Kaman K-MAX
| K-1200 K-MAX | |
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| A K-Max flying Rotex Helicopters | |
| Role | Medium lift helicopter |
| Manufacturer | Kaman Aircraft |
| First flight | December 23, 1991 |
| Status | In production |
| Produced | 1991-2003, 2015-present |
| Number built | 38+ |
| Images | |
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 RC version of K-MAX at Ft. Eustis
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Autonomous K-MAX at Yuma
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| Video | |
 Unmanned K-MAX at Yuma
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K-MAX with wrecking ball
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The Kaman K-MAX (company designation K-1200) is an American helicopter with intermeshing rotors (synchropter) by Kaman Aircraft. It is optimized for external cargo load operations, and is able to lift a payload of over 6,000 pounds (2,722 kg), which is more than the helicopter's empty weight. An optionally remote controlled unmanned aerial vehicle version is being developed and is being evaluated in extended practical service in the war in Afghanistan.
In June 2015, Kaman announced restarting the K-MAX production due to 10 commercial orders. First deliveries are planned early 2017.
In 1947 Anton Flettner, a German aero-engineer, was brought to the United States as part of Operation Paperclip. He was the developer of the two earlier synchropter designs from Germany during World War II: the Flettner Fl 265 which pioneered the synchropter layout, and the slightly later Flettner Fl 282 Kolibri ("Hummingbird"), intended for eventual production. Both designs used the principle of counter-rotating side-by-side intermeshing rotors, as the means to solve the problem of torque compensation, normally countered in single–rotor helicopters by a tail rotor, fenestron, NOTAR, or vented blower exhaust. Flettner remained in the United States and became the chief designer of the Kaman company. He started to design new helicopters, using the Flettner double rotor.
The K-MAX series are the latest in a long line of Kaman synchropters, the most famous of which is the HH-43 Huskie. The first turbine-powered helicopter was also a Kaman synchropter.
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Wikipedia