Sikorsky Advancing Blade Concept (ABC) projects

[Jemiba]

Not a new idea by Sikorsky : This ABC UTTAS proposal was shown
in Air & Cosmos 12.1968 (No design/type numbers given) :

 

[hesham]

Hi,

the Sikorsky designed many projects and early concepts to a building
helicopters,and here is the early design to S-69

http://www.flightglobal.com/PDFArchive/View/1972/1972%20-%200767.html

 

[hesham]

Hi,

the Sikorsky LHX scout/attack project with single pilot.

http://www.flightglobal.com/PDFArchive/View/1982/1982%20-%201940.html?search=Grumman%20aircraft%20project%201985

 

[Jemiba]

Another Sikorsky design, this time a LAAV proposal (Light Anti-Submarine Attack Vehicle),
using an ABC rotor and a pusher prop :
(from Aviation Week 1/1968 )

 

[yasotay]

As the Sikorsky team worked on the ABC concept, they had a tremendous number of ideas. With the development of the X-59 there was a whole family of concepts developed, although I doubt many of them got beyond the very rough draft stage. A lot of the efforts went into deep freeze when the US Army elected to remain with conventional rotorcraft for the LHX program.

I include the second picture to show that even Sikorsky, who have been accused of being overly cautious in their design approach (not that anyone could blame them considering the vacillation of their primary customer), can think outside the mainstream box when asked to.

 

[hesham]

Very good projects my dears Jemiba and Yasotay,

and anther Sikorsky ABC and LHX projects from 1983.

http://www.flightglobal.com/PDFArchive/View/1983/1983%20-%201515.html

 

[yasotay]

I agree with you Low. I also think that their earlier work (see Jemiba's Reply #7 on: December 26, 2007, 12:36:20 pm) had much influence. Of note though as the Sikorsky team went through their design iterations for the X2HS design, the ducted fan lost the ducting very early in the design process. Once they established that only troops over seven feet tall need be concerned with the props. I was not in on the discussion as to what aero-benefits were lost with removing the shrouds, however I do know that they were looking for any weight savings they could find. So I suspect that it was weight not aero-performance that cause Sikorsky to remove it.

I am hoping to find someone at Sikorsky who can dig up information on the Marine transport project in particular. Here is [a page of "What If" artwork] that I did over at the What If Speculative Modeling Forum. Had Sikorsky had the solution for the ABC challenges found with the X-59 program and the USMC had not elected to stay with the JVX program.

http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,3254.msg26237.html#msg26237

 

[Jemiba]

Was there a collaboration during the '70s between Sikorsky and Westland in
the filed of the ABC rotor ?
At least this Westland design for a naval helicopter would fit perfectly into the
chart of Sikorsky projects (fromWestland Aircraft since 1915, Derek N.James, Putnam).

 

[hesham]

Hi,

the Sikorsky naval helicopter project in 1982.

http://www.flightglobal.com/PDFArchive/View/1982/1982%20-%200645.html

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Sikorsky 350mph commercial project

Source:
Flying Review International, August 1968

 

[Triton]

Can someone tell me about the compound helicopter in this concept art? It reminds me a lot of the Sikorsky S-69 / XH-59 from 1972. Was this concept a possible configuration for a navalized Blackhawk? Was this part of Sikorsky ABC?

 

[saturncanuck]

Can someone tell me about the compound helicopter in this concept art? It reminds me a lot of the Sikorsky S-69 / XH-59 from 1972. Was this concept a possible configuration for a navalized Blackhawk? Was this part of Sikorsky ABC?

I agree, looks like a USN XH-59.

 

[AeroFranz]

The same picture has shown up on another post on the forum (can't remember which), and yes, that is positively a Sikorsky brainchild.

 

[Triton]

The same picture has shown up on another post on the forum (can't remember which), and yes, that is positively a Sikorsky brainchild.

It is a Sikorsky-designed vehicle and identified as such in the US VSTOL projects thread. I would like to know more.

