Faster Than Any Rotorcraft In It's Class... And Possibly A
'Game Changer'
One of the true "reveals" of the 2008 HAI Trade Show was
Sikorsky's surprising (but delightful) decision to pull their X2
research aircraft off the line (where it is preparing for first
flight) and bring it to the show. This was the first major public
venue in which the on-again, off-again development project that
could change the nature of rotorcraft design had seen the light of
day.
The X2 Technology Demonstrator is designed to demonstrate how a
helicopter can cruise comfortably at 250 knots, while retaining
desirable helicopter attributes, including excellent low speed
handling, efficient hovering and autorotation safety, and a
seamless and simple transition to high speed.
"The X2 Technology Demonstrator is an integrated suite of
technologies intended to advance the state-of-the-art,
counter-rotating coaxial rotor helicopter. As we continue to work
to prove out and mature the technologies that will allow the X2
Technology Demonstrator to become a viable product, we are focused
on testing its limits and finding out where this technology will
take us," said Jeffrey P. Pino, Sikorsky President.
"This could be a 'game changer' in the industry. We are
diligently pursuing this as a research project. We are testing the
limits and pioneering this exciting innovation."
In development at Sikorsky for several years, the X2 Technology
Demonstrator sports fly-by-wire flight controls, counter-rotating
rigid rotor blades, hub drag reduction, active vibration control,
and an integrated auxiliary propulsion system.
Peter Grant, Sikorsky Senior Manager of Advanced Programs, noted
the X2 Technology Demonstrator has continued to make progress
toward first flight.
"Throughout 2007, the aircraft made excellent additional build
and subsystem test progress, re-entering vehicle ground testing in
November 2007. Extensive test instrumentation is also being
installed as preparation for its first flight," Grant said.
As ANN reported, Sikorsky Aircraft first announced X2 Technology
in June 2005. After being grounded in 2006 during a 10-week
machinists strike, Sikorsky resumed development of the X2
next-generation helicopter last year. The X2 Technology
Demonstrator is built as a rapid prototyping collaboration effort
with Sikorsky subsidiary Schweizer Aircraft. The project is solely
funded by Sikorsky.
Take A CLOSE Look, Inside
and Out,
At Sikorsky's Exotic X2, With Aero-TV!!
About Aero-TV: It's DEFINITELY Show
Time!!!!
OK, folks, here we go... we are NOW initiating the first
feature programming series for Aero-TV... we're going to take it
slow, but we're also going to try and be steady about this. DO
UNDERSTAND that this is the most complex media program we've ever
undertaken and what you're seeing is just the tip of the iceberg...
but from here on out, we will be doing our best to educate,
inform, and entertain YOU about all aspects of the exciting worlds
of aviation and aerospace.
If you've been an observer of the media and associated media
industries over the last few years, it's not hard to mistake the
fact that a massive revolution is taking place. Old sources for
news and information are falling by the wayside, having to change
their modus operandi or risk obsolescence (or extinction).
Electronic media and print media are both under the assault of
progress, and the online world has been a cornerstone for
revolutionary change.
We've been ready to go for a while, but to be honest, there's so
much more to this program than we've alluded to, and so we've been
building and planning a massive new organization within ANN. That
said, we're hiring talented new people as
fast as we can find them (a far more difficult
task than we had imagined -- REALLY good people are hard to find),
and we're brainstorming at speeds that would make a deorbiting
Space Shuttle feel like a slug. Suffice it to say that we wanted to
do this right, rather than right-now, and that the development of
this program has been the most carefully pursued undertaking we've
ever undertaken.
E-I-C Note: The
complete feature shown above is embedded in this
story, with most of the slick and useful functionality
otherwise available on the main Aero-TV site (which will be
upgraded aggressively over the next few weeks). The ability to
embed a video on another web page is but one of the hundreds
of amazing little features that we've worked hard on, for many
months now, to implement in different phases of the initial
release of Aero-TV. It is, BY NO MEANS, the only way to enjoy
unaltered Aero-TV programming on other parts of the web... as we
have extensive plans for future functionality, but this
feature allows those with an interest in a specific Aero-TV News or
Feature program to embed it on a different web site, though we
must note that we reserve the right to forbid such use for those
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mission of the Aero-News Network, Inc.
Webmasters or Administrators of well-trafficked aviation or
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start conversations on how they may be able to leverage some of the
immense power of Aero-TV programming for their sites and
constituency by clicking the I Want Aero-TV For
MY Website! link.
Coming Soon!
Aero-TV Shows You How To Build A Glasair Sportsman
2+2 in RECORD TIME, Covers The Unveiling of Eurocopter's
EC-175, Sees Some AMAZING Flying At E-Fest!!!, Flies The Piper
Matrix, Has An Amazing Series on the Eclipse ECJ Program (3
parts!), Hears What's Hot At Blue Mountain Avionics, Gets Some
GREAT Rotax Lessons, More On Gobosh--This Time, Though, On the NEW
G800!, Checks Out More "HIGH" Tech at I/ITSEC 2007, Hears From
AOPA On Critical Aviation Issues, Spills Some Juicy (and HIGHLY
Detailed) Cirrus G3 Info, Catches Up On ALL Things SkyCatcher,
Scores A BUNCH of LSA Reports, and SO MUCH MORE!!!!! Do NOT
Miss Them!
Aero-News: Quote of the Day (04.28.25)
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