Over the years, the results of the XH-59A ABC technology demonstrator aircraft flight test program have been used to generate a series of advanced design solutions to meet a wide variety of mission requirements. These solutions span the entire design spectrum from aircraft designed for high speed cruise to those designed for low speed nap-of-the-earth (NOE) requirements. These studies clearly show the attractiveness of the ABC for these roles, not only in terms of weight and performance but also in terms of compatibility with operations from restricted areas, low external noise, superior agility, and enhanced battlefield survivability and maintainability.

It is the purpose of this paper to report on the results of two of these studies with a view towards showing how the preliminary design of the ABC rotor system is affected by mission requirements. The influence that these varying mission requirements have on the selection of critical rotor design parameters of airfoil, twist, taper, radius, chord and tip speed are discussed, and their effects on weight and performance evaluated. In addition, details of the resulting aircraft configurations are presented.