Airbus’s Racer high-speed helicopter technology demonstrator has surpassed its 220-knot fast cruise speed target by reaching 227 knots. It achieved this feat during a flight test on June 21 with chief flight test pilot Hervé Jammayrac at the helm, accompanied by flight test engineers Dominique Fournier and Christophe Skorlic.
Since its debut flight in April, the Racer has already cleared most of its flight envelope in just seven flights and nine flight hours. Further flight tests will complete envelope clearance and validate single-engine operations. The latter is a vital part of the Racer’s emissions-reducing trials work, in which one of the helicopter’s two Safran Aneto-1X engines that power the hybrid-electric powerplant will be shut down during the cruise.
Airbus expects fuel consumption to be reduced by about 20 percent using this “eco-mode” in the cruise. The helicopter’s architecture also provides for a lowering of acoustic footprint.
Racer has been developed under the framework of the European Research Clean Sky 2 project. Airbus has worked with 40 partners across 13 European nations to bring the Racer demonstration to reality.