Intermeshing rotors

[davebender]

Kaman K-MAX - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anton Flettner pioneered this technology during late 1930s. I thought 1960s HH-43 was end of the line. Apparently not. Is this WWII era rotor system the future for heavy lift cargo helicopters?

 

[raumatibeach]

Not sure about heavy lift but it's interesting that they are using them as unmanned drones.

 

[davebender]

U.S. Army is using those unmanned drones to carry cargo in Afghanistan.

 

[nuuumannn]

The K-Max is a pretty awesome helicopter and lifts a real hefty load, but for civil operators its hampered by two things, its cost and the fact that there's no space to carry anyone other than its pilot, which would hamper off the beaten track operations. A couple of guys I used to work with apprached Kaman with the idea of marketing it in the Oceana area, but gained little interest for the reasons mentioned. Operators found it cheaper to lease Russian birds like the Kamov Ka-32 or Mil-8/17 for their medium to heavy lift needs. The military unmanned version is an excellent idea, but will hardly catch on in the civil scene.

 

[davebender]

Sounds about right.

After the cold war ended Russia has been very successful selling and leasing low tech Mi-8 / Mi-17 helicopters. Not the best helicopter in the world but certainly one of the most cost effective.

 

[Sid327]

U.S. Army is using those unmanned drones to carry cargo in Afghanistan.

Hello davebender,

To the best of my knowledge, there are no rotary powered drones moving cargo in AFG. There are quite a few fixed-wing drones working on surveillance however.

Most of the civilian contracted stuff (for sling-work) is done by Mi-8/17 Bv 107 or 234 and the military stuff by CH-47.

 

[nincomp]

Sid447,

I noticed articles last week about the drone helicopter, so I believe this development is pretty recent. It does have intermeshing rotors.

CAMP BASTION, Afghanistan: Drone cargo helicopters prove worth in Afghanistan, leading way to civilian uses - World Wires - MiamiHerald.com

 

[davebender]

A few months ago there was an article in Popular Science magazine which mentioned the K Max cargo drones.