Cheyenne

"Jcarr" (jcarr) 05/11/2017 at 16:16 • Filed to: Planelopnik

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From the Department of What Could Have Been.

ttyymmnn > Jcarr 05/11/2017 at 16:28

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What’s old is new again. The idea of putting a pusher fan on a helicopter has had a strong resurgence in the last 10 years. Birds like this are finally getting fixed-wing speeds out of rotorcraft, but the Raider can ditch the vertical tail rotor by having contra-rotating props.

S-97 Raider

Jcarr > ttyymmnn 05/11/2017 at 16:34

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I like the look of that thing.

ttyymmnn > Jcarr 05/11/2017 at 16:35

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It’s a sexy beast. I’d like to know where they crammed the engine into that thing and still have room for a useful payload. I wonder if this is a slightly scaled down POC aircraft.

ttyymmnn > Jcarr 05/11/2017 at 16:39

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Speaking of the engine, it’s a GE T700, the same one that powers the Apache, Black Hawk, Seahawk, SuperCobra, Viper and Venom. Oh, and the SAAB 340.

Jcarr > ttyymmnn 05/11/2017 at 16:45

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But will it fit in my Honda?

ttyymmnn > Jcarr 05/11/2017 at 16:55

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I don’t know what you drive, but it will probably fit in the back of my Odyssey.

Jcarr > ttyymmnn 05/11/2017 at 16:57

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I smell a project.

And jet fuel. I smell jet fuel.

ttyymmnn > Jcarr 05/11/2017 at 16:58

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I wonder what kind of mileage I could get. The Oddy is a lot lighter than an Apache. Not sure where my wife and kids would sit, though.

Jcarr > ttyymmnn 05/11/2017 at 17:07

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Easy: Bubble canopy on the roof.

InFierority Complex > Jcarr 05/11/2017 at 17:16

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They’re not as big as I would have thought.

facw > ttyymmnn 05/11/2017 at 18:26

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Future Vertical Lift envisions several size classes from light scouts all the way up to a C-130 sized transport, there’s definitely a desire to see them scale regardless. I think the S-97 is a bit smaller than what they’d want for a Blackhawk/Apache replacement.

And for fairness, the competition doesn’t look bad either:

It’s exciting that we’ve got two significantly different designs, both of which are fairly radical competing. Based on my cynicism, I can only assume that means the Army will end up just buying more of what they have.