The Piasecki Heli-Stat project began in the mid 1970s with a view to combining the lift capability of a lighter-than-air vehicle with the pre-cise manoeuvrability of the helicop-ter, and following support from the US Forestry Service and the US Navy, construction of a prototype Heli-Stat began at Lakehurst, New Jersey, in 1979. The hybrid aircraft uses an airship-based envelope, attached via a skeletal structure to the front fuselage portions of four Sikorsky SH-34J helicopters, each powered by a standard Wright radial engine driving the conventional main rotor system and mounted at the four corners of the aircraft. The tail rotors are replaced by large diameter propellers to provide propulsion and full controllability.

At the beginning of 1984 it was expected that the Heli-Stat would fly in 1985, following a redesign of the structure which had failed under load tests. The following data is provisional

G.Apostolo "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Helicopters", 1984

Technical data for Piasecki "Heli-Stat" Engine: 4 x Wright R-1820-84A rated 1525shp each, overall width: 60.05m, overall length: 74.07m, empty weight: 24895kg, gross weight: 50469kg, maximum speed: 132km/h, service ceiling: 3810m, range: 3307km, range with maximum payload: 80km

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