Next-Generation Rotorcraft Capability (NGRC)

People shouldn't get upset over commercial renderings. After all Boeing showed more smoke than jet and the forum loves it. I'm certain Airbus will knock it out of the park, although I'm still sceptical about the compound version.
 
Removable wings?
Four (?) gearboxes and lots of high speed shafts(?). I guess if anyone can pull it off, it would be Airbus.
However, I suspect both Leonardo and Sikorsky are thinking their options are more in play now.
 
yasotay said:
Removable wings?
Four (?) gearboxes and lots of high speed shafts(?). I guess if anyone can pull it off, it would be Airbus.
However, I suspect both Leonardo and Sikorsky are thinking their options are more in play now.
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I'm thinking the prop shafts would be coming off the tail rotor output drive.
 
A possibility might be that on this military version as opposed to the civilian version its an electric transmission from the engine to lateral motors. But another idea would be to take it from the standard engine accessory feeds. That would mean only minor differences between a compound and a non compound version. Isnt that what they already do on the Racer.

(Illustrative generic helicopter transmission images)

Racer

racer-pad-cropped-001.jpg


Racer gearbox arrangement


Standard helicopter gearbox

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Standard helicopter gearbox

Zoerkler%20Helicopter%20MGB%20%C2%A9Zoerkler%20Gears%20GmbH%20-%20Co%20KG.jpg


dreamstime_m_144689179.jpg
 
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Electrically powered fans would likely make the transition from compound to conventional an easier proposition.
 

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yasotay said:
www.flightglobal.com

Leonardo stays clear on tiltrotor ambitions and unveils optimised next-generation design

Leonardo Helicopters has doubled down on its pursuit of a future tiltrotor aircraft, unveiling a new "optimised" design even as it ramps up flight testing of an EU-funded technology demonstrator.
www.flightglobal.com www.flightglobal.com

Well they must be serious as the design is a lot uglier than the original picture I posted. Canards are an interesting twist.
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Very odd looking and far removed from previous tiltrotor aircraft and their preceeding proposal
 
I see Scott Kenny, so no full electric propulsion for helicopters just yet, but perhaps within the next ten years or so there should be more technological advances in that field between now and then I would think.
 
FighterJock said:
I see Scott Kenny, so no full electric propulsion for helicopters just yet, but perhaps within the next ten years or so there should be more technological advances in that field between now and then I would think.
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It requires highly efficient motors and generators to be developed.
 
We are probably looking at these technologies right now Scott Kenny.
 
Scott Kenny said:
It requires highly efficient motors and generators to be developed.
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Transmissions aren't 100% efficient, losing 1 to 2 % efficiency in each mesh, so probably about 95% efficient. The question is whether the loss in efficiency is outweighed by other improvements, like weightsaving. Even though helicopters are more weight critical than fixed-wing aircraft, design choices that increase weight, like cast vs built-up gearbox housings are made to improve other factors (built-up g/b housings are much more expensive).

One potential advantage of an electric helicopter could be reduced vulnerability to AA weapons. Another could be using batteries to improve safety in autorotation. A third could be improved reliability. When I was in the industry, in the 1980s, a counterintuitive datum was transmission failure rates in twins were greater than the sum of engine plus transmission failures in twins.

In any case, I don't see electric transmission replacing gearboxes soon, unless there is a massive amounts of government money spent. Commercial helicopter sales are too small to justify such long term R&D
 
Way out of my expertise but does scaling become a factor? Prop rotors ( and tail rotors) being smaller than main rotors might they be less challenging?
With all of the electric propulsion work going on with eVTOL I would think some of it applicable.
 
VTOLicious said:
The engine's air intake is directly behind the cabin door... Can this concept be taken seriously?
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They seem to have done a decent job at trying to maximise the wetted area and drag of their concept...

From looking at the pictures, is it actually a "tilt-wing" with the outer wing panels and nacelles beyond the flap rotating together?
 
The prop tips also.
In the future, a good way to rapidly spot any Italian special forces'

*the ones with a large scar on their left cheek.
 
The engine placement does seem suboptimal as is. Of course the concept is very early in design phase I would think. There are ways to mitigate the concern of the inlet so close to doors, like bypass inlet filters/doors and a main inlet cover (similar to that seen on Mig-29).
The wing 'extension ' is very reminicent of the Karem's tilt rotor concepts and the Bell V-247. I very much would expect them to tilt with the rotor pylon to reduce downwash effect. In that case we now have a "tiltrotorwing" aircraft as it is both a tilt rotor and tilt wing aircraft.
 
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yasotay said:
Way out of my expertise but does scaling become a factor? Prop rotors ( and tail rotors) being smaller than main rotors might they be less challenging?
With all of the electric propulsion work going on with eVTOL I would think some of it applicable.
Click to expand...
Yes, and not what you think.
Just like with flywheel the more mass (drive train) the more efficient it is. With e-motors once they lose electric power they will stop instantly (partly due to hall effect/generator mode). While wit traditional setup autorotation will save the day.

VTOLicious said:
The engine's air intake is directly behind the cabin door... Can this concept be taken seriously?
View attachment 804535
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At least the door block people from completly sucked in and it's behind the rotors, too.
The only other option would be dorsal intakes but this would suck some air away from the wings leading to some loss of lift.
It's a compromise for the sake of keeping the transmission system "simple".
 

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