Status Report on The Advancing Blade Concept (ABC)™ Technology Demonstrator Program

The high speed limitations of rotorcraft resulting from lack of retreating blade lifting capability are well known. A potential solution to this problem is offered by the Sikorsky Advancing Blade Concept utilizing a co-axial counter-rotating very stiff rotor system. Initiated originally on corporate independent research and development (IR&D) funds, the concept was subsequently supported through the full scale wind tunnel testing and flight tests by the U.S. Army Air Mobility Laboratories (now Research and Technology Laboratories AVRADCOM). Low speed testing has been completed and high speed testing is now about to commence with additional support from NASA and the Navy as well as the Army, utilizing auxiliary propulsion engines provided by the Air Force.

This paper explains the Advancing Blade Concept and describes the results achieved thus far in the ABC Technology Demonstrator Program.