Technology Impact on Helicopter, Tilt Rotor, and Tilt Fold Rotor Concepts

This paper initially presents historical weight trends of the major subsystems of helicopters that also apply to tilt rotor and tilt fold rotor aircraft. These data reveal that the helicopter industry is responding to customer requirements for a faster, smoother rotorcraft and is building a lighter weight, lower cost aircraft with higher productivity. Implementation of emerging technology in the major subsystems of the helicopter indicates that this trend will continue into the next decade. The impact of this technology on total aircraft productivity is then presented. In addition, it is shown that advanced rotorcraft concepts like the tilt rotor and the tilt fold rotor will benefit even more from emerging technology than the conventional helicopter.