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Sikorsky 'progressing' with X2 helicopter effort

Sikorsky Aircraft is offering a bit of a look at its X2 helicopter concept.

The X2 Technology design is intended to showcase a range of possibilities for advancing what a helicopter can do--most notably, how fast it can fly. Sikorsky aims eventually to use its X2 demonstrator to push helicopter cruising speed to 250 knots, or nearly twice as fast as today's machines, such as its Blackhawk.

Sikorsky said Monday that it is "progressing" toward that high-speed milestone. It is showing off the Light Tactical Helicopter design at this week's Army Aviation Association of America annual … Read more

Sandblaster clears for landing

There are many challenges in waging war for oil, not the least of which is fighting in a big sandbox--it's hard on soldiers and it's murder on helicopters.

Enter the Sandblaster. This is a helicopter avionics system commissioned by DARPA that integrates advanced flight controls, a "see-through" sensor, synthetic vision and data fusion to allow the pilots to fly safely in a zero-visibility, howling haboob, according to Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.

Using the Sikorsky system, the pilot has only to press a button to bring the chopper from en-route flight to a low, non-drift hover over a … Read more

Sikorsky's helicopter of the future

How fast can a helicopter go? If Sikorsky Aircraft's plans work out, the answer could be: a lot faster than is possible right now.

For several years, Sikorsky has been working on what it calls X2 technology, a suite of systems that it says could let a helicopter "cruise comfortably" at 250 knots. That would be a far zippier pace than most current rotary wing aircraft can handle. The UH-60L variant of Sikorsky's Blackhawk, for instance, can fly at about 150 knots.

The tilt-wing MV-22 Osprey, meanwhile, can hit speeds upward of 240 knots, but it'… Read more