Racer - First Flight

Check out the video of the first flight of the European Clean Sky 2 Racer high speed demonstrator.
The Racer flew for about 30 min, allowing the flight test team to check the overall behavior of the helicopter.
This milestone launches the flight campaign which will take 2 years & will aim to progressively open the aircraft’s flight envelope & demonstrate its high speed capabilities.
#AirbusHelicopters #Racer #innovation
‪@cleanaviation6666‬

[@jimj2683]

Perfect for search and rescue when the distances are long.

[@luftmoth]

Very nice!

[@letheatredesoperations]

Bonjour Airbus Helicopters,
Merci pour le partage !
Quelle réussite ! Ce vol semble parfait !
À bientôt,
LTDO 😉

[@RM-el3gw]

awesome job

[@CaptainSpyware]

Exciting to see the Racer finally making its first flight hours! I read the Racer eventually could go beyond 500 km/h? I could imagine this machine to be of great value for police CT units who need to reach a target in short time ...

[@lexnite22]

No rear rotor...interesting! But I guess it's stabilized by the two propellers

[@airbushelicopters]

Hi @lexnite22 , check this video to get some details czcams.com/video/yRJAQ5cCF6c/video.html

[@lexnite22]

@@airbushelicopters Ahh I see, I missed the reading and was just enjoying the design

[@coolleo149]

@@airbushelicoptersDo you know when you guys are gonna add the first checklist for any pilots who are willing to fly your new aircraft? If yes, when?

[@Grovreicraynth]

I wonder how this platform would work in a search and rescue/air ambulance type. I mean, conventional helos with a tail rotor allows for a more flexible ingress and egress for personnel and patients. The side rotors limits the ingress and egress option to just come from the forward of the aircraft. The H145 in air ambulance configuration allowed for entry and exit of patients and personell from the back. I think that's a more flexible option, especially when trying to fit a stretcher.

[@coolleo149]

That is one futuristic helicopter 😮

[@JumpingTuna]

Technically it's a Gyrodyne, and they've been around since the 1930s.

[@coolleo149]

@@JumpingTunaAh I see.

[@83zillafan]

@@JumpingTuna Not really given that the main rotor of this helicopter is always being driven by the turboshafts throughout the entire flight regime. A gyrodyne in forward flight operates like a gyrocopter with the main rotor "windmilling" with power only being sent to the propeller(s) that only provide forward thrust. The Airbus Racer is tehcnically a "Compound Helicopter" just like the Sikorsky X2, Eurocopter/Airbus X3, Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne, Piasecki X-49. Sikorsky SB-1 etc

[@SMGJohn]

How will it behave with just one side prop running?

[@rkgsd]

Smarter aerospace engineering than the trouble-proned Bell-Boeing Osprey which has a long history of crashes.

[@stingray120]

And the flight...?

[@tuomasmanttari4930]

It has only one main rotor so what is the speed when it gets reatreating blade stall? What is the maximum speed of this?

[@aguywhodoesntexist]

wings offload lift from main rotor (they also slow down a bit in cruise) to basically kick that can down the road, which results in higher speeds than normal helos

[@eijazwalid4107]

☺️

[@rockspyder3970]

Retreating blade stall, advancing blade breaking sound barrier, how will this be overcome?

[@JumpingTuna]

The main rotor is unpowered during flight, similar to an Autogyro.

[@83zillafan]

@@JumpingTuna The rotor is still powered during forward flight, but this helicopter has the ability to reduce the main rotor rpm, which it does to avoid supersonic blade tips. Retreating blade stall is handled by the main "box wings" which produce a substantial percentage of the overall lift at foward flight cruising speeds allowing the main rotor to be greatly unloaded, minimizing the effect of retreating blade stall.

[@Exaust.73]

En gros c'est un X3 avec des ailes en plus nan ? 😅

[@daemn42]

I'm always suspicious when they cover up the real sound of any new VTOL aircraft with loud music. In my experience whenever you put dirty air over propellers they generate a lot of noise. Even just normal airplanes with pusher props are loud due to dirty air coming off the airframe, and in this case you can add to that the dirty air from the main rotor downwash. I'll bet this thing absolutely screams.

[@83zillafan]

I am probably wrong but my guess is the added sixth blade to each pusher prop is not to increase overall effective thrust but to allow them to operate at a lower rpm than the ones on the Airbus X3 while producing same or similar amount of thrust, with that lower rpm allowing for quiter operation during a hover / takeoff & landing. However in forward flight it would probably be the same noise level as the X3 but i'd assume that doesn't really matter.