User Panel
Posted: 5/22/2015 2:06:25 PM EDT
Sikorsky’s revolutionary S-97 Raider helicopter has made its first flight, taking to the air on the morning of Friday, May 22, at the Sikorsky Development Flight Center in West Palm Beach, Fla. The Raider — a high-speed, coaxial-rotor compound helicopter based on the company’s X2 technology demonstrator — flew for approximately an hour, performing a variety of low-speed maneuvers and three takeoffs and landings. On board were S-97 chief pilot Bill Fell as well as former X2 test pilot Kevin Bredenbeck, serving as co-pilot. According to Fell, the fly-by-wire Raider was “rock-solid” during its first flight, performing largely as expected. “We put a lot of investment into simulation and our software integration lab, and we’ve spent hundreds of hours in those labs and simulators developing the control laws,” he said. “So we were very happy when we lifted the aircraft into the air, it was almost exactly like the software lab — the one benefit being that we have better visual cues. “We were able to march through the [flight test] card almost precisely like we did in simulation and get all of the data we desired,” he continued. “We’re excited to get on to the next flight and really expand the envelope.” Friday’s flight launches a flight-testing program that is expected to last about a year, during which the Raider is expected to demonstrate high-G maneuvering and cruise speeds of up to 240 knots. On this first flight, the aircraft’s rear pusher-propeller — which enables maximum speeds well in excess of those of conventional helicopters — was intentionally spinning but not engaged. “As we go through envelope expansion we will engage the prop and do the higher-speed portions of the envelope,” said Mark Miller, Sikorsky vice president, Research and Engineering. Originally developed to compete for the U.S. Army’s Armed Aerial Scout program — which is now on indefinite hold — Raider is being self-funded by Sikorsky and 53 industry partners. A second Raider prototype is currently under construction, with final assembly expected this year. Sikorsky is planning to use that aircraft for a demonstration tour in 2016. The Raider was initially projected to fly by the end of 2014, but Miller said that the use of new technologies and manufacturing techniques, such as additive manufacturing, delayed that ambitious timeline. “This is not just a new helicopter,” he explained, “it is a testbed for the development of a lot of new technologies and some of those took a little longer.” On the positive side, he said, Sikorsky’s rigorous approach to introducing those technologies should “enable us to go fast on the back end . . . We took a little bit longer than we advertised for the first flight, but I think we’re going to move very smartly through the test program.” Miller also noted that the approximately 11,400-pound (5,170-kilogram) gross weight Raider will serve as a “risk reducer” for the SB-1 Defiant, the larger coaxial-rotor compound helicopter that Sikorsky is developing with Boeing for U.S. Army’s Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator program. Sikorsky and Boeing anticipate first flight of the SB-1 in 2017. “The Defiant platform will leverage and take advantage of the capabilities that are being demonstrated on the Raider program,” Miller said. http://www.verticalmag.com/news/article/SikorskyS97Raidermakesfirstflight |
|
Neat!
It sounds like they developed the flight model from the simulator... If that isn't a new thing - I guess I'm old fashioned. I always thought that the simulator came last. |
|
Nothing like the feeling of seeing something you worked on, especially a prototype or a fist aircraft, taking to the sky for the first time.
I had that opportunity working with Sikorsky on the S92 program in Coatesville, PA (the first aircraft entirely built at that facility). |
|
Sikorsky/Pratt Whitney also has the biggest horse flies known to man on their property.
If I didn't know any better I'd think they were manufacturing miniature drones out there as well. |
|
View Quote That's nothing like the bird the thread is about. |
|
If I was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of Defense, I'd make the Army buy this.
