Page 28 - 2021-10 Courier website

WHATS UP?

The Kaman K-1200 K-Max ‘sky truck’ is an American single-
seat, single engine helicopter with intermeshing rotors, some-

times referred to as a synchropter, and successfully provides the
pilot with Visual Reference Flight, meaning the pilot has a visu-
al of the external load and pickup, target, and surrounding area
from the cockpit.

First flown in December 1991, 38 were built before the production line
shut down in 2001. The production line was restarted in 2017 when new
orders were received, including from the US Navy. It was successfully
operated by the US Marines in the ‘optionally manned’ (i.e., unmanned)
role for resupply missions into hazardous battlefield areas. The K-Max
can lift a payload of over 6800 lbs., which is more than the helicopter’s
empty weight of 5200 lbs.
Photo and research
by John Vogel

October 2021 Page 28