Have there been any successful tip-jet helicopters?

(Jeremy Thomson) wrote in message om...
I'm not aware of any tip-jet helicopters that have made it into
production.
Please correct me if I'm wrong.

At first the idea seems a no-brainer, no torque to counter, no
gearbox, should result in a lighter & thus more efficient aircraft.
I suppose the devil is in the details.
Is the problem with tip-jets the rotor hub?
Either you have to pass fuel or hot gas through the rotor hub to the
blades.
I guess sealing a rotating assembly with hot gases flowing through may
be a non-trivial problem?
But that shouldnt be a problem for jets-at-the-tips type designs, fuel
would not be hot enough to damage seals.
Perhaps there is a inherant flaw in the jets-at-the-tips style design?

I've seen videos of the Hughes heavy lift helicopter that directed the
output of a couple of turbojets(/fans ?) through the blades.
I thought that design was successful, it was more a matter of funding
that it wasnt put into production, am I wrong?

Jeremy Thomson

I think that the general concensus is that they all proved extremely
noisy and consumed an inordinate quantity of fuel, 2 factors that have
limited their success and further development.

Ken J. - Sandie A. Geaux