SkyHook will be able to transport 40 tons 200 miles without refueling
Boeing and SkyHook International have announced that they intend to team up for a new aircraft called the JHL-40 (Jess Heavy Lifter). The JHL-40 is a new commercial heavy lift aircraft that is intended to transport equipment and materials in remote and harsh regions such as Alaska or the Canadian Arctic.
Boeing will build the JHL-40 neutrally buoyant rotorcraft for SkyHook, which will own, maintain and operate the JHL-40 for commercial clients.
The aircraft utilizes a helium filled envelope that provides enough lift to make the JHL-40 aircraft, engines, and crew neutrally buoyant. The four rotors will generate lift that is only needed to support the payload. According to Boeing and SkyHook, the JHL-40 will be able to lift loads as heavy as 40 tons and transport them up to 200 miles without refueling.
President and CEO of SkyHook Pete Jess said in a statement, “There is a definite need for this technology. The list of customers waiting for SkyHook's services is extensive, and they enthusiastically support the development of the JHL-40. Companies have suggested this new technology will enable them to modify their current operational strategy and begin working much sooner on projects that were thought to be 15 to 20 years away.”
This Boeing-SkyHook technology represents an environmentally acceptable solution for these companies' heavy-lift short-haul challenges, and it's the only way many projects will be able to progress economically."
Boeing says that it will build two production JHL-40 aircraft at its Rotorcraft Systems facility in Ridley Park, Pa.
Boeing was in the news recently when it won its protest against Northrop Grumman’s EADS tanker deal.
DailyTech - Boeing to Build SkyHook Neutrally Buoyant Rotorcraft
