Vertical flight

Sikorsky chosen for DARPA X-Plane program Sikorsky Innovations, the technology development organization of Sikorsky Aircraft Corp has won a contract for Phase 1 of the Vertical Take-Off and Landing Experimental Aircraft (VTOL X-Plane) program by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The proposed effort is valued at $15 million to develop the preliminary design for the VTOL X-Plane, a high-speed vertical takeoff-and-landing aircraft with the hover capability of a helicopter. Sikorsky Innovations is teamed with Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works for the VTOL X-Plane development of its Unmanned Rotor Blown Wing concept. The Rotor Blown Wing represents a unique integration of fixed wing aerodynamics and advanced rotor control to provide a low complexity configuration capable of meeting the challenging DARPA program goals. The contract duration is 22 months. The program goal is to build and fly a demonstrator aircraft with first flight anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2017. The overall VTOL X-Plane pro

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