Future High Speed Helicopter and next generation rotorcraft
- Thread starter Dishi
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by78
General
If I'm reading this correctly, this is a tender document for a reduction drive and a tilting mechanism, both of which are to be used on a test stand for a tandem rotor system/helicopter. I'm not sure what the tilting mechanism refers to. Could it be a swashplate for changing the pitch of rotor blades?
If I'm reading this correctly, this is a tender document for a reduction drive and a tilting mechanism, both of which are to be used on a test stand for a tandem rotor system/helicopter. I'm not sure what the tilting mechanism refers to. Could it be a swashplate for changing the pitch of rotor blades?
It strikes me as possibly a more full scale tilt rotor land based demo system with two rotors (both propulsion units and overall drivetrain) present?
I can't think of any other method where a "tandem helicopter" (in style of Ch-47) would require a tilting mechanism as described, so perhaps the phrasing has the term "dual rotor" at the front because it's relatively rare to have a dual rotor testbed/demo in general let alone for a tiltrotor?
by78
General
Yep, that was a head scratcher, thus my interpretation that the tilting mechanism might mean a swashplate for changing blade pitch.
However, I was wondering... This is just a wild speculation, might this Chinese rotorcraft be capable of going from a CH-47-like tandem configuration to a transverse configuration like the V-22? It's highly probable that this change in configuration can only be done on the ground. I really don't see what advantages such a capability might confer, so I didn't write it out in my original post.
I really could not see how such a configuration would work or offer any benefits from a standard tiltrotor. If anything, I think a tiltrotor would make a tandem helicopter configuration obsolete in the long run when all else is held equal.
Imo the only reason we are even considering the possibility of a tandem rotor helicopter is because of the title, but I think a simpler explanation is that the testbed itself is intended to have both rotors fully and is technically "tandem" but doesn't actually refer to a tandem configuration helicopter like Ch-47.
Edit: tbh the term tandem and tiltrotor in the contract together is what makes this a bit strange, because they are both unique configurations.
Either it is a tandem helicopter testbed like Ch-47 and the "tilt" is incidental (referring to the individual rotors perhaps as you described in the last post), or it is a tiltrotor testbed and the "tandem" is incidental referring to the testbed having both rotors installed.
That's just a tilt rotor aircraft (heavily inspired by V-280) that has the ability to fold it's rotors and main wing box for compactness.
The V-280 has had that proposed too.
However neither of those are a tandem rotor helicopter like Ch-47, because in the stowed configuration it isn't intended to be able to fly (naturally).
While I expect an eventual Chinese tiltrotor to also be able to fold or have a variant that could fold, the contract that By78 described doesn't mention anything about folding.
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Illustration of what a V-280 Valor-like Chinese tiltrotor aircraft for the PLAN could look like. The scenario depicted in the illustration showcased these tiltrotors being deployed from the 075 LHDs for amphibious assault operations.
Obtained from the 舰船知识 Warship Knowledge magazine, posted by on Twitter.
Obtained from the 舰船知识 Warship Knowledge magazine, posted by on Twitter.