New designs and technology give helicopters a big lift.

Press, 26 October 1984, Page 18

New designs and technology give helicopters a big lift.

By

DONALD FREDERICK

National Geo-

graphic News Service

The Wright brothers thought the helicopter never would amount to much. So did many other early aviation pioneers. But in the past 45 years — since the first successful lift-off of a practical helicopter in the United States — aviation’s ugly duckling has turned into a rare bird with seemingly endless possibilities. Planned or on the drawing boards are helicopters that will fly more than 800 kilometres an hour, cruise at altitudes of up to 10,500 metres, and carry 30,000 kg loads. “Helicopters will evolve a lot faster in the future than standard fixed-wing aircraft,” predicts John F. Ward, a rotorcraft expert with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. “Military demand for new types of vehicles has speeded up design programmes,” he says. “This comes at a time when tremendous advances in electronic technology are taking place. Matching the two will soon provide some very exciting helicopters.” Test flights of one revolutionary new craft — a cross between a helicopter and an aircraft — already have proved successful. Rotors mounted on each wingtip lift the vehicle off the ground like a helicopter. Once a certain speed

has been reached, the rotors tilt forward and act like standard turboprops on an aeroplane. A top speed of about 560 km/h is predicted for this hybrid. The current speed record for a conventional helicopter was set by a Russian craft that flew 365 km/h.

Even faster speeds are predicted for another helicopter now on the drawing boards. The craft’s four stiff rotor blades, shaped like a large X, would stop turning at a determined speed. Auxiliary jet engines on the fuselage would take over, propelling the copter at speeds of more than 800 km/h. “These machines of the future will be streamlined,” says Ward. “All the appendages that now hang on the outside of helicopters will disappear.” Big changes will take place inside the vehicles as well. Automatic guidance and control systems run by computers will enable a single pilot to operate a helicopter in all kinds of weather. “Flight planning will be as simple as dropping a disc into the home computer,” Ward says. J Flights will be smoother and

quieter. Engineers are working on new equipment and designs that will eliminate excessive vibration and noise, the two main drawbacks to present helicopter travel. N.A.S.A. and industry experts have pooled their research to reduce noise, and regularly exchange information on promising approaches to the problem. Advances in helicopter technology will mean greater civilian acceptance of the vehicles. Ward thinks that by the 1990 s helicopters carrying 45 to 50 passengers will take over many of the short-haul routes between major cities, and that by early in the next century jumbo helicopters carrying 100 to 150 passengers will be common. Even now, the helicopter is earning its keep. They help put out forest fires, fight crime, and haul heavy equipment to remote construction sites.

At least one industry — offshore oil and gas production — would have a hard time staying in business without helicopters. The craft regularly ferry workers and equipment to remote rigs, and evacuate

personnel when they are threatened by major storms or have accidents. Saving lives has been a helicopter specialty since the first mercy mission in 1945, when one of them rushed precious blood plasma to more than 100 crewmen of a United States Navy destroyer who had been injured by an explosion. Since then the craft have flown countless rescue and mercy missions. It’s been estimated that they have saved a million lives. Sergei I. Sikorsky, whose father, Igor, invented and flew that first practical helicopter 45 years ago, predicts that by the year 2000 almost all major hospitals will be equipped with landing pads and that helicopters will be increasingly used as ambulances. Large helicopters fitted out as emergency rooms and staffed with medical teams will respond quickly to natural disasters and other emergencies.

“Even in the days when the Public was making fun of the elicopter and many reputable scientists felt it would never work,” Sergei Sikorsky recalls, “my father said that one day it would be a unique vehicle for saving human lives. I never doubted his word for a moment.”