Sikorsky concept of its Rotor Blown Wing aircraft.
Sikorsky has been flying its Rotor Blown Wing (RBW) vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) prototype over the past year and a half to evaluate the design and has briefed the U.S. Army on the aircraft along with multiple other potential customers.
Sikorsky President Paul Lemmo says the RBW is part of the company’s overall push for hybrid electric VTOL designs. The RBW is a tail-sitting aircraft that takes off vertically and can fly vertically, but also tips over to fly as a flying-wing design.
The Sikorsky’s design was revealed in 2013 when the company received a contract for DARPA’s VTOL X-Plane program. The use of rotors to blow air over wings to provide lift is not a new idea, but Lemmo says electrification is a key change that makes it more feasible.
Current tiltrotor designs require mechanical complexity, while electric motors can simplify the design to improve safety, he argues. While fully electric motors are not feasible for flying at relevant distances, hybrid electric is “absolutely feasible,” Lemmo told reporters April 25 on the sidelines of the Army Aviation Association of America conference here.
Development of the RBW is all internal to Sikorsky, though a U.S. customer is providing some funding. Lemmo did not specify which customer, though the design is linked to the original DARPA contract.
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