Rotorcraft
Piasecki compound X-49 makes first flight
Retrofit technology that could turn the Pentagon’s fleet of Black Hawks and other helicopters into 200-knot, high-altitude speedsters, and later be applied

Retrofit technology that could turn the Pentagon’s fleet of Black Hawks and other helicopters into 200-knot, high-altitude speedsters, and later be applied to the civil market, is one step closer to reality.

Piasecki Aircraft’s vectored-thrust ducted propeller (VTDP) compound helicopter made its first flight June 29 at Boeing’s New Castle County, Del. flight-test facility. During the 15-minute flight, test pilots conducted various maneuvers, including takeoff to hover, left and right pedal turns, left and sideways flight, low-speed forward flight, additional hovers and hover to landing. Another flight was scheduled for the middle of last month.

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