IFMU,
I'm glad X2 is beginning to gain it's place in the history of technical developments. I have no doubt it will deliver on its speed promise.
Does it deserve to be regarded as a new innovation? The answer is a resounding "YES". Each individual aspect of X2 is not new and has been around in other forms for many years. The brilliance of the Schweizer/Sikorsky design team was to recognise the potential of each aspect by selecting just the right ones to solve the problem of high speed helicopter flight. So the innovation is in getting all of these individual solutions to work together in a practicable helicopter.
Will it benefit civil or military? I hope it benefits both. Like all machines it will have its limitations, but it will earn its keep in the suite of machines available for flight between inconvenient landing sites. My hope is that it very nicely ushers in an era where folks think nothing of being whisked away from point to point with reasonable speed and efficiency. One day some will owe their livelyhoods to such a capability, and some will owe much more.
So, well deserved congratulations are in order.
