The importance of helicopters in air transportation services is given mainly by the advantages over airplanes, namely the capability to take off and land vertically and hover at a fixed point in the air. However, the biggest disadvantage is their speed. For example, a 12 passenger helicopter can reach a top velocity of 285 kilometers per hour, while an airplane with the same capacity can easily exceed 560 kilometers per hour. Sikorsky Aircraft, the first company ever to mass produce helicopters, is soon to change that by developing a technology that could enhance the speed of their helicopters.

X2 Technology promises helicopters with a simple design, using twin counter rotating blades able to reach and exceed the speeds of helicopters using complex tilt-rotary systems.

High speed helicopter on the horizon

The design stage was initiated nearly two years ago, when the company said it would build an aircraft with the capabilities of a conventional one but with a cruise speed of at least 460 kilometers per hour. The new generation of helicopters will not only reduce passenger flight time, but also have the potential of saving a lot of lives while being used as a medevac helicopter.

"We initiated X2 Technology convinced that the most productive and flexible helicopter is a helicopter which is capable of a significant increase in speed. Customers are demanding greater speed but without sacrificing any of the unique capabilities that make helicopters the ideal platform for countless civil and military missions", said Sikorsky Aircraft president, Stephen Finger.

Technology advancements

The point is that although multiple improvements have been made ever since helicopters entered mass production in the middle of the 20th century, the cruise speed remained mostly the same, with a few exceptions maybe. Aside from being considerably faster than any previous design, the X2 Technology helicopters will also incorporate fly-by-wire flight controls, twin counter rotating rigid blades, vibration control and auxiliary propulsion systems.

It will be able to function much in the same way as an ordinary helicopter. However, because it uses counter rotating blades to cancel the torque component, the aft vertical blade can be mounted in a way that allows it to function as a propeller, boosting the speed by up to 60 percent or more than that of a conventional single rotor helicopter.

X2 Technology

Most helicopters today use single rotating blades to provide propulsion, while the aft-mounted blade has the role of counteracting the torque component created by the main disc.

"The X2 Technology Demonstrator is an integrated suit of technologies invented to advance the state-of-the-art, counter-rotating coaxial rotor helicopter. As we continue to work to prove and mature the technologies what 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. 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", says Sikorsky president, Jeffrey Pino.

"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", said Peter Grant, Sikorsky senior manager of Advanced Programs.

Unscheduled first flight

Even so, it may take a while before the X2 Technology Demonstrator reaches for the skies, as no first flight date has been scheduled yet. "Experimental aircrafts have minds of their own, sometimes you have to let them proceed at their own pace. For that reason, we have not targeted any date for the first flight", explained Sikorsky spokesperson, Paul Jackson.

Because Sikorsky Aircraft is planning to build and sell a civilian model to airline operators, the company is already initiated negotiations to settle the price and the requirements for such a model. "Certain civilian travel appears to be promising market. People will be able to fly back and forth from visits, dates, and meetings twice as fast each way as it now takes by helicopter. Perhaps a helicopter air taxi market will evolve as many aviation experts have predicted for the small-airplane segment", concludes Jackson.