Slashdot Mirror
Radical Dual Tilting Blade Helicopter Design Targets Speeds of Over 270mph
Zothecula writes: As one of the contenders in the race to win a $100 billion contract from the U.S. government for the next generation of attack helicopter in the Army's Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR-TD) program, AVX Aircraft Company has conceived a futuristic machine kitted out with coaxial rotors, ducted fans and a retractable undercarriage that could hit speeds of over 270 mph (435 km/h).
And piloted by a young rebel, with a cranky old sidekick as a navigator. They should make this into a TV show.
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
One hundred *billion* dollars? Enough to buy about 5000 Apache attack helicopters (I would not like to be on the wrong end of those). Why do I think this program will end up with a tiny, tiny fraction of that?
Never email donotemail@WeAreSpammers.com
you can pretty much make a cartoon go as fast as you want.
you know what else is pretty fast? the ch-47 chinook. I've seen chinooks outfly blackhawks, cobras, and apaches like they were standing still.
Seriously, it looks like a guinea pig with dual rotors. I can't be the only one who sees this.
Yeah, I could use one of those too.
SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
While a simpler and more conservative design, a helicopter like this already exists: The Eurocopter (now Airbus) X3.
Not yet in production but several functioning machines that already reached speeds of 472 km/h.
Of course this is a civillian design, not military, and has far less transport capacity, but the technology is working already. This is beyond prototype stage and ramped up for commercial prodcution right now.
Eurocopter also planned to compete in the FVL program, but since the US would have claimed IP in this case, a civilian production would not have been possible without paying licence fees to the US (despite the US not contributing any development ressources or IP).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
http://farm8.static.flickr.com/7012/6594608629_855cb83e13_m.jpg
Of course in the alien version there is no need for the blades, the anti gravity technology takes catre of that.
But common, for real!!
Looks more like a baby while swimming on its back, extending its flippers in glee. Hopefully the final design will look a little more menacing and bad-A than this ferfy thing.
With turbo boost?
If anyone remembers the last few years of development for the RAH-66 Comanche and how it had to be scrapped due to compartmentalized co-development of the different systems jacking up the cost to astronomical levels for one unit just from inefficiency. It was a great stealth escort weapons platform - shelved and set the US fixed wing aircraft scene back years. I hope this one can cut it in a modern battlespace scenario.
The V-22 Osprey performs a similar role for the Navy/Marine Corps. Why develop a new platform that will cost billions of dollars and many years of research and testing? The V-22 can be adapted to this new role much faster and for a lot less.
Not! This is a figment in AVX's collective mind. The real helicopter doesn't move at all except for CGI on a computer monitor. Not to say they couldn't build it but a bit premature to say much about it. "It could reach speeds of a billion light-years per fortnight." Hey, maybe it'll do the Kessel run in 12 parsecs.
Everything you know is wrong, Just forget the words and sing along.
Dual axis helicopters have been around since the dawn of aviation.
Unfortunately just the opposite is likely to happen, one of the major defense contractors will spread enough money around and get the contract. Then they will milk it for a decade or more beyond what the contract says and eventually provide far less than originally promised. It happened with the F-22 Raptor (~$67 B for 200), it happened with the Joint Strike Fighter (~$1 Trillion), it happened with the V-22 Osprey (~$54 B) and barring a miracle (AKA common sense in government circles) it'll happen with this.
The British Lynx helicopter was doing 250mph in 1986.
See http://www.agustawestland.com/news/lynx-world-speed-record-helicopter-restored-25-years
The Kamov series have co-axial rotors. The Ka-52 can already hit 240+mph without any ducted fans, and there is also improved manoeuvrability. Tail rotors just waste energy from the engines.
Just because you don't know about something doesn't mean it's new.
---- The above post was generated by the Turing Institute. Maybe.
Could probably deliver aneutronic fusion, a trip to Mars, and a Brain Activity Map with money to spare.
Sikorsky has a demonstrator copter that does 290 MPH and the Eurocopter X-3 does 300 MPH.
Why spend spend 100 Billion to go slower?
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
As if any of us needed any further illustration as to how warped the United States and its priorities have become.
Why are there no full-sized quadricopters or ones like they used in Avatar? They sure work fine for drones. Why would they not scale up?