Sikorsky X2 Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation and the X2 Technology Demonstrator Team was awarded the 2010 Robert J. Collier Trophy by the National Aeronautic Association "...For demonstrating a revolutionary 250 knot helicopter, which marks a proven departure point for the future development of helicopters by greatly increasing their speed, maneuverability and utility." For 2011, the X2 team received the Howard Hughes Award (American Helicopter Society). Sikorsky X2 The Sikorsky X2 is an experimental high-speed compound helicopter with coaxial rotors developed by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky developed the X2 helicopter on a $50 million budget. The design includes expertise gathered from several earlier design projects.
Sikorsky Cypher Sikorsky Cypher The Sikorsky Cypher and Cypher II are types of unmanned aerial vehicles developed by Sikorsky Aircraft. They are vertical takeoff and landing aircraft which use two opposing rotors enclosed in a circular shroud for propulsion. In the late 1980s, Sikorsky Aircraft flew a small UAV named "Cypher", with coaxial rotors inside a torus-shaped airframe. The torus shroud improved handling safety and helped increase lift. The first proof-of-concept Cypher was 1.75 meters (5.75 feet) in diameter and 55 centimeters (1.8 feet) tall, weighed 20 kilograms (43 pounds), and was first flown in the summer of 1988. This design was