The future? Bell V280 Valor

[Dads203]

Some fancy CGI ! Blackhawk / Osprey mix....

http://bellv280.com/

[-Neu-]

There are ALOT of new concepts out there... this is an interesting one.

What's interesting about the helicopter market is that there is alot of civilian investment out there that is supporting development... unlike other defence aerospace fields like jet fighters or missiles. So you see quite a few new concepts, like the Sikorsky X2 and the Eurocopter X3.

http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewline/2009/05/sikorsky-unveils-mock-up-x2-ar.html

I think its also interesting that a lot of these designs are reusing components from current systems in order to keep costs down. No more Comanches or Ospreys, all up development projects. In the current fiscal environment and with large private interest, risk mitigation is the name of the game.

[Parabat]

There are ALOT of new concepts out there... this is an interesting one.

What's interesting about the helicopter market is that there is alot of civilian investment out there that is supporting development... unlike other defence aerospace fields like jet fighters or missiles. So you see quite a few new concepts, like the Sikorsky X2 and the Eurocopter X3.

http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewline/2009/05/sikorsky-unveils-mock-up-x2-ar.html

I think its also interesting that a lot of these designs are reusing components from current systems in order to keep costs down. No more Comanches or Ospreys, all up development projects. In the current fiscal environment and with large private interest, risk mitigation is the name of the game.

I like the contra-rotating blades. I agree with your statement about them not going tech crazy - too much money is spent or hedged on concept designs that don't turn out to offer much advantage over conventional designs.