Sikiorsky's Blackhawk replacement flies for the 1st time
BartSimpson @ Tue Mar 26, 2019 10:22 am
https://www.popularmechanics.com/milita ... st-flight/
$1:
First Flight of the SB-1 Defiant, a Potential Blackhawk Helicopter Replacement
The Defiant, or something very much like it, could replace the UH-60 Blackhawk transport helicopter in U.S. Army service.
The SB-1 Defiant helicopter, a new rotary-winged aircraft design developed by Sikorsky-Boeing, flew for the first time on Friday, March 21, 2019.
The Defiant uses a unique propulsion system, ditching the tail rotor of conventional helicopters and adding a push propeller. The result is an aircraft the manufacturer touts as faster and better handling than other choppers, which could result in faster and more agile U.S. Army helicopter force.
The Defiant is an entrant in the U.S. Army's Joint Multi-Role-Medium Technology Demonstrator program, whose goal is to develop a new medium transport aircraft to replace the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter. The Blackhawk has been in continuous service since the early 1980s, and although it's had a successful tenure, the Army decided now is the time for something new. New aviation technologies developed since the UH-60’s introduction could allow for faster, longer-range aircraft with greater performance in high-altitude environments such as Afghanistan.
The SB-1 Defiant capitalizes on technology originally introduced on the X-2 technology demonstrator, and then the S-97 Raider scout helicopter. Instead of using a conventional helicopter layout with main rotors and a stabilizing tail rotor, the Defiant uses two sets of counter-rotating main rotors and a rear-facing propulsor propeller for forward thrust. The SB-1 would have a crew of four, carry 12 combat troops, and reach speeds of up to 250 knots, or 287 miles an hour. That’s more than a hundred mph faster than the latest version of the UH-60 Blackhawk, the UH-60M, can fly.
The video of the first flight, posted by Sikorsky Boeing, shows the aircraft flying close to the ground, effectively in a hover, while the rear propulsor is deactivated. The aircraft was tested at the company’s West Palm Beach test site in Florida.
The Joint Multi-Role-Medium Technology Demonstrator program should produce a viable Blackhawk replacement by the late 2020s, with first fielding of the aircraft in the early 2030s. An attack helicopter version to replace the AH-64 Apache is also envisioned.
The Defiant, or something very much like it, could replace the UH-60 Blackhawk transport helicopter in U.S. Army service.
The SB-1 Defiant helicopter, a new rotary-winged aircraft design developed by Sikorsky-Boeing, flew for the first time on Friday, March 21, 2019.
The Defiant uses a unique propulsion system, ditching the tail rotor of conventional helicopters and adding a push propeller. The result is an aircraft the manufacturer touts as faster and better handling than other choppers, which could result in faster and more agile U.S. Army helicopter force.
The Defiant is an entrant in the U.S. Army's Joint Multi-Role-Medium Technology Demonstrator program, whose goal is to develop a new medium transport aircraft to replace the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter. The Blackhawk has been in continuous service since the early 1980s, and although it's had a successful tenure, the Army decided now is the time for something new. New aviation technologies developed since the UH-60’s introduction could allow for faster, longer-range aircraft with greater performance in high-altitude environments such as Afghanistan.
The SB-1 Defiant capitalizes on technology originally introduced on the X-2 technology demonstrator, and then the S-97 Raider scout helicopter. Instead of using a conventional helicopter layout with main rotors and a stabilizing tail rotor, the Defiant uses two sets of counter-rotating main rotors and a rear-facing propulsor propeller for forward thrust. The SB-1 would have a crew of four, carry 12 combat troops, and reach speeds of up to 250 knots, or 287 miles an hour. That’s more than a hundred mph faster than the latest version of the UH-60 Blackhawk, the UH-60M, can fly.
The video of the first flight, posted by Sikorsky Boeing, shows the aircraft flying close to the ground, effectively in a hover, while the rear propulsor is deactivated. The aircraft was tested at the company’s West Palm Beach test site in Florida.
The Joint Multi-Role-Medium Technology Demonstrator program should produce a viable Blackhawk replacement by the late 2020s, with first fielding of the aircraft in the early 2030s. An attack helicopter version to replace the AH-64 Apache is also envisioned.
BartSimpson @ Tue Mar 26, 2019 10:23 am
I like it! Boatloads safer than the Osprey, too!!!
peck420 @ Tue Mar 26, 2019 10:34 am
Please tell me they will wrap it in a Commanche look a like skin...please, please, please.
BRAH @ Tue Mar 26, 2019 10:52 am
______________________
Don't like it, this current version is better.
Robair @ Tue Mar 26, 2019 10:56 am
Weird seeing a chopper hover with no tail rotor!
llama66 @ Tue Mar 26, 2019 11:01 am
I wanted to see the push prop in action!
peck420 @ Tue Mar 26, 2019 11:06 am
llama66 llama66:
I wanted to see the push prop in action!
The most recent predecessor.
xerxes @ Tue Mar 26, 2019 11:55 am
It looks trippy that’s for sure. Hopefully the tail rotor system is as reliable as the traditional helicopter tail rotor.
Bart, you mentioned the Osprey and that’s a perfect comparison. That had a long and painful development process because they tried doing something radical. It works now, but a lot of test pilots paid for those lessons.
BartSimpson @ Tue Mar 26, 2019 12:02 pm
xerxes xerxes:
It looks trippy that’s for sure. Hopefully the tail rotor system is as reliable as the traditional helicopter tail rotor.
Bart, you mentioned the Osprey and that’s a perfect comparison. That had a long and painful development process because they tried doing something radical. It works now, but a lot of test pilots paid for those lessons.
Bart, you mentioned the Osprey and that’s a perfect comparison. That had a long and painful development process because they tried doing something radical. It works now, but a lot of test pilots paid for those lessons.
Some of the people I know also paid for those lessons.
llama66 @ Tue Mar 26, 2019 12:08 pm
We'll never get these... because they're awesome!!!
peck420 @ Tue Mar 26, 2019 12:15 pm
xerxes xerxes:
It looks trippy that’s for sure. Hopefully the tail rotor system is as reliable as the traditional helicopter tail rotor.
It doesn't have to be. The tail rotor isn't there to counter rotational forces.
As for overall reliability of coaxials? They have been around for a very long time. Shit, if the Russians can keep them relatively safe for 30 almost 50 years, I'm sure the US can as well.
BartSimpson @ Tue Mar 26, 2019 1:21 pm
peck420 peck420:
xerxes xerxes:
It looks trippy that’s for sure. Hopefully the tail rotor system is as reliable as the traditional helicopter tail rotor.
It doesn't have to be. The tail rotor isn't there to counter rotational forces.
As for overall reliability of coaxials? They have been around for a very long time. Shit, if the Russians can keep them relatively safe for 30 almost 50 years, I'm sure the US can as well.
Yup. The Russians did great with this kind of thing.
Robair @ Tue Mar 26, 2019 1:29 pm
llama66 @ Tue Mar 26, 2019 1:33 pm
BartSimpson BartSimpson:
peck420 peck420:
xerxes xerxes:
It looks trippy that’s for sure. Hopefully the tail rotor system is as reliable as the traditional helicopter tail rotor.
It doesn't have to be. The tail rotor isn't there to counter rotational forces.
As for overall reliability of coaxials? They have been around for a very long time. Shit, if the Russians can keep them relatively safe for 30 almost 50 years, I'm sure the US can as well.
Yup. The Russians did great with this kind of thing.
I think the Mi-24 was a Co-ax
xerxes @ Tue Mar 26, 2019 1:41 pm
The Hind? Not that I recall I’m pretty sure the ka-50 did though.