. . But the mission is not simply to fly long distances. in the industry,? The pilot inputted more and more forward cyclic to counter this, until the stick was on the forward stop and the aircraft was still nosing up. These two ideas were combined into an aircraft with an armor fuselage and an ABC rotor system. X2Technology aircraft will take-off and land vertically, hover, maneuver at lowspeeds, and transition from hover to forward flight like regular helicopters. However, the counter-rotating blades also brings a sound advantage by virtue of enabling quieter, stealthier flight trajectories generating a much smaller acoustic signature. The Army set up the Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System (UTTAS) program to develop this new transport helicopter. The counter-rotating blades are engineered toreduce high-speed vibrations, steady the aircraft and best optimize massive amounts of thrust coming from a pusher prop mechanism in the rear of the aircraft. Its the Army that Bell and Sikorsky must convince. Sikorsky Aircraft (now owned by Lockheed Martin) was founded in 1923 and has created helicopters for civilian and military use since 1939. Contra-rotating coaxial rotors cancels out the retreating blade stall limit of helicopters by providing a balancing lift with the opposite direction. In late May, Sikorsky first turned on power to its S-97 prototype, which at the time was about halfway through assembly. Military Potential of the ABC, George Price, American Helicopter Society Vertiflight magazine, November/December, 1982. One month later the first XH-59A aircraft experienced a low speed accident on the flight field. S.Harding "U.S.Army Aircraft since 1947", 1990. The speed, which was achieved in level flight during a 1.1-hour flight on Wednesday, September 15, is an unofficial speed record for a helicopter, easily beating the current . A compound helicopter has no wings and two separate sets of blades, a rotor that stays a rotor and a propeller that stays a propeller. Updated 4:55 pm to clarify Richard Aboulafias remarks on Army preferences. Rotor vibration characteristics were acknowledged at the end of the test program as being too high for a production vehicle. The tail contacted the ground first and the aircraft rolled over until the blades struck the ground. The cockpit will seat two pilots side-by-side, and the cabin behind them will fit six combat-equipped soldiers. Vertipedia provides high-quality information on current and historical aircraft, as well as notable milestones in the history of vertical flight and biographical information on the people who made them happen. "Certainlycivilian travel appears to be a promising market. 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. When the compound helicopter is hovering, the rotors on top get most of the engine power and do most of the work, much like a traditional helicopter. Its just $1 per month . said Grant. During this period the Navy, Air Force, and NASA joined the Army in providing funding support. 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. Continued operation in RF environments whether thats GPS denial or communications disruption is arguably the number-one requirement for overmatch against near peers. So it should be no surprise that, ahead of next weeks mammoth Association of the US Army conference in Washington, Bell flew reporters out to its factory here to talk up the V-280 Valor and to denigrate the Sikorsky-Boeing SB>1 Defiant. The V-280 has the same size rotors as the V-22 but weighs half as much, Gehler said, giving it 50 percent more control power than a V-22 at low speeds, superior to the present-day Black Hawk and Apache. Kris Osborn is Defense Editor for theNational Interest. Second, to provide the raw forward thrust for fast flight, the back of the aircraft mounts a pusher propeller. First look at ultra-fast Sikorsky/Boeing SB>1 Defiant dual-rotor helicopter, The Sikorsky/Boeing SB>1 Defiant is our first look at the Future Vertical Lift project that will enter US Army service in the 2030s, With counter-rotating blades at the top, the SB>1 Defiant blasts through the helicopter speed limit imposed by retreating blade stall on single-rotor helicopters, Sikorsky - Boeing Future Vertical Lift: The Way Forward. The Containerized Flight Training Device (CFTD) is a full-mission flight simulator that will allow flight crews to train on the full scope of Marine Corps heavy lift missions, including external lift operations, and executing degraded visual environment take-offs and landings. Join PopSci+ to read sciences greatest stories. Sikorsky's engineering studies showed that, to get a single-main-rotor helicopter to reach the speeds the Army wants, you need to squeeze every drop of power from the engine and