|
|
|
View Quote Pinky promise, we'll support you guys with A-10s. You don't need those. |
|
|
Quoted:
Russia's already got one http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Russian_Air_Force_Kamov_Ka-50.jpg View Quote Yeah, but we'll be able to afford to actually operate ours. |
|
Quoted: Russia's already got one and it's tail fin doesn't need to be upside down either. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Russian_Air_Force_Kamov_Ka-50.jpg View Quote And the Cheyenne was not only completely different, it was basically garbage. |
|
Quoted:
Russia's already got one and it's tail fin doesn't need to be upside down either. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Russian_Air_Force_Kamov_Ka-50.jpg View Quote That is comparing a 1970 Mustang to a 2015 Mustang. Same in name only. Seriously. The only thing in common is the coax rotor system. |
|
Quoted: Russia's already got one and it's tail fin doesn't need to be upside down either. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Russia's already got one and it's tail fin doesn't need to be upside down either. Coaxial helis are nothing new. That's about the only similarity between the Raider and Ka-50. The Brits did it first anyway. Quoted: That is comparing a 1970 Mustang to a 2015 Mustang. |
|
View Quote Sikorsky learned a lot from their previous programs and rolled it into this one. I went to a capes brief from JSOC and Sikorsky on the Raider. Its neat |
|
Quoted:
Sikorsky learned a lot from their previous programs and rolled it into this one. I went to a capes brief from JSOC and Sikorsky on the Raider. Its neat View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Sikorsky learned a lot from their previous programs and rolled it into this one. I went to a capes brief from JSOC and Sikorsky on the Raider. Its neat Is the S-97 a test bed for the SB-1, or do they have plans to take it into production as is? |
|
Quoted:
Neat! It sounds like they developed the flight model from the simulator... If that isn't a new thing - I guess I'm old fashioned. I always thought that the simulator came last. View Quote cheaper to build a situation and model with a computer first. then you have a good idea of how it needs to be put together and what the flight envelope is before you start. |
|
Quoted: Is the S-97 a test bed for the SB-1, or do they have plans to take it into production as is? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Sikorsky learned a lot from their previous programs and rolled it into this one. I went to a capes brief from JSOC and Sikorsky on the Raider. Its neat Is the S-97 a test bed for the SB-1, or do they have plans to take it into production as is? |
|
Looks nicer than the Eurocopter X3
that thing looks like its trying to tear itself apart with torque |
|
|
|
View Quote My first thought, it is like a coaxial Cheyenne. |
|
Very cool, I'm glad to see something actually innovative in the aviation world.
|
|
|
Quoted:
And totally removed from military influence and funding. The Sikorsky guys are burning a lot of money with this project. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
Very cool, I'm glad to see something actually innovative in the aviation world. And totally removed from military influence and funding. The Sikorsky guys are burning a lot of money with this project. I hope it pays off for them. It's a much lower risk approach to V-22 like speeds, IMO. |
|
Quoted:
I am a huge fan of Sikorsky. I have ridden in the H-60 Coast Guard model many times in weather in Alaska that grounded all other aircraft. It wasn't fun but we always made it. Igor Sikorsky was a hell of a designer from what I know of him. Just to show you how badass a Sikorsky helicopter is, I give you the following excerpt from a Coast Guard memo. "As an example of this helicopter's effectiveness, on December 2000 a dramatic rescue took place 200 miles off the coast of Virginia. The cruise liner SeaBreaze I suffered an engine failure during a storm and soon began taking on water. One US Coast Guard HH-60J Jayhawk helicopter rescued 26 crewmembers." That aircrew stuffed 26 people in one of these things and safely flew them back. http://www.aviastar.org/foto/sik_s-70-sea_1.jpg View Quote Holy clown car. |
|
As they transistion to more forward speed via the push prop, will they be able to cut power to the lift rotors and maintain altitude like a gyrocopter?
|
|
Quoted:
Russia's already got one and it's tail fin doesn't need to be upside down either. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Russian_Air_Force_Kamov_Ka-50.jpg View Quote Please refrain from comparing the Black Shark and Alligator to some Sikorsky piece of shit. Thanks. There's a reason he couldn't cut building birds in Russia and had to move over here. SAMs, Helicopters, light machine guns, these are all things that Russia does better than anyone in the world. |
|
Quoted:
As they transistion to more forward speed via the push prop, will they be able to cut power to the lift rotors and maintain altitude like a gyrocopter? View Quote Essentially, yes. Pitch reduction in the main rotor, as well as reduced RRPM will reduce the onset of retreating blade stall. |
|
Kinda looks like an attack sub fucked a Blackhawk that did meth while pregnant. However, can't wait to see how it performs.