 

[yasotay]

Unless someone knows better I think that it is nothing more than a concept that Sikorsky came up with to try and drum up support for continuing to work on the ABC rotor system. I do not think a lot of detailed work was done on the concept. There is a picture as I recall shows all sorts of ABC concepts for just about every mission the military has.

 

[Triton]

Unless someone knows better I think that it is nothing more than a concept that Sikorsky came up with to try and drum up support for continuing to work on the ABC rotor system. I do not think a lot of detailed work was done on the concept. There is a picture as I recall shows all sorts of ABC concepts for just about every mission the military has.

Thanks yasotay. I saw your artwork for a possible Sikorsky ABC rotor system version of the V-22 Osprey and a chart on this forum in another thread titled that had various configurations of ABC rotor system aircraft. It led me to believe that Sikorsky's ABC technology had competed against the Bell tilt-rotor technology.

 

[hesham]

Hi,

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19930008694_1993008694.pdf

 

[Triton]

Artist's impression of Sikorsky helicopter.

Glued to the back of the photograph:

CONCEPT OF SPEED

WASHINGTON, DC: This artist's rendering illustrates the Sikorsky Aircraft Company's concept of a light helicopter able to fly at 350 miles an hour. The design was discussed recently (9/16) at a meeting of the Air Force Association. Twin rotors mounted on a single axis and containing truly rigid blades -- different from the blades now mounted with hinges or flexible metal joints-- supply a balanced and superior lift. A pusher-propeller can be installed to provide auxiliary forward thrust.

(UPI PHOTO) 9/20/66

Source:http://cgi.ebay.com/ARTISTS-RENDERING-OF-THE-SIKORSKYS-CONCEPT-PHOTO-1966_W0QQitemZ380207439619QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5886211f03


second picture added from Tritons post in the eBay section

 

[Jemiba]

The same picture was shown in Aviation Week, May 1967 with the description:
"Sikorsky's latest "Adavancing Blade Concept" pushes helicopter speeds over
300 m.p.h. Prototype hardware now under construction".

 

[mil]

Someone can lay out picture Sikorsky S-69 from magazine Popular Science September 1982года on page 69. Thanks.

 

[Stargazer]

Here are the images for said article. Full page photograph scan offered on the Popular Science site is really lousy, so I had to apply some heavy photo editing, and even then it's not very good...

 

[flateric]

...

 

[AeroFranz]

Nice family picture!
Interesting to see the transport version with split thrusters to accomodate a rear ramp.

 

[Caravellarella]

Dear Boys and Girls, here is a picture with a caption in French of the same Sikorsky co-axial rigid-rotor compound helicopter "project" with Lockheed-type rigid-rotors and a pusher propellor in the tail. The caption does not mention the high (350mph) speed quoted in other articles on the same "project".....

The picture comes from the 1st May 1967 issue of Aviation Magazine International......

Terry (Caravellarella)

 

[Grey Havoc]

Can someone tell me about the compound helicopter in this concept art? It reminds me a lot of the Sikorsky S-69 / XH-59 from 1972. Was this concept a possible configuration for a navalized Blackhawk? Was this part of Sikorsky ABC?

Unless someone knows better I think that it is nothing more than a concept that Sikorsky came up with to try and drum up support for continuing to work on the ABC rotor system. I do not think a lot of detailed work was done on the concept. There is a picture as I recall shows all sorts of ABC concepts for just about every mission the military has.

Thanks yasotay. I saw your artwork for a possible Sikorsky ABC rotor system version of the V-22 Osprey and a chart on this forum in another thread titled that had various configurations of ABC rotor system aircraft. It led me to believe that Sikorsky's ABC technology had competed against the Bell tilt-rotor technology.

Actually, I think it was Sikorsky's proposal for the USN's Type A V/STOL requirement (1976-1982?), possibly from around early 1977. However, for some reason, Sikorsky never formally submitted it. This was perhaps because later on in 1977, the Type A program lost a lot of momentum and Sikorsky may have thought it was about to go the way of a lot of other programs of the 70's, i.e. cancelled. Have a look at the family chart flateric posted earlier in the topic.

