Helicopter with wings promises to change aviation world

[gingerjedi]

BBC News - Helicopter with wings promises to change aviation world

Just make sure the props have stopped turning before you get out.

[SimonMac]

A poor man's Airwolf?

[wobbegong]

BBC News - Helicopter with wings promises to change aviation world

Just make sure the props have stopped turning before you get out.

It's an old idea, we Brits had one back in the 1950's.

[TykeMerc]

It's an old idea, we Brits had one back in the 1950's.

I thought I'd seen something similar.

Isn't the biggest issue with high speed helicopters the airspeed of the forwards moving rotor tip and the pressure wave as it approaches transonic? Stopping the rotors from falling to bits will need some fairly funky materials especially if some pilot puts it into a dive.

[BlasterBates]

Actually if they get rid of the rotor blades and extend the wings, that's going to be a real hit...

oh hang on

[fragglerock]

It's an old idea, we Brits had one back in the 1950's.

They cannot take off vertically though. This is a true helicopter and can.
I don't see the benefit over a normal helicopter though, it is fast but not that much faster. It does not have to dip its nose to accelerate but that is hardly a massive problem I would think... or maybe it is I am not an executive being flown from meeting to meeting and worrying about spilling my whisky and ginger!

Edit: oh it could to vertical take offs... it had rocket motors in the rotor tips! those crazy future looking 50's engineers!

[TykeMerc]

There's also this type of approach to the problem :- Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There have been variations on this theme kicking about for a while.

[gingerjedi]

It's an old idea, we Brits had one back in the 1950's.

I've got a load of original promo docs from my days at Westland including one for the Rotodyne, things were so much more exciting when cost and efficiency wasn't so important.

[MrRobin]

Isn't the biggest issue with high speed helicopters the airspeed of the forwards moving rotor tip and the pressure wave as it approaches transonic? Stopping the rotors from falling to bits will need some fairly funky materials especially if some pilot puts it into a dive.

Correct, but with these types of heli design presumably the rotors are slowed down or even stopped when the speed of the aircraft means enough lift comes from the wings alone.

[Churchill]

Is it faster than the Lynx?