|
|
Quoted:
Essentially, yes. Pitch reduction in the main rotor, as well as reduced RRPM will reduce the onset of retreating blade stall. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
As they transistion to more forward speed via the push prop, will they be able to cut power to the lift rotors and maintain altitude like a gyrocopter? Essentially, yes. Pitch reduction in the main rotor, as well as reduced RRPM will reduce the onset of retreating blade stall. Thanks. Interesting concept if that will save fuel. |
|
Quoted:
I hope it pays off for them. It's a much lower risk approach to V-22 like speeds, IMO. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Very cool, I'm glad to see something actually innovative in the aviation world. And totally removed from military influence and funding. The Sikorsky guys are burning a lot of money with this project. I hope it pays off for them. It's a much lower risk approach to V-22 like speeds, IMO. Lower risk than what? They had one concept (X-2) which flew about 20 hours, and this one has flown for one hour. It could turn out to be awesome, but it could turn out to be a nightmare. There are always unknowns. Is that really lower risk than something like the tilt-rotor which has been deployed to places like Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Africa for nearly a decade? |
|
|
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
SAMs, Helicopters, light machine guns, these are all things that Russia does better than anyone in the world. Do you even SM-6, bro? Oh damn, I missed that post. I wish he would tell me what helicopters the Russians do better than us. Seriously. The only one with a single argument is the MI26, since its the king daddy of all of them. |
|
Quoted: Nothing like the feeling of seeing something you worked on, especially a prototype or a fist aircraft, taking to the sky for the first time. I had that opportunity working with Sikorsky on the S92 program in Coatesville, PA (the first aircraft entirely built at that facility). View Quote |
|
Quoted:
Lower risk than what? They had one concept (X-2) which flew about 20 hours, and this one has flown for one hour. It could turn out to be awesome, but it could turn out to be a nightmare. There are always unknowns. Is that really lower risk than something like the tilt-rotor which has been deployed to places like Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Africa for nearly a decade? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Very cool, I'm glad to see something actually innovative in the aviation world. And totally removed from military influence and funding. The Sikorsky guys are burning a lot of money with this project. I hope it pays off for them. It's a much lower risk approach to V-22 like speeds, IMO. Lower risk than what? They had one concept (X-2) which flew about 20 hours, and this one has flown for one hour. It could turn out to be awesome, but it could turn out to be a nightmare. There are always unknowns. Is that really lower risk than something like the tilt-rotor which has been deployed to places like Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Africa for nearly a decade? A compound helicopter is much lower risk than a tilt rotor. For one thing it can auto-rotate. It doesn't need to rotate engines (and fuel, electrical power, hydraulics, control busses) every time it transitions from forward flight to a hover and back. It flies and acts just like any other coax helicopter, it just has a lot more speed in forward flight. Like I've said before, if not for the ridiculous transformer-like folding necessary on the V-22 it would be a much better airframe. Fuselage mounted engines with driveshafts to the gearboxes/proprotors would mean a lot less complexity. I'm the one defending the Osprey's record on here usually, not attacking it. I have friends with 10+ years of working on them that have told me horror stories about the maintenance requirements, and I'd bet that they would be a hell of a lot less onerous on the Raider or something like it. |
|
Quoted:
Essentially, yes. Pitch reduction in the main rotor, as well as reduced RRPM will reduce the onset of retreating blade stall. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
As they transistion to more forward speed via the push prop, will they be able to cut power to the lift rotors and maintain altitude like a gyrocopter? Essentially, yes. Pitch reduction in the main rotor, as well as reduced RRPM will reduce the onset of retreating blade stall. Wouldn't the fact that there are counter rotating main rotors negate the problem of retreating blade stall? You would always have blades on either side providing lift. In any case I bet this turns out to be a great bird precisely because it's not being developed as part of a government program. Private innovation FTW! |
|
Neat tail design.
Can someone explain the advantages of that.... to this NON-Engineer? ETA: Looks like a Pusher prop? Sorry, I only looked at the OP and didn't read any of the thread. |
|
Quoted:
On this first flight, the aircraft’s rear pusher-propeller — which enables maximum speeds well in excess of those of conventional helicopters — was intentionally spinning but not engaged. View Quote View Quote |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
On this first flight, the aircraft’s rear pusher-propeller — which enables maximum speeds well in excess of those of conventional helicopters — was intentionally spinning but not engaged. It has a clutch drive, and it is reversible as well. |
|
Quoted:
Neat tail design. Can someone explain the advantages of that.... to this NON-Engineer? ETA: Looks like a Pusher prop? Sorry, I only looked at the OP and didn't read any of the thread. View Quote It is a pusher prop. By reducing the thrust of the main rotor, and using it more just like a wing, the pusher prop will enable this compound helicopter to be about 100kts faster than a traditional one. |
|
Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!
You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.
AR15.COM is the world's largest firearm community and is a gathering place for firearm enthusiasts of all types.
From hunters and military members, to competition shooters and general firearm enthusiasts, we welcome anyone who values and respects the way of the firearm.
Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to receive firearm news, product discounts from your favorite Industry Partners, and more.
Copyright © 1996-2024 AR15.COM LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.
AR15.Com reserves the right to overwrite or replace any affiliate, commercial, or monetizable links, posted by users, with our own.