 

[Grey Havoc]

A bit more info on the USN Type A program and the aircraft known to be involved in it (in particular, the Grumman Model 698):

http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,1200.0.html

And:

http://wiki.scramble.nl/index.php/USN_Type_A_VSTOL

 

[F-14D]

Unless someone knows better I think that it is nothing more than a concept that Sikorsky came up with to try and drum up support for continuing to work on the ABC rotor system. I do not think a lot of detailed work was done on the concept. There is a picture as I recall shows all sorts of ABC concepts for just about every mission the military has.

Thanks yasotay. I saw your artwork for a possible Sikorsky ABC rotor system version of the V-22 Osprey and a chart on this forum in another thread titled that had various configurations of ABC rotor system aircraft. It led me to believe that Sikorsky's ABC technology had competed against the Bell tilt-rotor technology.

Tilt Rotor (XV-15) and ABC (XH-59) were evaluated by NASA and the military at about the same time, I guess you could call it a competition in the sense that it decided who would get more money in the future. ABC results were disappointing (partly because of the technology of the time) while Tilt Rotor greatly exceeded expectations.

 

[Triton]

View: http://youtu.be/TIFkCxQWAfU

 

[circle-5]

Sikorsky SH-59B (ABC) Factory Model:

 

[jsport]

Sikorsky SH-59B (ABC) Factory Model:

Wow, amazing, thank you for posting.

 

[Triton]

I presume that this artist's impression is the SH-59B based on circle-5's model. LAMPS III concept for the United States Navy?

Also on the model, what is written on the red area on the ducted fan? "Jet Intake"?

 

[Triton]

Er... Donald, this is embarrassing. The red marking is completely standard for "JET INTAKE" and has been so for over a half century!!!

Since it's a compound aircraft (helo + jet) it is perfectly normal to find it here...

I guess it has dual Ultra High Bypass (UHB) turbofan engines. I thought that they were ducted propellers at first.

 

[TomS]

The engines seem to be ducted fans. Maybe not strictly "jets" but close enough for government work -- the warning marking just indicates that air is being sucked in there at high speed. You see the same on the inlets for helicopter turboshafts, for example.

I think the XH-59 derivatives chart we've got posted a couple of times in this thread makes this aircraft more likely to be a V/STOL Type A concept than a LAMPS III candidate. (Or maybe the smaller V/STOL C, given that we see it flying over a destroyer rather than a carrier-type ship)

 

[Stargazer]

I misread your comment Donald, for which I'm sorry... :'(

I believe the text is still "JET INTAKE", not because it's a jet engine, but become of the jet of air that could swallow you if you bypass the warning. My two cents...

 

[Triton]

I misread your comment Donald, for which I'm sorry... :'(

I believe the text is still "JET INTAKE", not because it's a jet engine, but become of the jet of air that could swallow you if you bypass the warning. My two cents...

No worries. It was the manner in which I asked the question. I should have rephrased it and asked if the model shows dual Ultra High Bypass (UHB) turbo fan engines.

 

[Firebee]

I don't think this has been posted here yet. It is a cutaway drawing of a proposed B-version of the XH-59. The image source is 'Illustrated Guide to Future Fighters and Combat Aircraft' pub'd by Salamander in 1984.

Sorry for the poor scan, the image in the book doesn't look very good either.

 

[mil]

that's such a maneuver could perform S -69

 

[yasotay]

that's such a maneuver could perform S -69

Think that is what happened when the pilots took their hands off the controls

Thanks! that is the first time I have seen the XH-59 "maneuvering"

 

[hesham]

Hi,


here is a weird picture to Sikosky S-69 helicopter model,from L + K 19/1972

 

[Hood]

Another artist's impression of the Sikorsky ABC project, this time from Naval Proceedings (Nov. 1980).