Feb 242014
Sikorsky spent several years in the 1960’s trying to sell the S-65 helicopter concept. The S-65 was different from conventional helicopters in that it was a “compound” helicopter… fitted with wings to offload the rotor at high speed and turboprops to boost the top speed. Several versions were proposed, including both civilian and military. At the time, civilian passenger transport by helicopter was thought to be a reasonable proposition, typically moving people from outlying districts to large metropolitan airports, or from one city to the next a hundred or so miles away. The S-65 would have been substantially faster than conventional transport helicopters, but Sikorsky was unable to generate enough interest to go ahead with development.
