The record-setting Sikorsky X2 helicopter is joining many fellow Floridians and retiring after just 23 flights.
The super-chopper’s final flight came Thursday at the company’s test facility in West Palm Beach, Florida. After all those test flights without an audience, the Sikorsky team finally showed off for potential customers. The helo has topped 290 mph, and test pilot Kevin Bredenbeck, who made every flight of the X2, suggested it still has a lot left in it.
“Today’s last flight of the X2, with so much more we know that can be achieved in speed and performance, signifies what an empowered team can accomplish,” Bredenbeck said.
In fact, the X2 program achieved its goals so quickly that even Bredenbeck, a seasoned test pilot, was surprised by the pace they achieved during just 22 hours of flight time. It was a point company president Jeffrey Pino echoed Thursday.
“Today, the entire Sikorsky workforce stands proud of this accomplishment and what it means for the future of rotorcraft aviation,” he said.
Although the X2 is headed out to pasture, some of its technology will be used in Sikorsky’s next helicopter, the S-97 Raider. The six-passenger bird will be developed for the military and will feature the X2’s pusher propeller and counter-rotating rigid rotor blades to maximize speed and agility. It also will feature fly-by-wire flight controls and vibration control developed with the X2.
In addition to developing a version for the military, Sikorsky also is looking at several civilian markets that could use a super-speedy helo, including search and rescue and air ambulances. The company believes technology developed for the X2 can be scaled up to suit a wide range of missions currently flown by traditional helicopters.
Most helicopters now in the air can fly about 180 mph at best. The X2 was able to fly just over 290 mph in level flight, an unofficial record it achieved on Sept. 15. Eurocopter also is developing a speedy helicopter using propellers for a boost in thrust. Its helicopter is called the X3 and features a pair of propellers capable of pulling it along at more than 260 mph.
Beyond the speed, the Sikorsky X2, with its pusher prop, can maintain a level flight attitude during acceleration and deceleration as shown in the video. This provides the pilot with better visibility during all phases of flight compared to having to tilt the main rotor (and the entire airframe) as in traditional helicopters. However, the twin rotor, pusher prop configuration can also be flown like a traditional helicopter if warranted.
The first flight of the S-97 Raider is expected some time in 2014.
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