Eurocopter with you

[dewoitine]

Hello all, here a new bird for you

http://www.youtube.com/embed/8ljxyDtCsaM

 

[Barnes]

Wow - looks great but it an expensive way to go train spotting!!!

 

[falcon409]

Man, what a rush that must be. . .beautiful bird.

 

[Killbilly]

Whoah. That looks like something a good sci-fi production designer would dream up. I wonder how/if they've worked out the problems with overspeeding the main rotors. It, of course, goes without saying that I would love to see this thing in FSX. I wonder if it could even be done.

 

[Sundog]

The X3 is their answer in response to Sikorsky's X2. I've always thought compound helicopters made sense and it's good to see someone investing in the technology. It will be interesting to see what a production variant will look like, as that is just a demonstrator. I'd like a city to city 40 to 60 seat version.

 

[SkippyBing]

Whoah. That looks like something a good sci-fi production designer would dream up. I wonder how/if they've worked out the problems with overspeeding the main rotors. It, of course, goes without saying that I would love to see this thing in FSX. I wonder if it could even be done.

I think as the wings off-load the main rotor it reduces the AoA on the blades which leads to an increase in the max speed before retreating blade stall kicks in. I don't think over speeding the head should be a problem as it's presumably still engine driven at high speed rather than being driven by the air flow. What I'd like to know is if the payload/speed improvements outweigh the increase in mass and complexity of the drive train.