Airbus hybrid high-speed helicopter hits 420 km/h in demo

Airbus, headquartered in France, announced that its Racer high-speed helicopter demonstrator, developed under the Clean Sky 2 project, achieved a cruise speed of 420 km/h (227 kts).

From Airbus 27/07/24 (released 23/07)

Flightradar24 view of Racer, 21st June 2024. Credit: Airbus

Farnborough – Airbus’s Racer high-speed helicopter demonstrator, developed in the frame of the European Research Clean Sky 2 project, has reached its fast cruise speed target of 407 km/h (220 kts).

On 21 June, less than two months after its first flight, the Racer demonstrator exceeded its level speed objective of 407 km/h (220 kts) by reaching 420 km/h (227 kts) in its initial configuration.

In just seven flights and about nine hours of flight testing, almost all of the flight envelope has been opened.

“This achievement in such a short space of time is really a testimony to the hard work of our 40 partners in 13 European countries to bring all of this innovation to flight.

On top of its performance, the aircraft’s aerodynamic behavior and stability are promising.

We are all looking forward to the next phase of flight testing, especially the eco-mode which will enable us to shut down one engine in forward flight, thus reducing fuel consumption, and lowering the CO2 emissions,” said Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters.

The flight test crew consisted of Hervé Jammayrac, Chief Flight Test Pilot, Dominique Fournier, Flight Test Engineer, and Christophe Skorlic, Test Flight Engineer.

The next phase of flight testing will focus on single engine operations and finalise the flight envelope.

Optimised for a cruise speed of more than 400 km/h, the Racer demonstrator aims to achieve the best trade-off between speed, cost-efficiency, and mission performance.

The Racer also targets a fuel consumption reduction of around 20%, compared to current generation helicopters in the same maximum take-off weight category, thanks to aerodynamic optimisation and an innovative eco-mode propulsion system.

Developed with Safran Helicopter Engines, the hybrid-electrical eco-mode system allows one of the two Aneto-1X engines to be paused while in cruise flight, thus contributing to cutting CO2 emissions.

The Racer also aims to demonstrate how its particular architecture can contribute to lowering its operational acoustic footprint.

Racer – Inside the high-speed demonstrator. Video released May 15 2024. Credit: Airbus

Racer – First Flight. Video released May 16 2024. Credit: Airbus