Sikorsky HEX/VTOL

[Moose]

New Sikorsky uncrewed demonstrator announced.
https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2024-02-27-Sikorsky-Looks-to-Future-Family-of-VTOL-SystemsHybrid-electric tilt-wing.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1762546909238239291

View: https://twitter.com/AvWeekGuy/status/1762546909238239291?t=yvihk18imzIChpuGtYhHMA&s=19

 

[TomcatViP]

Tilt wing and T-tail... Surprising choice for a 2024 design.

 

[yasotay]

Given the trends and Sikorsky's experiance (albeit mostly retired) with tilt-wing, I am not suprised they are trying this route.

 

[donnage99]

So x2 official dead?

 

[Moose]

So x2 official dead?

Maybe, there wouldn't exactly be a press releas stating "X2 is dead." For the time being, it's good to see Sikorsky doing something new.

 

[Moose]

Aviation Week article on HEX includes an image with a 4-rotor tilt-wing and a conventional helicopter (looking very S-76-ish) with the hybrid drivetrain
https://aviationweek.com/aerospace/...veals-hex-tiltwing-demonstrator-configuration

 

[yasotay]

The helicopter may be an endeavor to recoup the S-76 market. A hybrid would likely have reduced aural signature, that would be very desirable in most urban environments.

 

[quinn whitsitt]

nice job!

 

[Moose]

The helicopter may be an endeavor to recoup the S-76 market. A hybrid would likely have reduced aural signature, that would be very desirable in most urban environments.

Quieting could get impressive if they combine the HEX drivetrain with a distributed anti-torque solution like Bell's EDAT. Regardless of the details, it's good to see the company is thinking about a S-76 replacement.

 

[TomcatViP]

Following the testbed, Sikorsky will build two flight-test HEX aircraft, which Cherepinsky says are considered "attritable, because, again, we are running fast. We're taking some risks, which is why we're building two more aircraft."

I guess this was not priorly discussed with their test pilots.

 

[TomS]

I guess this was not priorly discussed with their test pilots.

I'm fairly certain these are all intended to be unmanned, at least the smaller ones.

The HEX, which was first revealed last year, will not be provisioned for an optional pilot.

 

[TomS]

Aviation Week article on HEX includes an image with a 4-rotor tilt-wing and a conventional helicopter (looking very S-76-ish) with the hybrid drivetrain
https://aviationweek.com/aerospace/...veals-hex-tiltwing-demonstrator-configuration

High-res of that image from the LM Website.

Funnily, the S-76 successor is marked as N961X (a number that used to belong to a Grumman AgCat). Possibly they have that model penciled in as the S-96? (The Raider S-97s were N971SK and N972SK, so there's something of a pattern there.)

 

[TomS]

Seems like they actually outed this last year, just without mentioning that it's a tilt-wing configuration.

https://verticalmag.com/news/sikorsky-details-plans-for-new-family-of-hybrid-evtol-aircraft
https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-...23-03-07/sikorsky-seeks-hex-evtol-competitors

 

[yasotay]

I suspect that last year they were not going to infer to anyone that anything other than X2 was an appropriate technology.

 

[TomcatViP]

I wonder if they are not backtracking, taking the first not rooted branch they have before X2 and Raider.

 

[yasotay]

I wonder if they are not backtracking, taking the first not rooted branch they have before X2 and Raider.

I suspect you are correct. X2 is dead in the US at the moment.

 

[Reaper]

I feel they are 5y+ behind. Hybrid tilt wing/rotor is basically 2019 Bell Nexus.

 

[yasotay]

Only good news is that Sikorsky has a substantial body of work on tiltwing aircraft ranging from smaller tactical attack and lift platforms up to larger heavy lift. Of course, all of the folks who worked on that are retired or beyond participating.