Was Ray Leoni the chief designer of Blackhawk helicopter?

[hsinchong]

Was the Blackhawk helicopter originally designed by Ray Leoni himself or a whole team with him?

 

[TomS]

Was the Blackhawk helicopter originally designed by Ray Leoni himself or a whole team with him?

You need to understand that NO modern aircraft has a single designer. They are all team efforts.

 

[TomS]

This might be useful. It's a memoir from Bill Paul, who ran the technology development side of Siloesky's UTTAS effort, while Leoni ran the design side.

Bill Paul: Reflections on Sikorsky’s 100th Anniversary – Igor I Sikorsky Historical Archives

sikorskyarchives.com

And one from Leoni, which actually says less about UTTAS.

Ray Leoni: Recollections of a Sikorsky Junior Engineer – Igor I Sikorsky Historical Archives

sikorskyarchives.com

Note: Leoni does have his name on the "design patent" for Black Hawk but that covers the "ornamental design" (literally the general appearance) of the aircraft, not the technical details that make it work. And he's probably on it along with several others.

 

[yasotay]

More can be found in Mr. Leoni's book: Black Hawk - The Story of a World Class Helicopter.
Published by American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc.
ISBN-13: 978-1-56347-918-2