Eurocopter X ³

Eurocopter X 3
The Eurocopter X 3 at a flight demonstration
Type:	High speed hybrid flight helicopter
Design country:	France
Manufacturer:	Eurocopter
First flight:	September 27, 2010
Commissioning:	Experimental helicopter
Number of pieces:	1 prototype

The Eurocopter X ³ is a technology demonstrator from the European helicopter manufacturer Eurocopter , which, as a hybrid construction , is intended to combine the advantages of a vertically taking off and landing helicopter with a high- speed propeller aircraft . It is being developed and tested at Eurocopter's headquarters in Marignane in the south of France .

history

Eurocopter has been working on the airplane since the beginning of 2008 . This fast-flying airplane-helicopter hybrid was called high-speed hybrid helicopter , abbreviated as H3, from which the name X ³ (X-Cube) or X3 arose, where X stands for eXperimental . Eurocopter presented the aircraft to the public for the first time on September 27, 2010, after it had taken off on its maiden flight three weeks earlier at a military airfield. During a test flight on November 29, 2010, the helicopter in Istres in the south of France reached a speed of 333 km / h and an altitude of 3810 m. On May 12, 2011, he reached a horizontal flight speed of 430 km / h (232 kn). On June 7, 2013, the Eurocopter X3 set a new record at a speed of 255 knots (472 km / h) in stable level flight at an altitude of 10,000 feet (3048 m) above the southern French city of Istres. A few days earlier, the X3 descended at a speed of 263 knots (487 km / h).

After its decommissioning in 2013, the helicopter was handed over to the aviation museum Musée de l'air et de l'espace in Le Bourget near Paris in the summer of the following year .

Possible uses

The manufacturer has planned several possible uses for the X ³ . The advantage of the X ³ in rescue operations is that it can fly faster and further than a conventional helicopter, but at the same time it can land and take off like anyone else. The same advantages result for military operations, such. B. military search and rescue operations and the use of command units .

construction

Eurocopter X3 at ILA 2012

The airframe of the Eurocopter X ³ comes from the Eurocopter AS 365 Dauphin and the five-blade rotor from the EC 155 . Two lateral stub wings, each with a large propeller, were attached to the fuselage. The propellers increase the propulsion from 60 knots, while the wings increase the lift of the rotor.

Two Rolls-Royce / Turbomeca RTM322 turbines, each with an output of 1693 kW, drive the main rotor and the propeller via the main gearbox of an EC 175 . The RTM322 variant of the X3 is based on the RTM322 engine of the NH90 . It includes a digital control (FADEC) that has been adapted to the requirements of the X3 demonstrator.

No tail rotor is required for torque compensation on the X ³ ; rather, this is done by varying the thrust of the propellers (pitch adjustment). At higher speeds, as in conventional helicopters, the vertical stabilizer increasingly takes on this function.

Another difference to conventional helicopters is that the forward thrust is not achieved by tilting the rotor surface, but by controlling the speed of the propellers. The rotor surface therefore has an angle of attack of zero degrees in normal flight with more than 60 knots. At higher speeds, the speed of the rotor is reduced in order to avoid supersonic speed at the rotor blade ends, which otherwise limits the maximum speed of helicopters due to the resulting air compression.

On September 6, 2010, Eurocopter began test flights with a prototype of the X ³ helicopter at the Istres-Le Tubé military airfield ( aircraft registration number: F-ZXXX). In summary, the desired design goal is a 50 percent increase in speed with only 25% higher costs.

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data
Hybrid system	5-blade main rotor and 2 propellers
crew	two (captain and copilot)
Top speed	472 km / h (255 kts)
Cruising speed	400 km / h planned, 300+ km / h at 80% power
Rate of climb	2100 m / min (7000 ft / min)
Service ceiling	3800 m (12,500 ft)
Engines	2 gas turbines (Rolls-Royce Turbomeca RTM322 with 1700 kW each)

Comparable types of aircraft

• Sikorsky S-69 (XH-59A)
• Lockheed AH-56
• Sikorsky Piasecki X-49
• Sikorsky X2
• Sikorsky S-97

See also

• List of helicopter types

Web links

Commons : Eurocopter X3  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Eurocopter: X3 demonstrator
• youtube.com: Demonstration 2011 at the Paris Air Show 'Le Bourget'

Individual evidence

1. ↑ HELI-EXPO 2009: Rolls-Royce confirms role in Eurocopter X3 programs
2. ↑ Eurocopter's hybrid helicopter X3 surpasses its target speed: 232 knots (430 km / h) with stable level flight. (No longer available online.) Press Box, May 16, 2011, formerly in the original ; Retrieved June 7, 2011 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
3. ↑ ^{a b} Alain Ernoult: Eurocopter's hybrid helicopter X3 writes aviation history with a top speed of 255 knots. PresseBox, June 11, 2013, accessed June 12, 2013 . 
4. ↑ Flight review: Airbus Helicopters X3 comes to the museum. Retrieved July 2, 2014 . 
5. ^ L'usine Nouvelle: Le démonstrateur d'hélicoptère hybrid X3 se pose au musée du Bourget. Retrieved July 2, 2014 . 
6. ↑ FliegerRevue, magazine for aerospace, issue 08/2012, p. 23
7. ↑ Eurocopter press release: Flight testing of Eurocopter's X3… ( Memento of the original from September 29, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.