A general overview.
No single helicopter can be best for all missions, but, based on ease of piloting and a resultant popularity, I claim that the intermeshing configuration is unquestionably best. The intermeshing is the only realistic configuration that can provide the symmetry of an airplane. Even the coaxial does not have absolute symmetry.
The question of the intermeshing helicopter's thrust to empty weight has been raised. The single rotor may well have a slight advantage in this department, but consider the popularity of the automobile. Only 10% of the BTU's that a car consumes go to propel the vehicle, and only 1% of the BTU's are actually use in transporting the occupant. Maybe the Dutch and the Chinese are smarter then most of us since they tend to use the much more efficient bicycle
My positive attitude toward the intermeshing configuration has little to do with the design and functionality of the current synchropters. It is based on Flettner's helicopter and the direction that he and Hohenemser could have taken it.
A gentleman has assimilated a considerable amount of material on the Flettner FL-282. He has even produced the construction drawings of the fuselage and cockpit, with the intent of building a full scale operational replica. He has been very generous in passing on, over a period of time, copies of much of this material. The more I read, the more impressed I became at the technological beauty of this helicopter and its configuration.
Few people would question the technical competence of the German's preceding and during WW II. It might be of interest to know that there was an alleged contract with BMW for 1000 FL-282's. Unfortunately for Flettner, he faced a few obstacles that most of his contemporaries didn't, such as having his manufacturing facilities bombed on two separate occasions, plus being on the loosing side.
I believe that the 3-bladed self-stropping Kellett helicopters and Kaman's use of the Italian servo-flap did little to advance the development of this configuration.
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For those who are still following the 'hype'
and would like to dig deeper into the Flettner FL-282, the following page may be of interest:
http://www.synchrolite.com/0474.html
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heedm & tgrendl
Thanks for your concerns. Intelligent response coming ~ hopefully.
[ 29 August 2001: Message edited by: Dave Jackson ]