Viewing page 144 of 507
This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.
136 HELICOPTER AIR SERVICE PROGRAM Senator MONRONEY. You would land at Springfield and make one or two stops downtown. If you landed downtown you would be ahead of any subsonic jet or almost any other form of transportation; is that correct? Mr. THAYER. Yes, sir. I think we could beat the supersonic jets from here to New York. Senator MONRONEY. Senator Hart, he was just telling me that he could take off here at the Mall, with a 350-foot run, and fly into downtown Baltimore, say in a park take off with a 350-foot run, and fly into downtown New York and discharge the passengers faster than you could leave down here and go up by any aircraft means available from Washington National Airport into La Guardia and still be quicker from the center of town to the center of town. Senator HART. Did the Chairman quote you directly on that? Mr. THAYER. Yes, sir. Senator Hart, the airplane has 12,000 horsepower; in terms of thrust it develops for takeoff about 48,000 pounds of thrust. The flaps operate mechanically, up and down, and automatically. As the wing goes to the vertical position the airplane goes through the transition. One point I neglected to make earlier: as you can see from the configuration of the wing and the propellers, the wing is completely immersed in the slipstream at all times, and with the combination of flaps as the wing goes up, which is a deflected slipstream principle, we can literally, by keeping an adequate amount of thrust or torque, keep the wing from stalling at any angle. It is literally stallproof, so there is no buffeting with regard to the speed or the position of the wing. Senator MONRONEY. Did you say the development cost was $90 million? Mr. THAYER. We have spent a little over $90 million, and we will spend over $100 million. Senator MONRONEY. That is exclusive of the engines. The engines are 3,000 horsepower each, and you think they can go above 3,400? Mr. THAYER. I think ultimately the engines can go to about 4,000 horsepower. Senator MONRONEY. Do you have any questions? Senator HART. When do these five units go to the Army? Mr. THAYER. We are flying three now. None of them have been delivered as such. They will go to the Air Force. However, Navy, Army, and Air Force pilots will fly them in the operational evaluation phase of the program. Airplanes 4 and 5 will be delivered in June. Senator MONRONEY. I think you should advise Senator Hart, too, that these are actually production models. If the Army likes the way they fly, you are prepared to turn on the line and produce them, are you not? Mr. THAYER. They wouldn't have any problem with us at all. [Laughter] Senator MONRONEY. Have plane, will travel. Mr. THAYER. Yes, sir. Senator HART. For passenger service, how many people would you anticipate you could carry? Mr. THAYER. The seating arrangement we have played with to date, Senator, with this configuration, is 42--which is equivalent to tourist class seating.
