The manufacturer of the Army’s Black Hawk helicopters now may have built the world’s fastest whirlybird.
Though no Guinness officials were on hand, Sikorsky Aircraft’s new helicopter unofficially crushed a long-acknowledged speed record during a September flight in Florida.
The X2 Technology Demonstrator reached 250 knots during a flight that lasted a little more than an hour. It wasn’t until the light helicopter topped 259 knots that it began experiencing vibrations comparable to those seen in conventional choppers at 140 knots, said Steve Weiner, chief engineer for the X2 program.
The X2 is sleek and narrow and looks like a plane without wings. Despite its speed and airplane-like appearance, the X2 “was born a helicopter,” said Jim Kagdis, advanced programs manager at Sikorsky. “It is maneuverable, it is agile, it hovers efficiently.”
It just happens to zip through the air at nearly 300 miles per hour, too.
The helicopter could succeed the Special Operations Command’s Little Bird or the OH-58 Kiowa Warrior, which can hit maximum speeds of about 138 mph, or it could be scaled to replace Cobras, Apaches and Hueys, Kagdis said.
The British-produced Westland ZB-500 Lynx hit 249 mph, or slightly more than 216 knots, during a flight in 1986. Before the X2, the Lynx was widely considered the world’s fastest helicopter.