Originally Posted by Nick Lappos
A helo with a transmission right in the middle of Hollywood and Vine makes the trade different, I would bet.
With such a huge emphasis on power-to-weight, a helicopter would have to be designed around the powertrain. I remember Prouty commenting somewhere that the aerodynamicist did all he could (CFD engineer in today speak) without affecting the packaging.
Dave, if you believe it is such a problem why not put the pusher prop above & behind the rotor to ingest clean air? Alternately, just accept that there is one speed where performance is poorer, and only use prop above this speed. This is the one case where there may be justification for electric motors & generators, but be warned they cost significantly more than a driveshaft...
Mart