Airbus Helicopters med avansert X3 - Jane`s

ILA 2016: Airbus Helicopters builds on X3 demonstrator to advance high-speed flight for rotorcraft

Gareth Jennings, Berlin - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly

02 June 2016

A computer-generated impression of the Airbus Helicopters' compound rotorcraft which it is developing under the Clean Sky 2 project. The idea is to provide high-speed helicopter flight at an affordable price for the mass market. Source: Airbus Helicopters

Airbus Helicopters is building on the legacy of its X3 technology demonstrator by developing a derived platform that affords high-speed flight at an affordable price, the company announced on 1 June.
Speaking to reporters at the ILA Berlin Airshow, Airbus Helicopters CEO Guillaume Faury said that the compound helicopter design that was validated with the record-breaking X3 demonstrator will now be taken forward in a new project aimed at achieving the same levels of performance, but at a price that makes it affordable to the wider market.
"The X3 prototype broke the world speed record in 2013. We know how to go fast, but we now need to be able to do this at an affordable cost for the mass market," Faury said, adding: "The market tells us that it would accept 50% more speed for 25% more cost."
Faury declined to divulge details of the new platform, which is being developed as part of the Clean Sky 2 European research programme, except to say that its general architecture will be the same as the X3. Based on the EC 365 Dauphin airframe, the X3 was fitted with two stub-wing mounted propellers for forward propulsion in high-speed flight, while the tail rotor was been replaced by a fixed stabiliser assembly.
The new platform is expected to achieve the same 220 kt top speed as the X3 was designed for (though the X3 actually attained 255 kt on its record-breaking run in June 2013). Wind tunnel tests were recently completed and the configuration has now been finalised ahead of a preliminary design review (PDR) due later this year. This PDR will be followed by a critical design review (CDR) planned for 2017, with assembly of the prototype to follow in 2018 and a first flight in 2019.
While Faury did not disclose potential future operators, he did note the aircraft's suitability for emergency medical services, search and rescue, and para-public duties in particular.