Gosh, Thud - you're older than I thought - which makes ME about the same age.........
Yes, but don't forget that those noisy tip-jets were normally only needed for take off and landing; in the cruise they were autorotating and the aircraft was quieter.
Also, do remember that the aircraft was only ever in the prototype stage. I'm certain that with today's technology the tip-jets could be made far more enviromentally friendly, just as turbo-jet engines were quietened by a significant amount during their lifetime.
http://avia.russian.ee/vertigo/fairey_rotodyne-r.html
Looking at this week's weather - the necessary compressed air bleeds through the spars could also very usefully be used to de-ice the blades.
I look forward to seeing Groen Brothers make this type of aircraft work. I can't ever see these machines replacing small, or even medium helicopters, but the type has the potential to be a BIG, versatile load lifter at a relatively decent turn of speed. It is somewhere towards the opposite end of the scale to the tilt-rotor, which is quite a small load lifter but relatively very fast.
Time will tell.
