Sikorsky X2

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X2
Sikorsky X2 Demonstrator
Role Experimental compound helicopter
Manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft / Schweizer Aircraft
First flight 27 August 2008[1]
Retired 14 July 2011
Status Retired
Number built 1
Developed into Sikorsky S-97 Raider

The Sikorsky X2 is an experimental high-speed compound helicopter with coaxial rotors developed by the American aircraft manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft.

Contents

Design and development [edit]

Sikorsky has incorporated decades of company research and development into the X2 helicopter on a $50 million budget. The S-69/XH-59A Advancing Blade Concept Demonstrator showed high speed was possible with a coaxial helicopter and auxiliary propulsion but it vibrated too much;[2] the Cypher UAV expanded company knowledge of the unique aspects of flight control laws in a fly by wire aircraft with coaxial rotors; and the RAH-66 Comanche, which developed expertise in composite rotors and advanced transmission design.[3][4] Other features include slowed[5] rigid rotors 2 feet apart, active force counter-vibration inspired by the Black Hawk,[6] and using most of the power for the pusher propeller rather than the rotor.[2] The fly-by-wire system is provided by Honeywell, the rotor by Eagle Aviation Technologies, anti-vibration by Moog Inc, and propeller by Aero Composites.[7]

On 4 May 2009, Sikorsky unveiled a mock-up of a Light Tactical Helicopter derivative of the X2.[8]

Sikorsky plans to submit a helicopter for the Future Vertical Lift program based on the X2 design.[9]

Operational history [edit]

The X2 first flew on 27 August 2008 from Schweizer Aircraft's (a division of Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation) facility at Horseheads, New York. The flight lasted 30 minutes.[1] This began a 4-phase flight test program, to culminate with reaching a planned 250-knot top speed.[10] The X2 completed flights with its propeller fully engaged in July 2009.[11] Sikorsky completed phase 3 of the testing with the X2 hitting 181 knots in test flight in late May 2010.[12]

On 26 July 2010, Sikorsky announced that the X2 exceeded 225 knots (259 mph; 417 km/h) during flight testing in West Palm Beach Florida, unofficially surpassing the current FAI rotorcraft world speed record of 216 knots (249 mph) set by a modified Westland Lynx in 1986.[13] The X2 flight was purposefully made 37 years to the date of the S-69's first flight.[14]

On 15 September 2010, test pilot Kevin Bredenbeck achieved Sikorsky's design goal for the X2 when he flew it at a speed of 250 knots (290 mph; 460 km/h) in level flight,[15][16] an unofficial speed record for a helicopter.[2][17] The demonstrator also reached a speed of 260 knots (300 mph; 480 km/h) in a shallow 2˚ to 3˚ dive,[18] slightly less than the 303 mph of the XH-59A.[19]

On 14 July 2011, the X2 completed its final flight and was officially retired after accumulating 22 hours over 23 test flights.[20] With the end of development, the X2 will be followed by its first application, the S-97 Raider high-speed scout and attack helicopter.[21]

Specifications [edit]

Data from Flug-Revue[7] NOTE: No other specifications have been released by Sikorsky.

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2
  • Length: not available ()
  • Rotor diameter: 26.4 ft[22] (8.05 m)
  • Height: not available ()
  • Disc area: 548 ft²[22][23] (50.9 m²)
  • Empty weight: lb (kg)
  • Max. takeoff weight: 7,937 lb (3,600 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × LHTEC T800-LHT-801 turboshaft, 1300–1800 shp (1000–1340 kW)
  • Propellers: 1 six-bladed pusher-type propeller
  • Rotor configuration: 2 four-bladed co-axial

Performance

See also [edit]

Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Related lists

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b Trimble, Stephen. "Sikorsky's X2 speedster completes first flight". Flightglobal.com, 27 August 2008.
  2. ^ a b c Goodier, Rob (September 20, 2010). "Inside Sikorsky's Speed-Record-Breaking Helicopter Technology". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 22 September 2010. 
  3. ^ Sikorsky to Build and Test X2 Technology Demonstrator Helicopter. Sikorsky
  4. ^ Trimble, Stephen (26 July 2010). "Sikorsky X2 sets unofficial helicopter speed record". FlightGlobal. Reed Business Information. Retrieved 29 July 2010. 
  5. ^ First Flight Of Sikorsky X2 Demonstrator, Aviation Week & Space Technology, 27 August 2008. Accessed: 9 March 2012.
  6. ^ X2 marks the spot for radical rotor designs, Flightglobal.com, 12 June 2007.
  7. ^ a b "Sikorsky X2". Flug-Revue. Archived from the original on June 12, 2008. Retrieved 2007-06-25. 
  8. ^ Trimble, Stephen. Sikorsky unveils mock-up X2 armed scout. Flightglobal.com, 4 May 2009.
  9. ^ Sikorsky and Boeing to pitch ‘X-2’-based design for US Army JMR TD effort - Flightglobal.com, February 28, 2013
  10. ^ Trimble, Stephen. "Sikorsky high-speed X2 prototype starts flight-test phase". Flight International, 2 September 2008.
  11. ^ Lynch, Kerry. "Sikorsky X2 Files With Engaged Propeller". Aviation Week, 13 July 2009.
  12. ^ Croft, John. "Sikorsky completes third-phase X2 tests with 181kt flight". Flight International, 27 May 2010.
  13. ^ Rotorcraft World Records. Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI)
  14. ^ "X2 Technology Demonstrator Achieves 225 Knots, Sets New Top Speed for Helicopter - Target Milestone of 250 Knots Looms in Q3 2010". Sikorsky.com, 26 July 2010.
  15. ^ Croft, John (September 15, 2010). "Sikorsky X2 hits 250kt goal". Flight International. Retrieved 2010-09-16. 
  16. ^ Sikorsky's X2 Chases World Speed Record
  17. ^ "Sikorsky X2 Technology Demonstrator Achieves 250-Knot Speed Milestone". sikorsky.com. 15 September 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2010. "The speed, reached during a 1.1-hour flight, is an unofficial speed record for a helicopter." 
  18. ^ Finnegan, Joy editor-in-chief (1 October 2010). "Sikorsky Breaks 250 KTAS Record". Rotor & Wing. Retrieved 6 October 2010. 
  19. ^ Robb, Raymond L. Hybrid Helicopters: Compounding the Quest for Speed p49, Vertiflite, Summer 2006. Quote: "Ultimately, the XH-59A achieved an incredible 303 mph"
  20. ^ Paur, Jason (15 July 2010). "Sikorsky’s Record-Setting Helicopter Retires". WIRED. Retrieved 15 July 2011. 
  21. ^ "Award-Winning X2 Technology Demonstrator Takes its Final Flight - Program paved the way for upcoming S-97 Raider helicopter", Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., 14 July 2011.
  22. ^ a b "Sikorsky X2 TD". unicopter.com. September 18, 2010. Retrieved November 21, 2010. 
  23. ^ Note: this is the disc area of one rotor set, not the effective area of the whole coaxial rotors set.
  24. ^ http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2010/09/mil-100915-sikorsky01.htm
  25. ^ a b Green, Ronald D. Flight Plan 2011 - Analysis of the U.S. Aerospace Industry, Rotorcraft Developments p18, U.S. Department of Commerce / International Trade Administration, March 2011. Accessed: 2 March 2012. Quote: "Several companies--including Sikorsky, Eurocopter, and Carter Aerospace Technologies--are developing compound helicopters to combine vertical/short take-off-and-landing capabilities with one or more propellers for increasing forward speed over conventional helicopter design."

External links [edit]

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