The unique Defiant helicopter made its first long test flight
The Defiant helicopter, developed by a consortium of Sikorsky and Boeing enterprises to replace the UH-60 Black Hawk aircraft, flew 700 nautical miles (or 1,300 km) from West Palm Beach in Florida to Nashville, Tennessee. The purpose of the tests was to demonstrate the capabilities of the equipment at the annual summit of the American Aviation Association of the US Army.
During the flight, operated by two pilots — one from Boeing, the other from Sikorsky — Defiant used only half of the engine power and less than 50% of the engine torque that rotates the tail propeller. When flying at full power, it will be able to reach a cruising speed of 460 km/h, much bypassing modern helicopters, writes New Atlas.
According to Ed Henderscheid, one of the pilots, The Defiant behaved flawlessly and consumed less fuel than expected.
The Defiant project has developed since 2015 by Order of the Pentagon. The US Department of the Defense announced the future Long Range Assault Aircraft competition, in which it will choose the best version of a multipurpose helicopter with excellent flight characteristics and range. The competition, which also involves Bell Helicopter, should end in the late 2020s.
A special feature of Defiant design is the unique combination of two coaxial main propellers and a push tail rotor, created using Sikorsky X2 technology. It will provide stability when climbing at high-speed and good handling when flying at low speeds. The possibility of unmanned control is also provided.
Furthermore, the private British company Hill Helicopters presented at the end of 2021 a prototype of a civilian passenger helicopter of increased comfort. The HX50 model develops 260 km/h, can fly almost 1300 km, its engine is almost 2 times more powerful than the popular Robinson R66 helicopter, but at the same time the HX50 costs twice as much as that Robinson.