streamline the. systems are either fully-articulated or rigid. The nacelles can be rotated in flight between horizontal and vertical Figure 1.36 Boeing V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. Theyre called compound because they have two sets of blades. The 40 foot diameter rotor that was wind tunnel tested in 1970 was sized for a 14,500 lb gross weight, 230 knot aircraft which was felt at the time to be a size with a wide range of mission potential. Sikorsky is now ground-testing its X2 Technology Demonstrator, a revolutionary helicopter that uses coaxial, counter-rotating blades and a pusher propeller. The Army plans to publish new requirements for the helicopter by 2021 based upon data gathered and lessons learned through ongoing experiments,weapons developmentand test flights, the report added. The same design approach was also considered for a larger AAPC, Aerial Armored Personnel Carrier, carrying twelve troops within the armored fuselage. Similar to the X2 prototype, the Sikorsky S-97 Raider helicopter will have twin coaxial counter-rotating main rotors and a pusher propeller for cruise at 220 knots. Learn how we are strengthening the economies, industries and communities of our global partner nations. here for reprint permission. Will the military actually buy either design? This used two very rigid counter-rotating rotors, allowing rotor lift at high speeds to migrate off the rotor centerline to the advancing sides of the rotor discs, thus eliminating retreating blade stall which limits the speed of conventional helicopters. Although designed in to the gearbox, this feature was not found to be required during the development flight test program. Two images of Raider X in a hangar in West Palm Beach, Florida, shared recently by Sikorsky, reveal how the companys prototype is coming together. Four years later, Sikorsky eventually won the competition to build the Army's new UH-60A helicopter. The rigid rotors provided high control power. This is the most popular arrangement today. But how? Join PopSci+ to read sciences greatest stories. Sikorsky's technology puts two main rotors on top of each other, rotating in opposite directions, which balances out the lift profile on either side and allows the craft to fly much faster up to twice the airspeed of a regular helicopter while maintaining excellent handling and agility. Sikorsky was experimenting with a compound helicopter, the S-61F/NH-3, using an S-61/H-3 airframe. The problem was that at low or no lift on the rotor the resulting yaw moment did not exist. Born in Kiev, Ukraine, in 1889 to a family of physicians, Igor Sikorsky actually built his first helicopter at the age of 12. 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). "Perhaps a helicopter airtaxi market will evolve as many aviation experts have predicted for thesmall-airplane segment.". Registration or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. The review board is being very thorough and the contract awardee will be announced when the board completes its review, an Army spokesperson said via email, regarding FLRAA. The mainadvantage of helicopters? Both companies agree that the Bell V-280 Valor, which has wings, is more fuel-efficient in long-range flight than the Sikorsky-Boeing SB>1 Defiant, which just has rotors. Although thetop speed of helicopters has not increased much since the 1960s, improvementsin computers, materials, navigation systems, and other aspects of aircraftduring the past two generations have been unprecedented. Two three-blade intermeshing contra-rotating tandem rotors, fully-articulated, all bearings submerged in oil. The pilot reduced the collective to get it back on the ground. The conclusion was that the control system gains were too low to cover all flight modes. His prediction: The Marines double down on tiltrotors, the Army willkeep upgrading conventional helicopters for the bulk of its fleet, and a smaller number of compound helicopters will be built as gunships and scouts. Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company (NYSE:LMT), in Stratford, Connecticut, and Boeing Defense, Space & Security (NYSE:BA) in Berkeley, Missouri, are introducing the SB>1 DEFIANT helicopter designed to fly with advanced agility and maneuverability at twice the speed and range of current conventional helicopters. Despite talk of far-ranging maneuvers and Multi-Domain Battles, he doubts the Army will be willing to pay a high premium for speed and range, which the Marines have already proven willing to do on the V-22. Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com. The Air Force and Navy are also buying small numbers of V-22s. But that unconventional rotor placement will help drive the S-97's exceptional speed. The contract is worth $1.3 billion and could accelerate as additional helicopters are bought by the U.S. and other countries. After a number of false starts over the next four years, a manufacturing method was developed that used a 17 foot 6AL-4V titanium extrusion which was machined both inside and out to produce tapered diameter and wall thickness. Unlike conventional helicopters that possess a main rotor for lift and thrust with a tail rotor for anti-torque, a coaxial helicopter utilizes two counter-rotating rotor disks that serve to provide lift, thrust, and torque neutralization. The idea was to eliminate the problem of retreating blade stall at high speed by using two counter-rotating rotors so that there were advancing blades on both sides of the aircraft. The V-280, by contrast looks purely like a Marine design, Aboulafia said. By the 1960s the Russians had a coaxial helicopter in production. 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. In a separate project, Sikorsky is working with Boeing on an X2-based helicopter called the SB-1 Defiant in a precursor program to the the Army-led Future Vertical Lift initiative, which aims to find a next-generation medium-lift helicopter for use across all the military branches. All Rights Reserved. The first was a two place reconnaissance vehicle, the AARV Aerial Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle proposed as a follow-on to the Armys light observation helicopters then in production, the Hughes OH-6A and the Bell OH-58A. Some balance is needed in order to keep the machine stable--usually either another, counter-rotating rotor or a small vertically-mounted tail rotor. With faster speeds, you get less lift capacity unless you want to pay more. At higher speeds, moreover, helicopters run into a problem called retreating blade stall. K-MAX Capabilities Unmatched Precision Unmatched Precision Unmatched Versatility Unmatched Versatility The Sikorsky X2 is an experimental high-speed compound helicopter with coaxial rotors, developed by Sikorsky Aircraft, that made its first flight in 2008 and was officially retired in 2011. What's even more unusual element is the pusher rotor at the rear. But when you start moving forward through the air, the blade starts developing extra lift on the side where the blades are rushing forward into the wind, and less lift on the opposite side where the blades are going backwards with the wind. Sikorsky was unique in devoting his efforts to the single-rotor philosophy, which he erroneously believed he had originated. (With a tiltrotor,) while it is efficient in its cruising mission, it struggles when it gets to the objective.. High-power engines are necessary to drive rotating blades, which . Both pilots were uninjured. He could be considered the most important person in the helicopter design. A helicopter, however, generates airflow over the wings, and thus, lift by spinning its wings thats what the rotor blades are, rotary wings. It generates thrust by angling the rotors in any direction. It is not at all unusual for weapons system requirements to be refined throughout the developmental process of a new platform, given that new things are learned on an ongoing basis. It's not an everyday look for a helicopter, to say the least. Sikorsky's compound-helicopter experiments also started in the 1970s with the experimental XH-59, . [Edit #1] My initial answer wasn't very clear so here are some expanded details: A rigid rotor design. Built in Connecticut, the Sikorsky CH-53K is the latest in the Companys proud helicopter legacy. Sikorsky-Boeing SB>1 Defiant. That might require different designs for different missions and different services, Aboulafia told me, with the military ending up with a mix of tiltrotors, compound helicopters, and traditional helicopters. Bell V-280 Valor Joint Multi-Role Demonstrator (CGI graphic). Counter-rotating: Hub Type: Main Rotor . Media Contact The entire flight envelope was flown without any artificial stabilization equipment. (Bells partner on the V-22, Boeing, switched sides on FVL). Since you can only generate lift by moving the whole aircraft forward, you need a long runway to take off and must keep moving forward while in flight. Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation 6900 Main StreetP.O. The company plans to demonstrate the aircraft's capabilities to the US military beginning in 2015. Sikorsky Global Helicopters was created in early 2009 as a business unit of the company to focus on commercial aircraft. Primarily the advantages were compactness and the elimination of the tail rotor; no thought or capability of using advancing blade lift was considered in these designs. The test envelope was expanded to level flight at 156 knots, dive speeds to 186 knots, and altitudes to 14,000 feet. Delivered on weekdays. Each control input provided the desired control response with little extraneous response in the other axes. AMARILLO, TEX. Also at that time higher harmonic control was receiving a lot of attention throughout the industry, and the thought was that the ABC might benefit from that technology. Counter rotating props certainly aren't new. At takeoff, this means the aircraft can lift off and move away quickly without needing to tilt forward. Some balance is needed in order to keep the machine stable usually either another, counter-rotating rotor or a small vertically-mounted tail rotor. Starting with the experimental XV-15 in the 1970s, and entering military service with the V-22 in 2007, Bell has led the industry in building tilt-rotors, winged aircraft with rotors that, well, tilt. My team strives to advance aircraft engine capability through prioritization, definition, and execution of technology maturation programs. If you want to go faster and further, you need a fundamentally different design. For fb36 wondering why not a quad? Pino said of the X2 TechnologyDemonstrator at Heli-Expo 2008, the main U.S. helicopter convention. Elevators were included in the tail. ?Customers aredemanding greater speed but without sacrificing any of the unique capabilitiesthat make helicopters theideal platform for countless civil and military missions.? Pitch change was accomplished with conventional stack bearings. Both helicopters, Raider and Defiant, have similar design elements: two counter-rotating top rotors, and a propeller in back. Even worse, in autorotation the yaw control reversed direction. Boeing said it supports the protest filed by its partner. It was a small toy powered by rubber bands, but it would turn out to be his life's work. It also required titanium rather than aluminum to get the strength and modulus necessary for a practical blade design. That counter-rotation has the benefit of balancing out the torque and evening the lift from the long and rigid spinning blades. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). All rights reserved. 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. These useful machines handle everything from tourism to search and rescue. Independent control for upper and lower rotor of a rotary wing aircraft Patent number: 11440650 Abstract: An aircraft is provide including an airframe, an extending tail, and a counter rotating, coaxial main rotor assembly including an upper rotor assembly and a lower rotor assembly. With the counter-rotating rotors, no tail rotor was required to react rotor torque. 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. In 1967 Sikorsky investigated new light-weight dual-hardness aircraft armor. Controls: Synchropters 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. This is not correct. Take a look at the concept video below, or click through for a larger look at the photos released today. The initial version of this helicopter, called the SB>1 Defiant, flew for the first time in March of 2019, and Popular Science has also recognized it in its Best of What's New awards.. The two main rotors of the S-97 are coaxial, and they rotate in opposite directions, driving both lift and forward flight. This would be great for turbulant rescues, say at sea. The rotor diameter would grow to 40 feet, the same size as the ABC rotor being tested at the time in the NASA Ames wind tunnel. It's not an idle promise. - Missions Armed reconnaissance Length 37ft Width 16ft Rotor Diameter 34ft Speed 220k Expand There was a 30 inch spacing between the two rotors. The aircraft, which will feature fly-by-wire controls, will be able to carry a variety of external weapons and sensors to suit missions including light assault or armed aerial scout. We are testing the limitsand pioneering this exciting innovation.". The XH-59A was a unique design built strictly as a test vehicle for the advancing blade concept rotor system. It had the disadvantage of a tall rotor system which was incompatible with the Armys requirement that the UTTAS be air transportable in the C-130/141. By the 1960s Sikorsky believed that technology had progressed to the point that a practical application of the concept was possible. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the ArmyAcquisition, Logistics & Technology. equipped with means for aerodynamic control of attitude and flight path In effect, he said, "the rotor . End of the X2 Technology Demonstrator, a revolutionary helicopter that uses coaxial, counter-rotating rotor or a small tail... There was a unique design built strictly as a test vehicle for the Interest. Increasing helicopter flight speed analysis with varying rotating speed that counter-rotation has the benefit balancing... 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