New Sikorsky hybrid-electric (HEX/VTOL) designs
New Sikorsky hybrid-electric (HEX/VTOL) designs
Just announced by Sikorsky
ANAHEIM, Calif., Feb. 27, 2024 – Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company (NYSE: LMT), today unveiled its plan to build, test and fly a hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing demonstrator (HEX / VTOL) with a tilt-wing configuration.
The design is the first in a series of large, next generation VTOL aircraft — ranging from more traditional helicopters to winged configurations — which will feature varying degrees of electrification, and an advanced autonomy system for optionally piloted flight.“We never stop innovating at Sikorsky,” said Sikorsky President Paul Lemmo. “Autonomy and electrification will bring transformational change to flight safety and operational efficiency of large VTOL aircraft. Our HEX demonstrator program will provide valuable insights as we look to a future family of aircraft built to the scale and preferred configurations relevant to commercial and military customers.”
The HEX program will put a premium on greater than 500 nautical mile range at high speed, fewer mechanical systems to reduce complexity, and lower maintenance costs.
Sikorsky Innovations, the company’s prototyping group, and GE Aerospace are finalizing designs to build a hybrid-electric power systems testbed with a 600kW electric motor. The testbed is a first step to evaluate hover performance of the follow-on HEX demonstrator — a 9,000-pound maximum gross weight aircraft with 1.2MW-class turbogenerator and associated power electronics.
“Within Sikorsky’s electric pillar, we are designing electric motors, power electronics and our own vehicle management hardware and actuation,” said Igor Cherepinsky, Sikorsky Innovations director. “HEX will integrate these components, showcase the growing maturity of our MATRIX™ autonomy suite, and the potential for maintenance-free systems. Seeing the results will lead us to more efficient overall designs.”
The design is the first in a series of large, next generation VTOL aircraft — ranging from more traditional helicopters to winged configurations — which will feature varying degrees of electrification, and an advanced autonomy system for optionally piloted flight.“We never stop innovating at Sikorsky,” said Sikorsky President Paul Lemmo. “Autonomy and electrification will bring transformational change to flight safety and operational efficiency of large VTOL aircraft. Our HEX demonstrator program will provide valuable insights as we look to a future family of aircraft built to the scale and preferred configurations relevant to commercial and military customers.”
The HEX program will put a premium on greater than 500 nautical mile range at high speed, fewer mechanical systems to reduce complexity, and lower maintenance costs.
Sikorsky Innovations, the company’s prototyping group, and GE Aerospace are finalizing designs to build a hybrid-electric power systems testbed with a 600kW electric motor. The testbed is a first step to evaluate hover performance of the follow-on HEX demonstrator — a 9,000-pound maximum gross weight aircraft with 1.2MW-class turbogenerator and associated power electronics.
“Within Sikorsky’s electric pillar, we are designing electric motors, power electronics and our own vehicle management hardware and actuation,” said Igor Cherepinsky, Sikorsky Innovations director. “HEX will integrate these components, showcase the growing maturity of our MATRIX™ autonomy suite, and the potential for maintenance-free systems. Seeing the results will lead us to more efficient overall designs.”
Notice what's missing? An X-2 configuration. Sikorsky management must realize that after a billion+ dollars invested in a dead end technology, they need to play catch up on winged configurations with tilting rotors. They've done concept work with rotor blown tilt wings before, we'll see if this is a viable path in and of itself, or just a stepping stone to a tilt rotor. No pitch fan in the tail indicates these rotors have cyclic and probably flapping, so it's not a traditional tiltwing and that's a good thing. The hybrid business is green washing, the real point of the project is the rotor / tiltwing configuration.
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Doesn't the hybrid part simplify the power train? Until we know more about fuel consumption I'm not sure how this classes as 'greenwashing'.
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My point is that the point of the aircraft is more about the aero-elastic, mechanical, and performance characteristics of a wing and flapping rotor rather than a hybrid power system. They’re 50+ years behind the competition.
What would that do to the lift as the aircraft decelerates whilst it converts from aeroplane to helicopter mode?? The angle of attack on the wing would get pretty extreme, pretty quickly.
They don't just seem to be going for tilt rotors - they are going full hog with tilt wings.
What would that do to the lift as the aircraft decelerates whilst it converts from aeroplane to helicopter mode?? The angle of attack on the wing would get pretty extreme, pretty quickly.
What would that do to the lift as the aircraft decelerates whilst it converts from aeroplane to helicopter mode?? The angle of attack on the wing would get pretty extreme, pretty quickly.
And I'm no engineer, but running a big thick electrical power cable from the 'engine' through the tilting mechanism out to the motor on the wing has to be a lot simpler than tilting the entire engine (V-22) or having the tilt mechanism as part of the gearbox (V-280).
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