Open letter to Sikorsky

Quote from ~ Flight International, Feb 8-14, 2005

"Sikorsky has decided not to bid for the US Army's Armed Reconnaissance
Helicopter and the Light Utility Helicopter programmes and is instead
looking further ahead. "With the business growing, we have the luxury to
look at what is the next big thing we do that is not 'me too'" says Pino
[senior vice-president marketing and commercial programs]. "By the end of
the year we will be better able to tell what the next breakthrough might
be.""

___________________

Dear Sikorsky,

A long sixty years after the inception of the helicopter, you appear to be
acknowledging the need for a second-generation craft. Perhaps, you will
take this opportunity to finally put rotorcraft research and development
back on the correct track; the track where it was, before being pushed off
to the side by the tail rotor.

The German Side-by-side Focke Fw 61 and the Intermeshing Flettner Fl 282
were the world's first viable rotorcraft. Both of these craft had latterly
displaced twin main-rotor configurations. Unfortunately, meaningful pursuit
of the lateral configured helicopters was never done in North America.

I humbly suggest that the preeminent second-generation large rotorcraft will
have an Interleaved configuration [http://www.unicopter.com/1121.html ],
with;
~ extremely rigid rotors,
~ active blade twist, with reverse velocity utilization,
~ low tip speed, plus large chord,
~ pusher propellers or fans,
~ no wings (no compound design).

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


Yours provocatively;

Dave Jackson