X2 Will Qualify for Speed Record

The fact that Sikorsky’s experimental X2 is a compound helicopter will not exclude it from setting an official helicopter speed record, according to Marcel Meyer, executive officer of records for the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, the world aviation record sanctioning body. According to Meyer, “The current edition of the sporting code does not define the means to produce thrust, only the means of lift and the means of propulsion of the rotor. There is nothing in this definition saying that thrust cannot be delivered by [means other than] the main rotor turning on its axis.” The X2 unofficially broke the rotorcraft speed record on July 26 when it achieved a speed of 225 knots and the company expects to fly it faster, and for the official record, soon.