Airbus Set To Start Racer High-speed Helicopter Flight Trials | Aviation International News

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Airbus Set To Start Racer High-speed Flight Trials

The hybrid-electric design features a box wing and a pair of pusher propellers

Airbus Racer technology demonstrator for high-speed helicopter — Airbus is preparing to start flight testing the Racer high-speed rotorcraft technology demonstrator. © AIN/Charles Alcock

By Charles Alcock • Managing Editor

February 13, 2024

Airbus Helicopters is preparing to start flight testing with its Racer high-speed rotorcraft technology demonstrator in late March. Engineers at the company’s Marignane headquarters in France are now completing the installation and testing of all subsystems as they prepare to start the next phase of the program to define the configuration of a new-generation helicopter featuring rear-facing propellers in addition to a main rotor.

In 2013, Airbus achieved an unprecedented speed of 255 knots with its earlier X3 demonstrator, and now the company is looking to define what it can also deliver in terms of payload and range. “Our objective now is to get closer to an operational configuration, and also closer to what could be certified,” Racer program manager Julien Guitton told reporters during a media briefing on February 13. “We want to achieve the best possible compromise between cost, environment, and performance.”

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