Eurocopter unveils new-look helicopter


European group Eurocopter showed off a revolutionary winged helicopter on Monday, in a bid to counter US rival Sikorsky’s efforts to break the speed barrier by rewriting rotorcraft design rules.

The X3 hybrid helicraft — which combines forward-facing propellers astride two short aircraft wings with the familar overhead rotor blades seen on any normal helicopter — was unveiled following months of secrecy.



Today’s helicopters typically cruise around 130-40 knots.

Eurocopter, part of European aerospace group EADS, said its X3 hoverplane, sporting black-and-white striped propellers, had first flown on Sept. 6 at a closely guarded military test base.
“We just wanted a place where we knew we were alone, no plane spotters,” Eurocopter chief executive Lutz Bertling told Reuters, adding Eurocopter had paid the French defence miniustry for the right to use army facilities even though the project was so far funded entirely out of the company’s research budget.

Sikorsky’s X2 made its maiden flight in 2008.

In an operation echoing the secrecy of the project itsef, reporters were briefed at Eurocopter headquarters, transported to one base by helicopter and bussed to another where no-one except test crew had seen the new hoverplane, sitting in an isolated hangar after its first flight three weeks ago.

The announcement confirmed the existence of the X3 for the first time after Reuters reported Eurocopter’s plans to unveil it on Friday, ending months of speculation. [ID:nN24241063] NO TAIL ROTOR




The Sikorsky solution features two main rotors atop the cabin, which spin in opposite directions. That both neutralises the spinning force applied to a traditional single-main-rotor helicopter and provides a speed boost.

One thing the European and U.S. machines have in common is their new design eliminates the need for the sideways tail rotor used to stabilise traditional helicopters.




Target markets include long-distance search and rescue, inter-city shuttle services or military uses including special forces operations. The wing-mounted propellors would be disengaged when the helicopter lands to avoid injury.