Soon you will read in
AOPA Pilot about the Sikorsky X2 twin-rotor helicopter that was flown
in excess of 250 knots true airspeed in level flight, and 263 in a one-degree descent last year. I was lucky enough to be present at the helicopter’s last flight July 14 (reaching 240 knots) northwest of West Palm Beach, Fla. It will be on display near ConocoPhillips Square (formerly AeroShell Square) at EAA AirVenture in a few days, and then on display again at
AOPA Summit. What you won’t see are the software displays–the stuff that makes the magic happen. After 18 months of victory tours in its special truck, the history-making helicopter is on its way to the
Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles International Airport, Virginia.
AOPA Pilot has covered the X2 since it was a
mere 181-knot helicopter. It first flew in 2008. With seven more flights, the X2 might have gone 280 knots true airspeed, say those close to the project, but it’s time to put the technology to use in a military
Raider attack helicopter. Also on display at Oshkosh, like last year, is Sikorsky’s battery powered helicopter,
Firefly, which hasn’t flown yet. With an expected endurance of 12 minutes, it must wait for better battery technology to be practical. It should fly in August. When I saw it there was no rotor, no center console for instruments, and no batteries. (It had all those parts on for Oshkosh 2010.) I saw work on a proprietary
Firefly gear of some sort in progress, even as the X2 was prepped for its last flight.
By the way, I want to mention that the X2 team benefitted greatly from the Sikorsky counter-rotating XH-59A of the late 1970s and `80s, that went 245 knots true airspeed. The X2 team simply built its “house” on the XH-59A foundation, and some of the engineers who achieved the 245-knot speed, but with severe stability problems, are still at Sikorsky today to enjoy the moment. All told, there were 70 employees involved with the X2 from time to time, but no more than 30 at one time. There were 12 key players working 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., unless they came in at 4 or 4:30 a.m. Hats off to the two XH-59A pilots who sat there, fought the stability issues second to second, and went 245 knots in spite of them. It took two pilots because there were nine levers to control.
Tags: helicopter speed, Sikorsky Innovations, Sikorsky X2, X2
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on Monday, July 18th, 2011 at 7:27 pm and is filed under Al Marsh, AOPA Expo, Editors, Oshkosh.
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July 19th, 2011 at 6:58 am
Can we please get someone, other than the author, to proof-read these blog entries before they’re posted? So, so many have been posted, replete with typographical and grammatical errors. People seem to be in too much of a rush to get something posted that they fail to take the time to re-read what they’ve written. Especially for those working for professional organizations, it makes you look far less professional. It’s difficult to take you seriously. Thanks.
July 19th, 2011 at 1:14 pm
I look forward to seeing the X2 at AirVenture 2011. In recent years the Piasecki research and development organization devised an experimental helicopter which is a modification of the familiar Black Hawk. Instead of counter-rotating concentric twin main rotors and a pusher prop, the Piasecki design uses a combined antitorque and propulsor system at the rear, a single main rotor, and auxiliary wings. It would be interesting to see both the Sikorsky and Piasecki designs.
July 20th, 2011 at 7:23 pm
Gosh, John, all I did was add an extra “i” to “in.” I took it out. All better now.
July 20th, 2011 at 7:26 pm
Hi, Alex,
The Eurocopter also uses auxiliary wings as well, and a single rotor. Two propellers power it to higher speeds. Sikorsky claims this makes it less like a helicopter, while theirs retains all the characteristics of helicopter flight. They also claim they have more power for the propeller, given that there is no tail rotor, and that the savings in power is 15 percent. The two designs will do battle in the upcoming competition to win the armed aerial scout contract.
July 22nd, 2011 at 2:05 pm
How does the helicoper do in a 1 degree climb? Just wondering ,since it was published with 1 degree descent.
Art
July 22nd, 2011 at 6:24 pm
Great tease about the Sikorsky X2 twin-rotor helicopter piece coming out. Now I can’t wait to read it! And by the way, I think the writing in your blog is concise and cogent. I write about helicopter-related news myself, and I must say that the earlier comment was a little harsh. Typos happen to the best of us. Those are easy to fix. More important is the quality of content, and your posts are well-covered in that department. Keep those AOPA Pilot teases coming
July 23rd, 2011 at 7:02 am
Hi, Art,
The purpose of that speed flight was to see how the helicopter reacted to higher speeds, so they didn’t do climb tests. The idea is that the airframe made it through 263, even in a descent, without loss of stability or needing more tail surface (which WAS the case at 181 knots).
July 23rd, 2011 at 7:04 am
Hi, Helicopter License,
Thanks for the kind words. I gave away lots of my article secrets in this blog, so I saved the humor for the article.
November 2nd, 2011 at 12:14 pm
What a great article about Sikorsky X2 twin-rotor helicopter, though I do not prefer this model personally.