(Luft) Future Vertical Lift - FARA und FLRAA

[Quintus Fabius]

We Talk Everything S-97 Raider And SB>1 Defiant With Sikorsky’s Top Program Officials

https://www.twz.com/28019/we-talk-everyt...-officials

Tim Malia: "I think the first point to clarify is that our X2-based FARA is not more complex than a BLACK HAWK. In fact, despite having two main rotors, there are one-half the total parts in the S-97 RAIDER rotor head than on a BLACK HAWK. This reduction in complexity and part count saves money from a sustainment perspective with less parts to maintain and spare. To that end, the rigid rotor system no longer has flapping and lead/lag modes which eliminates the dampers that are a routine maintenance element on a BLACK HAWK.

Chris Van Buiten: "The most significant servicing difference between the Rigid Coaxial design and a traditional helicopter is that the rigid rotor does not have Main Rotor Dampers. Dampers are typically the highest maintenance items on a helicopter and we do not need them.

Wusste ich noch gar nicht. Ich dachte bis dato, das System wäre zwingend komplexer und hätte mehr Teile.

The other big-picture benefit of X2 will become apparent as the Army looks across their vertical lift inventory. X2 is the only scalable technology on the table for the Army to consider in their diverse missions. The Army today has three very different aircraft types to maintain, support, and grow capability through technology insertions. Tomorrow they could all reside on the X2 platform, scaled to serve the three very different mission sets. As you look at having X2 in both the Attack/Recon and the Utility/Long Range Assault FVL variants, you can start to envision maintenance and flight training commonality across the entire fleet. When the attack replacement occurs, they can be on the common technology platform across the service. This is an enormous opportunity for the Army to reduce future costs of operations.

Halte ich für wesentlich. Aber man hat sich ja nunmal anders entschieden.

Chris Van Buiten: "S-97 RAIDER will survive on the modern battlefield by being nearly twice as fast, twice as maneuverable, and nearly half the sound. When you combine these attributes, you see game-changing survivability. Our MATRIX autonomy solution will enable RAIDER to operate safely very close to the ground at speed to enhance survivability with acceptable workload.

Vor allem die Aussage zur Manövrierfähigkeit finde ich erstaunlich. Leider wird nicht erläutert warum er doppelt so manövrierfähig sein soll.

Can you tell us three things we probably don’t know about the S-97 Raider?

Bill Fell: "1. Normal rotor RPM is from 85 to 100% as the rpm decreases automatically with speed to reduce rotor drag.

2. When you fly in helicopter mode with the prop disengaged RAIDER is very quiet.

3. If the engine were to quit at 200+ knots the pilot has on the order of 20-30 seconds of level deceleration holding altitude before he has to lower the collective. The FCC automatically reduces the prop power requirement and energy is fed into the system while decelerating to maintain rotor RPM. This gives the pilot a comparative eternity to search for a forced landing area.