Rotorcraft
Eurocopter unveils X3 compound demonstrator
Eurocopter unveiled a ­compound helicopter demonstrator called the X3 (“x cubed”) designed to cruise at 220 knots–about 50 percent faster than today’s medi

Eurocopter unveiled a ­compound helicopter demonstrator called the X3 (“x cubed”) designed to cruise at 220 knots–about 50 percent faster than today’s medium twins. The helicopter manufacturer believes it has found a sweet spot at a target speed that should make time savings profitable, and the technology could be incorporated into helicopters in less than a decade.

The purpose of the 30-minute first flight on September 6 was to calibrate the rotor and propellers. Eurocopter plans an 18-month, 100-flight-hour test program. The manufacturer is testing the airplane-helicopter hybrid at the French defense procurement agency’s flight- test center, a 40-minute drive from Eurocopter’s headquarters in Marignane.

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