The Airbus Racer is an unusual helicopter with three rotors. It surpasses a conventional helicopter at a speed of over 400 km/h – VTM.cz

On Thursday, April 25, the first helicopter flight took place in the French city of Marignane Airbus Racer. It lasted half an hour and the main goal was to verify the behavior of the machine. Further tests will take approximately two years, Airbus Helicopters said in a press release.

Airbus Racer (sometimes also RACER, as an abbreviation for Rapid and Cost-Effective Rotorcraft) is an experimental high-speed machine that combines the characteristics of traditional helicopters and airplanes. It was presented for the first time at the Paris Air Show on June 20, 2017. In addition to a high speed of up to 220 knots (407 km/h), it is expected to reduce the cost per distance flown by up to 25% compared to the current generation of helicopters of the same class.

It is not only fast, but also economical

In October 2018, the design of key subsystems was completed and final assembly was to begin in the second half of 2020. The first flight was planned for late 2021, but the covid pandemic meant that only half of the components were completed in spring 2021. The project took off more than two years late.

Airbus Racer helicopter model

The speed of 220 knots is about half that of conventional helicopters. However, the economic aspect is also important – at a speed of 180 knots (approx. 333 km/h), the Airbus Racer consumes 15% less fuel for the same distance than a conventional helicopter at a cruising speed of 130 knots (241 km/h).

From a design point of view side propellers play a vital role, which generate forward thrust. This allows the helicopter’s main rotor to spin 15% slower. As part of the development, 90 patents have been filed – for example, on a hybrid-electric system allowing one of the two Aneto-1X engines to be suspended during flight, which contributes to the reduction of CO emissions₂.

The magic is in the side propellers

Jordan W. Taylor https://twitter.com/jordan_w_taylor/status/1783856529675854181 of this undeniably interesting machine: a regular helicopter is great for hovering maneuvers and low speeds, but has an implicit maximum speed limit.

“If you add a side propeller and a lift wing to a helicopter, you get a compound rotor. At high speed, much of the lift is generated by the static wing and most of the thrust by the side propellers.” explains the main differences of the Airbus Racer helicopter.

This concept was intensively tested in the 1960s, and development culminated in the Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne high-speed attack helicopter prototype with a wide lift wing and an auxiliary propeller. However, after that, development in this segment practically stopped for several decades.

Now this concept is being revived by Airbus, which has certainly done a lot of work. There is certainly room in the market for cost effective high speed helicopter, which finds application, for example, in rescue operations or rapid transport. Time will tell if it manages to maintain enough simplicity and affordability to gain traction on a larger scale.