Thrust is one thing, power is another
Hi Tom
Shawyer seems to think it'll work best for vehicles hovering, not accelerating, except in orbit. The acceleration drops quickly as its speed builds up. Or so I read what he's said so far. A proper orbital test-run will tell us more.
Helicopter rotors lose energy to their medium and through internal friction of course. Shawyer's thruster has no moving parts, aside from a standing wave of photons.
Adam