Open letter to Sikorsky

On 2005-03-25 02:08:39 -0500, "Dave Jackson" said:

A long sixty years after the inception of the helicopter, you appear to be
acknowledging the need for a second-generation craft.

Sikorsky has built something like thirty-odd distinct types of
helicopter and experimental rotorcraft.

Sikorsky's second-generation craft was arguably the S-55 (H-19).

You claim a speed advantage for your design. When you've flown
something faster than the S-69 ABC, come back to the group and tell us
how inept they are at Sikorsky and how great you are. Otherwise, you
just sound like an empty windbag.

The German Side-by-side Focke Fw 61 and the Intermeshing Flettner Fl 282
were the world's first viable rotorcraft.

There was this Spanish cat named Juan de la Cierva... ever hear of him?
He's in these things called books...

Both of these craft had latterly
displaced twin main-rotor configurations.

And neither could match the performance of the initial Sikorsky
helicopters. Or many others. It's also worth noting that Igor Sikorsky
and Bill Hunt & Michael Buivid (his engineer & fabricator) considered,
and even flew, many, many alternatives to what is now the common
penny-farthing arrangement of main and tail rotor.

Sikorsky, Bell, Hiller, Robinson... what a bunch of losers...

Unfortunately, meaningful pursuit
of the lateral configured helicopters was never done in North America.

Yeah, Kaman is actually an Ethiopian concern under deep cover.

This configuration appears to offer a number of significant advantages and
few disadvantages, when compared to the contending tilt rotor configuration.

For one thing, it's only a paper design that doesn't have to fly...
heck of an advantage...

cheers

-=K=-

Rule #1: Don't hit anything big.