Mr. Redenbaugh said,
This is an extension of protected anti-torque development at Bell that started in the 1970s...
...and that Aerospatiale perfected in the 1970's and has continued to develop
and produce today.
Oh good Lord, how much does that thing weigh? What does it do to the c.g.? Can it be any lighter than the current tail boom? One can only imagine the load it places on that poor tailboom attach ring, not to mention that flimsy structure of the aft fuselage. Man oh man, if Bell thinks that this will be an improvement over the 407's current tailboom woes, they've got another thing coming. And we all know what that's going to be. Love to see the new tail fan boom when that typical sine-wave harmonic sets in. Now that ought to be fun to watch (for the few seconds it'll last). But good job, Bell! Glad to see them dragging themselves out of the 1950's and into the 70's.